Convento de la Popa

Convento de Santa Cruz de La Popa

A 17th-century convent on Popa Hill, the city's highest point at about 150 meters. The patron Virgin of Candelaria is venerated in its white cloister garden, and the views over all of Cartagena are superb.

Cerro de la Popa, east of the Old City, rises about 150 meters and is the highest point in Cartagena. Its name comes from its shape, which resembles the stern of a ship (popa in Spanish). In 1607, Augustinian friars built the Convent of Santa Cruz on the summit. Legend says the friars drove out the idol of the 'Golden Goat' worshipped by local Indigenous people and runaway enslaved Africans, and installed an image of Our Lady of Candelaria, who later became the patron saint of Cartagena. During the colonial period the convent doubled as a military lookout. It was damaged repeatedly during the War of Independence and in later years, and it was restored in the 1960s. Today it is a quiet religious site and small museum. A double-storey white cloister surrounds a garden of bougainvillea and tropical plants, with an old well in the centre. The small chapel has a gilded altar that houses the image of Our Lady of Candelaria, and exhibition rooms display the convent's history and religious art. The highlight is the summit lookout, which offers 360-degree views of the Old City walls, San Felipe Castle, the high-rises of Bocagrande, the harbor and the sea beyond. The light is best at dawn or sunset. Each year on February 2, the feast of Our Lady of Candelaria, devotees carry candles in procession up the hill. Admission is about 15,000 to 20,000 pesos. Getting there: it's best to take a taxi or join a group tour up the hill, about 15 minutes from the Old City, and you can arrange for the driver to wait. The slope is flanked by neighborhoods with higher crime, so don't walk up or down the hill.

Convento de la Popa

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