Castillo San Felipe de Barajas: Visit the Famous Fort of Cartagena
Castillo San Felipe de Barajas is a must-visit attraction in Cartagena, Colombia. This famous fortress dominates the city, and here's our travel guide to visiting the San Felipe de Barajas fort. How to get there, how much things cost, or what to expect.
Same as New York has Statue of Liberty and Peru is famous for Machu Picchu, no traveler can imagine touring Cartagena de Indias, one of the most important cities in Colombia, without visiting Castillo San Felipe de Barajas.
Even though this site lies just outside the city walls, this imposing colonial fort on top of the San Lazaro hill simply cannot be missed.
Great military achievement, impregnable fort, not conquerable castle.
The more we learned about Castillo San Felipe de Barajas, the more we understood why most of the sources use only superlatives when mentioning this architectural gem that has been guarding Cartagena for more than 400 years.
Even if you prefer to explore places on your own, far away from the crowds, we ask you to make an exception this time and go with the flow.
This huge fort is definitely worth your time and effort.
Because of Cartagena's strategic location, the city soon became one of the Spaniards' most important ports. The only problem was that it was really easy to intrude the city, via both sea and land.
That's why Spaniards decided to strengthen their defensive system, and several forts were built in the mid-16th century.
One of them was Castillo San Felipe de Barajas, which was impressive back then, and still is one of the best things a traveler can see in Cartagena.
Fortunately, today's fortress is accessible to people from all around the world without the necessity to conquer it first.
The only thing you have to do is buy a ticket, put on a hat to survive the merciless sun, and climb the hill - the reward will be immense.
We are pretty sure that Castillo San Felipe de Barajas is on your bucket list.
Once you start planning your trip, feel free to use this travel guide, where we also share practical tips on how to get to the fort from the center of Cartagena, what to see, and how to get the most of your visit.
HISTORY OF THE FORT
As Cartagena during the 16th century grew and became more and more important, it was clear that Spaniards need to protect the city from invaders. Therefore, forts that guarded access routes were built.
In case you are more interested in this topic, we can only recommend you to visit San Fernando de Bocachica Fort on Isla de Tierra Bomba, only a short boat ride from Cartagena.
Nevertheless, the new fort on the top of the San Lazaro hill was about to be the biggest and most important one. The fort was founded in 1536, and you would hardly find a more strategic location for such a building.
Of course, the structure we can see today had been rebuilt several times, and most importantly, it had been significantly enlarged.
The walls later encircled the whole hill, there were many more canons that an enemy could expect, it was easy to get lost in the underground tunnels, and the number of men who could fight and defend the fort grew as well.
Many battles were fought at Castillo San Felipe de Barajas.
Even though not all of them were successful, especially initially, it changed after the major improvements, and the site became impenetrable.
A lot has changed since the pirates' days, but one thing remained the same - Castillo San Felipe de Barajas is still an awe-inspiring structure in a wonderful city.
HOW TO GET TO SAN FELIPE DE BARAJAS FORT
After spending four days in Cartagena, we are convinced that the best way how to get to the fort is on foot.
That, of course, presumes that you will stay in the very center of Cartagena.
In case your hotel is within the walled city, you should be able to reach the fort at a leisure pace within fifteen minutes.
Simply walk via Getsemani district and cross the bridge via Calle 30, which will take you to a shopping district.
The fort will be clearly visible on your left-hand side. It is also possible to take a bus but to be honest, we did not have a single reason to use public transport in the city.
In case you are staying a bit further or just do not fancy walking, hire a cab that will safely get you to the point of interest.
The area around the fort indeed looks less polished than the historic center, but we felt here very safe, even if we were returning to our hotel after the sunset.
ENTRANCE FEE
The entrance fee to Castillo San Felipe castle is 25 000 COP for foreigners.
It is definitely higher than tickets to most tourist attractions in Colombia, but it is still 'only' less than 7 USD.
On top of that, this site belongs among our favorite ones in South America, so we can only encourage you to buy the ticket, even if you travel on a budget and rethink every investment twice.
If you are interested in a guided tour, it costs an additional 15 000 COP per person, or you can also opt for an audio guide.
We liked to roam freely around the castle, but the truth is there are not that many information boards, and you might prefer to be accompanied by a knowledgeable guide.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Once we paid for the tickets, we started to make our way to the top of the fort.
There are usually ramps and only a few stairs, so the climb was quite pleasant as we were full of energy and excitement.
We took our visit quite slowly, and it took us a bit more than two hours to explore the extensive grounds of San Felipe fort.
Even if you prefer nature over cities, you'll be blown away by the views from the fort. It is actually quite understandable. The fort had to have the best view in the city to see approaching enemies.
Well, you can thank the architects today, as San Felipe fort boasts one of the best views of Cartagena.
You can see the walled city and the skyline of the modern part of the city, and of course, the sea. We won't tell you here to go left or right as we are pretty sure you'll find your way around.
Surely do not miss the platform with the Colombian flag and stone walls in the backdrop, which is one of the most photogenic places.
Imagine the fort in the battle and soldiers standing behind canons, only waiting for the command.
Except for the incredibly massive walls and the views, we enjoyed the most underground tunnels.
Some of them are accessible, and walking in the hidden maze was quite extraordinary, and it added to the whole experience authenticity.
We roamed around for a while and lost the sense of time; we even did not perceive people around us, it almost seemed that the time during our visit stopped.
As we visited the fortress later in the afternoon, just before the closing time, we climbed to one of the towers overlooking the city and watched the sunset.
Even though it was not just us, it seemed that the whole world went quiet, and we were far away from the busy streets of Cartagena.
The visit to Castillo San Felipe de Barajas was really great, and it is the place we will always remember.
Hopefully, the site will stay such well-kept and atmospheric for its future visitors!
Travel Insurance
We never leave home without travel insurance that was designed to cover our expenses if something goes wrong during the trip.
Travel insurance protects against theft, flight delays, injury, illness, cancellations, and much more.
World Nomads provides travel insurance for travelers to cover their trip essentials, including sports and adventure activities.
SafetyWing is affordable travel insurance for backpackers, long-term travelers, and digital nomads.
Travel smarter and safer!
WHERE TO STAY IN CARTAGENA
Cartagena is a place that is on every travelers' itinerary.
This is one of the reasons why you won't have a problem finding accommodation that fits your budget and required level of comfort.
You can sleep in a hotel or hostel in the historical center, and you'll be able to get everywhere on foot, or another option is to spend the night in the modern part of the city in a hotel situated in one of the skyscrapers.
Cartagena is here for everyone.
We've handpicked the three best hotels in Cartagena for every type of traveler; feel free to get inspired.
Budget | Hotel La Magdalena - Set in a colonial house, this hotel is a great choice for all budget travelers who seek privacy, clean and well-equipped rooms in the city center. We stayed in this hostel, and it was one of our favorites in Colombia.
Mid-range | Hyatt Regency Cartagena - One of the best rated hotels in the city is reasonably priced, and the service is great. Most of the rooms offer amazing views, and you have to visit the hotel's pool.
Luxury | Sofitel Legend Santa Clara Cartagena - Are you looking for the top service and a hotel which will make your stay in Cartagena special? You've just found it. The hotel is located in a former monastery, has a spa, swimming pool, gym, and sauna. Rooms are, of course, excellent.
OPENING HOURS
If you want to beat the crowds, enter the San Felipe fort as early as possible, the entrance opens at 8 AM. The gates of the fort close at 6 PM.
If we were you, we would only want to avoid visiting the fortress on the last Sunday of every month, when Colombian citizens have a free entrance, which means it is a busy day.
BEST TIME TO VISIT THE FORT
When it comes to the time of the year, you can visit Castillo San Felipe fort anytime. You should rather think about which time of the day is the best.
We know that if your Colombia itinerary is packed to the brim, it is sometimes not possible to plan the sightseeing that effectively.
But if you can, try to visit the fortress early in the morning or later in the afternoon.
Cartagena's heat is often unpleasant, especially during midday, so if you can, avoid this time, or bring a water bottle , sunscreen, and a hat.
Actually, this should be in your backpack anyway.
The fort is famous for wonderful sunsets, as during this time is the visit absolutely magical, that's why you will during this period also meet here the majority of tourists.
But honestly, we did not find it that bad.
Travel Resources
Here you can find links to all the travel resources we use and which you might find helpful when planning your next holiday.
Accommodation: When looking for accommodation, we usually search hotels via Booking.com or Hostelworld.
Tours: Although we love to travel independently, some places are better to visit with a guided tour.
We prefer GetYourGuide for its easy-to-use interface and solid reputation. Another great alternative is Viator.
Rental Cars: When going on a road trip, we always use Rentalcars.com, a reliable site for booking a rental car in advance.
Flight Tickets: When looking for flight tickets, you can search Skyscanner to find the best price.
Travel Insurance: World Nomads and SafetyWing cover against risks of travel.
