MAGDALENA

Start in Santa Marta, the capital of Magdalena, which celebrates its 500 years of history and its deep connection to the sea. There, you can explore various artisan workshops—such as those in the María Eugenia neighborhood, known for soapstone carving—and visit the Gold Museum, all while indulging in the city’s rich cuisine. Next, head toward the majestic landscape of the Sierra Nevada, so central to Gabo’s imagination. Visit the Ettenaka Indigenous Reserve, in the community of Naara Kajmanta, near Puerto Mosquito and Minca, where artisans weave cotton mochilas.

Then, make your way to Aracataca, the birthplace of Macondo. On the way, stop in the Bananera Zone, especially in Prado Sevilla, site of the United Fruit Company, so essential to the narrative of One Hundred Years of Solitude, where the United States founded a colony for their people. It was there that Gabo first encountered ice—an experience that would become literature. Learn how artisans work with banana fiber, and don’t miss the local treats made by the women of the region. Now, Aracataca: the town where the Nobel Laureate was born in 1927 and which inspired the creation of a whole world. Upon arrival, you’ll feel like you’ve stepped into one of his books. Visit the Gabriel García Márquez Museum House, the Telegraphist’s House, the train station, the Macondo linear park, and the famous river of “polished stones, (…) white and enormous, like prehistoric eggs.”—all symbols of a town proud to be the cradle of Magical Realism. Don’t forget to take a handcrafted souvenir, a memento of this transformative journey.

On your way back, take the fork in the road toward Ciénaga, a heritage town full of neoclassical vestiges, designed by Georges Julien Carpentier, father of the Cuban writer Alejo Carpentier. Sleep in a Republican-style house and visit the Banana Workers Monument by Rodrigo Arenas Betancourt.

Continue toward Pueblo Viejo, where you can witness totumo carving and explore the palafitic world of the Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta, the largest coastal lagoon complex in Colombia—the one José Arcadio saw as being full of “swamps, covered with an eternal vegetable scum (…) which, according to what the gypsies said, had no limits.” Don’t miss the chance to hop on a Johnson boat, a small launch that can carry you for hours through these majestic waters to Nueva Venecia, a floating town straight out of Gabo’s pages. Eleven kilometers away, in Sitio Nuevo, visit the Isla de Salamanca National Park and marvel at its boundless birdlife.
Head back to Pueblo Viejo and return to Santa Marta. Take the road to Palomino (La Guajira) and stop near the Tayrona Park at the workshop of woodcarver Wifran Fragoso, who can not only show you his majestic work, but also guide you through the forests he knows like the back of his hand—forests shared with the Wiwa people. End your journey by visiting another Arhuaco community in the Sierra, by the sea, in the village of Kutunsama, near Perico Aguao.

BOLÍVAR-SUCRE-CÓRODOBA

Cartagena was essential to García Márquez. There he wrote Love in the Time of Cholera (1985) and Of Love and Other Demons (1994). Stroll through the Old City to find the house where he lived with Mercedes, see the El Universal newspaper headquarters (his early workplace as he arrived in Cartagena after Bogotá was destroyed on april 9th, 1948), visit the Portal de los Dulces, and remember Úrsula Iguarán, who sold her sugary animal-shaped confections—keeping the Buendía household economy afloat. End your walk at the Cloister of La Merced, now part of the University of Cartagena, where the author and his wife are buried. While in town, visit the artisans of our Map.

Then, head south. On this five-hour journey (272 km), enjoy the changing landscape and stop in various towns where delicious food and artisanal crafts await. Visit Arjona for a traditional bollo de mazorca, continue through María la Baja, San Cayetano, San Jacinto, El Salado, and Magangué. The next stop is your destination: Mompox, where you can admire the famous gold fish and exquisite filigree work (don’t miss our Bolívar Route!). If you want to finish this long journey on a high note, head to Córdoba, passing through Sucre (224 km away). On the way, stop in Lorica to appreciate its architecture and cuisine. Finally, arrive in Tuchín, land of the iconic sombrero vueltiao made of cañaflecha, beloved by García Márquez. There, you’ll meet some of the country’s most skilled master artisans, awarded the Artisan Mastery Medal.