Rosario Islands

All day excursion by boat to the Archipiélago del Rosario, located approximately one hour from Cartagena. The national park is ringed by coral reefs and lapped by clear blue waters and is the habitat for a large variety of marine fauna. Free time for snorkelling and relaxation and lunch during the excursion.

The Rosario and San Bernardo National Park is located in the Caribbean Sea, about 45km to the southeast of the bay of Cartagena and at approximately one hour away by boat. If you have the time, a visit would be a great addition to your Colombia holiday.

The average year round temperature is 25 ºC. This is one of 46 national parks in Colombia and it was created to protect one of the most important coral reefs bordering the Colombian Caribbean coastline. The park covers 120,000 hectares and comprises of the underwater shelf and the coral reefs to the west of the island of Barú, the reef that shields the Nuestra Señora del Rosario archipelago as well as the islands of Tesoro, Rosario, Múcura and Maravilla. The 23 coral islands and islets were formed relatively recently some 5000 years ago due to ancient volcanic activity that pushed up the continental shelf therefore creating the ideal situation for the birth of these coral reefs.

Three ecosystems thrive here: coastal lagoons, the mangroves surrounding them and tropical forest. The native Indians of this area are descendants of the Caribbean people that were the first inhabitants of the Rosario and Barú islands in Pre-Columbian times. Later, during the colonial period the islands were settled by black slaves, brought from Africa, who dedicated their time to fishing and the gathering of mollusks. Today, these islands are a chosen destination for exclusive tourism.