San Basilio de Palenque Tour from Cartagena Review

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Southeast of Cartagena, in the coastal interior’s hinterlands of the Montes de María, you’ll find the town of San Basilio de Palenque.

Often simply called Palenque, and once one of many towns in the area of runaway slaves and their descendants called palenques, San Basilio was the first of those towns to be granted official legal recognition by the Spanish crown.

Its residents have maintained many aspects of their African heritage, including speaking the only surviving Spanish based creole language.

In recent years, it’s become an increasingly popular tourist destination and offers a unique experience that lets visitors learn more about its history and Afro-Colombian history more broadly, while also providing a glance at the largely neglected rural Colombia.

I had been to Palenque years earlier, but I had lost almost all of those photos. I also wanted to go back since this site was not even a twinkle in my eye back then. So, I went back during our visit to Cartagena in the summer of 2024 to get some new photos, see what had changed, and better provide useful info for visiting here.

Here, I’ll write about the tour I took, which I thought was well done and easy to arrange. So read on to learn about my experience doing a San Basilio de Palenque, Colombia tour from Cartagena and what you need to know to do a Palenque tour from Cartagena yourself.

Is a San Basilio de Palenque, Colombia Tour Worth it?

San Basilio de Palenque has a valuable historical and cultural significance as the only surviving palenque, or maroon colony remaining in Colombia.

Many African traditions were maintained here and survive centuries later. Palenqueros speak the only surviving Spanish based African creole language, and the town has a rich legacy of resistance and perseverance.

This legacy led to its designation as a UNESCO heritage site in 2008.

A tour of Palenque provides a glimpse not only of often under-recognized Afro-Colombian cultural contributions, but also a look at the all too often neglected, rural, other side of Colombia.

While I wouldn’t characterize a visit as a must do in Cartagena, I think it’s a great addition to any itinerary for someone interested in history and culture, and it’s one of the very best day trips from Cartagena.

Most of the Palenque tours offer a fairly standardized experience nowadays, but my review below will focus on my experience on this shared Palenque, Colombia tour, which I thought was a fine option. I enjoyed the guide from the agency as well as the local guide in Palenque, and thought it was well organized.

You can also book a private tour of Palenque here with my travel agency partners and get 20% off with the code ExploreColombia20 for a more exclusive experience.

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San Basilio de Palenque Historical Significance

San Basilio de Palenque is often cited as the “first free town in the Americas,” which is, in my opinion, a bit of a misnomer. While it was the first free town to be legally recognized by the Spanish crown, it was not the first one to exist.

In fact, much of the Palenque story is likely myth and based on an oral tradition of legends handed down generation after generation.

Parroted by well meaning tour guides, travel bloggers, and media publications too lazy to do their homework, this myth has become all but accepted fact.

It is a good story though, and the first free town claim helps attract visitors.

I wrote a longer piece on the mythology and history of Palenque here that you are welcome to read if you want to dive down a rabbit hole on the town’s history.

Here, I’ll give you the short version

What became San Basilio de Palenque was one of many free towns of runaway slaves scattered around the coastal interior. They were called palenques due to their wooden walls, and they faced the constant threat of being found and destroyed by the Spanish authorities.

In fact, the town here was destroyed at least once.

However, the Spanish crown recognized it as a free space in a 1714 peace treaty, granting it legal status and pardoning all its residents, ending decades of conflict between them and the authorities.

Even though there’s a fair amount of myth around Palenque, including the somewhat misleading “first free town claim” it’s still enormously significant historically, symbolically, and culturally.

My Palenque, Colombia Tour Experience

My guide Dayson picked me up from where we were staying just before 9 AM.

We picked up a few other people in Bocagrande and the Walled City of Cartagena before hitting the road towards San Basilio de Palenque.

Our van had plenty of space, was comfortable, and, perhaps most importantly, had good A/C.

It took about 90 minutes to reach Palenque from Cartagena. As you get close to the town, there’s some ok scenery as it gets a little greener once you reach the Montes de María region, where fertile hills characterize the landscape.

We made a quick stop on the edge of town where there is a I heart Palenque sign.

Some ladies in the traditional, colorful dresses, you’ll also see the Palenquera fruit sellers wear in the city, do a little welcome dance and pose with photos for a tip.

We then headed into town.

Like so much of rural, small town Colombia, Palenque is characterized by mostly unpaved roads, people hanging out on front stoops and patios in plastic chairs, and neighborhood dogs, pigs, and chickens but a friendly vibe made possible by everyone knowing their neighbors.

With some luck, you might catch a glimpse or even hear the booming of the big speakers known as picós, a Spanglish twist on pickup, that were born playing Champeta in Cartagena’s barrios and are common in Colombia’s Caribbean region.

In a nice touch, Dayson had a cold bottle of water for all of us as we arrived to the main plaza to begin our Palenque tour. By the way, even though we spent a good amount of time in the A/C of the van, I’d definitely recommend a good hat, sunscreen, and maybe a supply of water of your own.

In the plaza, we were introduced to our local Palenquero guide, who was named John Salgado.

Since John didn’t speak English, Dayson became our translator for the day. I do appreciate that even with agencies from the city, there is a local guide from Palenque to share the story and culture of the town.

I also really liked that John taught us several phrases in the Palenquero language to begin our tour of Palenque.

As I mentioned above, the language is the only known surviving creole language that mixes Spanish and African language and part of the reason the town is so historically and cultural significant.

He referred back to them several times, expecting us to remember, so make sure you pay attention!

After our introductions and mini language lesson, we embarked on what appears to me to be a pretty well worn tourist round of the town.

We visited a traditional medicine man, who explained some of the traditional medicines and tonics used in the community and let us have a taste of a medicinal tea and a whiskey.

I have a feeling that like most tour stops at places like this, this probably isn’t exactly the real deal, but it was interesting, and they do explain a number of plants that are used in traditional medicine or for good luck.

There’s a remarkable amount of traditional uses of plants in rural Colombia, legacies of both the African and indigenous heritages of the country.

The medicine men also offered to sell bracelets and bless them with good fortune. They also sold tea to go.

Next, we hopped back in the van to go see a dance performance at the local dance school, which was probably the highlight of this Cartagena Palenque tour for me since I had already been to the town once before.

The dancing moves are certainly impressive, and they certainly put my white gringo rhythm to shame.

I think it’s nice testament to the community that tourism has become a way to support local cultural initiatives like this dance school, not to mention an impetus to keep traditional culture alive.

There was a lot of concern a couple decades ago that many traditional practices in the town were being lost, as the youth, as youth are wont to do, looked to leave the practices of their grandparents and parents behind and many left the town itself behind, heading to the city for university and work.

The explosion of tourism to the town has helped to rekindle and preserve everything from the dance to the language.

It’s an interesting, but, in many ways, refreshing, intersection of touristy and authentic.

After the dance performance, we stopped by the statue of Antonio Cervantes, aka Kid Pambele, who was a light welterweight world champion boxer from the town.

His fame and career helped shine a spotlight on the town in the 1970s, and he remains Colombia’s most famous boxer and the town’s most famous product.

After some photos with the statue, we walked around town a bit.

Something that struck me that I didn’t remember is how many houses had fresh, colorful paint.

There are also a lot of neat examples of graffiti, murals, and street art, much of it paying homage to the town’s African roots and culture.

It’s a clear sign of how the town is increasingly on the tourist map, with the Black Lives Matter mural perhaps being one of the more unique examples of the growth in interest in the town being fueled by increased interest globally in black history.

It’s, in ways not unlike the dance performance, a clever blend of marketing and homage to the town’s cultural legacy.

To be honest, I would have liked to have had more time walking around town.

This is one of those things about doing a shared tour. It was hot as heck, so had we walked the whole way, there’s probably be someone else complaining about the heat.

I thought it was an ok balance of time in the A/C in the van and walking but would have also been nice to feel a little more immersed and take in more of the town.

We made a brief stop outside the Casa de Justicia, which our guides didn’t explain in as much detail as the one I had during my first visit.

In my opinion, one of the really neat things about Palenque is that there is a special legal jurisdiction.

Colombia’s 1991 constitution grants special rights to Afro-Colombian and indigenous heritage towns, including, in the case of Palenque, some limited legal autonomy.

Minor crimes and misdemeanors are handled by community elders rather than the normal state police, who have little presence in the town on a day to day basis.

We made a stop at the Casa de la Musica, which has a lot of cool posters and signatures from people from all over the world.

Palenque has produced several well known musicians and musical groups. It also hosts the annual drum festival I had attended several years earlier on my first visit.

After the Casa de la Musica, we walked up to the town’s main plaza where we could take some photos with the statue honoring Benkos Biohó.

It’s a neat statue, even if Biohó is more of a mythical inspirational founder than the founder of the town itself.

Finally, our tour of San Basilio de Palenque concluded with lunch.

I had the fried fish with a coconut and lime sauce. It was very good and something a tad different than the typical fried fish lunch you can get on the beaches and other places in Cartagena.

I also picked up some cool little cocada coconut balls that came in a neat totumo bowl that said Palenque. There are plenty of other souvenirs like bags for sale around the plaza, although much of it is the same types of things you’ll find in Cartagena.

After lunch, we piled back in the van and headed back to Cartagena.

Ready to tour Palenque from Cartagena yourself?

I thought the tour was great.

I personally probably would have liked to have had more time to walk around, and, history major that I am, might have liked more discussion of the town’s history and cultural traditions, like the kuagro youth groups and unique justice system.

So, I definitely encourage you to ask lots of questions, as I found John to be very knowledgeable about everything I asked him.

Still, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the tour I took, and I think most tours to Palenque from Cartagena offer more or less the same or very similar experience.

Once again, you can book this shared Palenque tour here via GetYourGuide.

If you’re looking for alternatives, this shared tour on GetYourGuide also has good reviews, and you can also book a combined mud volcano and Palenque tour via GetYourGuide here, a long day but a good way to get two things in if you want to do the mud volcano (click here to read about it).

If you prefer booking things on Viator, you can book this well regarded Palenque tour on Viator too.

Finally, if you’d like a more exclusive, go at your own pace experience, you can get 20% off with code ExploreColombia20 when you book a private Palenque tour here.

Regardless of which tour to Palenque you choose, I hope you found this write up useful for what to expect. Most importantly, I hope you enjoy it. I’d love to know about your experience in the comments.

I’ll leave you with a few more photos of the town I took during my San Basilio de Palenque tour below.

Cheers and Happy Exploring!