Located on the Caribbean coast of Colombia, Cartagena de Indias is often referred to as the jewel of Colombia. It is the country’s most tourist-visited city and is best known for its colonial architecture, cultural festivals and vibrant nightlife.
It is also Nobel Prize winning author Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s burial place. Marquez shared a love-hate relationship with the city, with Cartagena often appearing in his novels as a sinful place. Even nowadays, it is a description that is hard to argue with, as within the city’s gorgeous, historic old walls, petty crime such as pick-pocketing, purse-snatching, drugs and prostitution are fairly common.
Putting that aside, however, it is hard to not fall in love with the city’s multi-coloured buildings and stunning squares. And for the photography lovers out there, try to go out exploring around sunrise. At first light, it is almost hard to believe that this is the same place as the one you will see a few hours later when the hordes of tourists, hawkers and hustlers crowd the streets.