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The 27 islands, cays and islets that make up the Rosario Islands were formed less than 5000 years ago, due to the activity of ancient mud volcanoes that were lifting the underwater bed until favorable conditions were given for the growth of calcareous algae that developed the coral reef. With the last glaciations, the sea level dropped, some areas of the reef came to the surface, forming the islands that, little by little, were colonized by mangroves and terrestrial vegetation transported from the continent by currents, winds and birds. Over the centuries the three characteristic ecosystems of the islands were consolidated: the coastal lagoons, the mangroves that surround them and the very dry tropical forests of the interior.



Man came to the Archipelago since pre-Columbian times. According to the chronicles of the conquerors, its ancient inhabitants were part of the culture of the Mocanaes, of the Karib family, and based their subsistence on the gathering of mollusks and fishing. There is no evidence that the islands were permanently inhabited before this century, when from 1950 some fishermen from Isla Barú decided to settle in the Archipelago to dedicate themselves to fishing and coconut agriculture.



Later, from the 70's, borrowing families from Cartagena and the interior of the country arrived to build their recreational houses and the islands began to be known as a tourist site of great importance.





It is one of the 46 National Natural Parks of Colombia, created to protect one of the most important coral reefs on the Colombian Caribbean Coast. The park covers an area of ​​120,000 hectares, from the highest tide line to the 50-meter deep beryl.



It includes the underwater platform and the coral reefs to the west of Barú Island, the reefs of the archipelagos of Nuestra Señora del Rosario and San Bernardo and the underwater platform between these two archipelagos, as well as the islands of Tesoro, Rosario, Múcura and Wonder.



This area was declared a National Natural Park due to the need to conserve and protect coral reefs and associated ecosystems, such as sea grasses and mangroves, and the numerous species of algae and animals that inhabit them.



The Rosario Islands are an archipelago made up of 27 islands located two hours by boat from Cartagena. The capricious coral formation of the Caribbean made these islands a privileged place of nature, being sheltered from the open sea, with an imperceptible swell.



In this succession of small islands, the mangrove is the king of vegetation, and on its white sand beaches and coral formation, a sea of ​​various shades between blue and green is reflected, generating a comforting contrast to the eye and to the spirit.



Barú Island

It is located near the city of Cartagena de Indias. It is part of the archipelago of the Rosario Islands. Nowadays it has beautiful white sand beaches, transparent waters, pipes surrounded by mangroves and multicolored corals. It can be reached by land crossing the Canal del Dique from Pasacaballos (via Mamonal) or by water crossing the Cartagena Bay. On the island there are three towns called Santa Ana, Ararca and Barú, which are home to ten thousand inhabitants.





How to get



Land Routes

Cartagena via Mamonal, passing through Pasacaballos where you take a ferry to cross the Canal del Dique and then continue on an uncovered road to Playa Blanca or the town of Barú. By unpaved road to the Playa Blanca sector in Barú. Cartagena-Tolú.



Maritime Route

From Cartagena 1 or 2 hours by speedboat, depending on whether it is to San Bernardo or Rosario respectively. From the town of Barú to the Rosario Islands 20 minutes. From Tolú to the Island of San Bernardo 1 hour.



Air routes

Bogotá - Cartagena 45 minutes

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