San Felipe de Barajas Fort

Beautiful place with a lot of history. Bring your walking shoes. You can see the entire city. Clean and well kept!

The historic Castle 🏰 has stood by the sea for centuries. While the walls, lighting, and restrooms may not be state-of-the-art, its timeless design and rich history make it well worth a visit. Consider a guided tour for a deeper understanding of each section. The tour takes about 1.5 hours, and you'll enjoy the refreshing sea breeze.

The fort is majestic and a very interesting experience. The negative point is that there are no signs explaining what you are looking at. The only thing that helped make a little sense of the history of the place was the movie played in the former hospital, that we stumbled upon by accident... This place deserved more care on the part of the administrators.

A must see when visit Cartagena. This fort stand tall above the city. Make sure to have water with you as there is no vendors allowed inside the fort. It's also no ideal for the elderly and disabled people. The climbing is steep and somewhat difficult, especially on hot days. Tickets cost $8.00 and you don't have to take a tour guide if you read about it before your visit. Here is the summary for you... "One of the finest examples of Spanish military engineering in the New World, the San Felipe de Barajas Castle was built and rebuilt over a 200-year period, beginning shortly after the founding of Cartagena in 1533. The first building phase was carried out just 3 years after Cartagena’s foundation in 1536. It was then significantly extended 121 years later in 1657. Castillo San Felipe de Barajas underwent a third major extension and restoration in 1763. During its colorful history, the castle defended Cartagena against numerous pirates attempting to seize some of the New World treasures destined for Spain. In 1697 it fell on an attack by the French. In 1741 when the British army attacked Cartagena, San Felipe de Barajas was defended by the famous Spanish admiral Blas de Lezo. The features of the castle include vantage points for artillery, underground galleries, and gunpowder warehouses. The castle also contains numerous tunnels that were used to distribute provisions and evacuate the inmates

This was an interesting visit while touring Cartagena. This historic fort has some great views of the area and takes about 2 hours to completely go through. Make sure you wear a hat and some sunblock. Also, the street vendors were a little aggressive here. Go across the street and buy some water before you go in. You'll probably need it.

We had a wonderful time exploring this fort. The staff were friendly, and despite not opting for a tour guide, we immersed ourselves in its history by reading online near the entrance. Climbing to the top, we admired the fort's beauty, construction, and strategic location, capturing a few photos with the Colombian flag and city in the backdrop. Venturing into the tunnels beneath the fort was a highlight, offering a thrilling experience as we imagined being chased through them. Following our underground adventure, we watched a short film about the fort's history in a small room labeled “hospital,” located past the Colombian flag on the left. Lasting about 10-15 minutes, the film was informative. A friendly security guard personally directed us to the screening room. While there, we also visited a shop selling artwork, though nothing particularly unique. Overall, I highly recommend a visit to this fort for anyone in Cartagena.

I walked around solo. Some information written in both Spanish and English made easy to understand and navigate. Tunnels interesting. Great views of city all around. Good experience well worth the walk. I think best to do on overcast day as I did otherwise take plenty of water as would be extremely hot up there with reflection of fort heat and sun. Good for kids to let off steam and run around too.

No tour guide needed. Super historical and definitely worth the visit. Such a beautiful view. Not bad of a hike, definitely hot so stay hydrated. Little tunnels within that connects to other parts.

Beautiful place with a lot of history. Bring your walking shoes. You can see the entire city. Clean and well kept!

The historic Castle 🏰 has stood by the sea for centuries. While the walls, lighting, and restrooms may not be state-of-the-art, its timeless design and rich history make it well worth a visit. Consider a guided tour for a deeper understanding of each section. The tour takes about 1.5 hours, and you'll enjoy the refreshing sea breeze.

The fort is majestic and a very interesting experience. The negative point is that there are no signs explaining what you are looking at. The only thing that helped make a little sense of the history of the place was the movie played in the former hospital, that we stumbled upon by accident... This place deserved more care on the part of the administrators.

A must see when visit Cartagena. This fort stand tall above the city. Make sure to have water with you as there is no vendors allowed inside the fort. It's also no ideal for the elderly and disabled people. The climbing is steep and somewhat difficult, especially on hot days. Tickets cost $8.00 and you don't have to take a tour guide if you read about it before your visit. Here is the summary for you... "One of the finest examples of Spanish military engineering in the New World, the San Felipe de Barajas Castle was built and rebuilt over a 200-year period, beginning shortly after the founding of Cartagena in 1533. The first building phase was carried out just 3 years after Cartagena’s foundation in 1536. It was then significantly extended 121 years later in 1657. Castillo San Felipe de Barajas underwent a third major extension and restoration in 1763. During its colorful history, the castle defended Cartagena against numerous pirates attempting to seize some of the New World treasures destined for Spain. In 1697 it fell on an attack by the French. In 1741 when the British army attacked Cartagena, San Felipe de Barajas was defended by the famous Spanish admiral Blas de Lezo. The features of the castle include vantage points for artillery, underground galleries, and gunpowder warehouses. The castle also contains numerous tunnels that were used to distribute provisions and evacuate the inmates

This was an interesting visit while touring Cartagena. This historic fort has some great views of the area and takes about 2 hours to completely go through. Make sure you wear a hat and some sunblock. Also, the street vendors were a little aggressive here. Go across the street and buy some water before you go in. You'll probably need it.

We had a wonderful time exploring this fort. The staff were friendly, and despite not opting for a tour guide, we immersed ourselves in its history by reading online near the entrance. Climbing to the top, we admired the fort's beauty, construction, and strategic location, capturing a few photos with the Colombian flag and city in the backdrop. Venturing into the tunnels beneath the fort was a highlight, offering a thrilling experience as we imagined being chased through them. Following our underground adventure, we watched a short film about the fort's history in a small room labeled “hospital,” located past the Colombian flag on the left. Lasting about 10-15 minutes, the film was informative. A friendly security guard personally directed us to the screening room. While there, we also visited a shop selling artwork, though nothing particularly unique. Overall, I highly recommend a visit to this fort for anyone in Cartagena.

I walked around solo. Some information written in both Spanish and English made easy to understand and navigate. Tunnels interesting. Great views of city all around. Good experience well worth the walk. I think best to do on overcast day as I did otherwise take plenty of water as would be extremely hot up there with reflection of fort heat and sun. Good for kids to let off steam and run around too.

No tour guide needed. Super historical and definitely worth the visit. Such a beautiful view. Not bad of a hike, definitely hot so stay hydrated. Little tunnels within that connects to other parts.