In front of you is Cartagena's best-known image: the Clock Tower. For locals it is the Boca del Puente, because in colonial times a drawbridge linked this gate with Getsemaní, where you have just come from. The tower, with its four-faced clock, was added in 1888.

1Crossing the wall

Walk through the central arch and look up: you are entering the walled city just as travellers and merchants did for centuries. On the other side opens Plaza de los Coches, with the statue of the founder, Pedro de Heredia. Remember that enslaved people were also sold here: the square carries a painful memory.

2The Portal de los Dulces

Under the arcades on the left is the Portal de los Dulces. The vendors offer jars full of cocadas made with coconut, panela or guava, millet alegrías, tamarind sweets, candied papaya and milk balls. It is a tradition passed down from mothers to daughters. Ask, taste and choose.

A cocada in your hand and the Clock Tower behind you: Cartagena's sweetest welcome.

At night the square fills with lights and horse-drawn carriages. Ask the price before you get in and agree on the route.

3What to look for

  • The four-faced clock at the top of the tower.
  • The colourful jars of sweets at the Portal.
  • The balconies of the buildings around the square.

Documented

The clock tower was built in 1888 over the old colonial gate; the Portal de los Dulces is a living tradition of Plaza de los Coches.

Sources and credits

Instituto de Patrimonio y Cultura de Cartagena (IPCC); El Universal (Cartagena), «La Boca del Puente, la puerta principal de la ciudad amurallada»; Colombia Travel (ProColombia), Cartagena de Indias.

Photos:

  • Plaza de los Coches with the statue of Pedro de Heredia and white arcaded buildings: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 4.0.
  • Cartagena's yellow and white Clock Tower with its four-faced clock and spire: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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