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Montería is an inland city in Colombia’s Caribbean region and the capital of the department of Córdoba.
Introduction to Montería
Montería was founded on May 1, 1777, as San Jerónimo de Buenavista. The name never really caught on and it was always commonly known as Montería. The city has a very diverse population, with a mixture of indigenous Zenú people, descendants of African slaves and Spanish colonizers, and more recently Arab immigrants from Syria and Lebanon.
Today, Montería is the ranching capital of Colombia and the home of the sombrero vueltiao, a national symbol. There’s really not much of interest to tourists, but we appreciated the authenticity and the opportunity to observe local life. We found the city to be clean and friendly with lots of good restaurants.
Getting to Montería
Montería is far from most cities in Colombia, and the best way to get there is to fly. Los Garzones International Airport, which is located to the north of the city, has flights from Bogotá, Cartagena, Barranquilla, Bucaramanga, and Medellín (as of March 2024). Alternatively, you can take a bus from Cartagena.
Getting Around in Montería
The city center is easy to navigate on foot. However, you’ll need a taxi to get to the Zona Rosa (entertainment zone), which is in the northern part of the city. The Zona Rosa consists of two streets, Carrera 7 and the pedestrianized Pasaje del Sol, which run for a few blocks. There you’ll find all sorts of restaurants and bars to choose from. We noticed sushi, traditional Colombian, Greek, Lebanese, fast food, and much more. This is the place to be at night, especially since almost all the restaurants in the city center are closed.
Where to Stay in Montería
There are a few decent choices for accommodation in the city center and in the Zona Rosa.
Hotel Santorini Loft
We stayed at Hotel Santorini Loft. It’s only a few blocks from the main plaza and only two blocks from the Ronda del Sinú. While the hotel was excellent, there’s really not much around in terms of food. It’s best to take a taxi to the Zona Rosa, which is in the northern part of the city.
The hotel has spacious and comfortable rooms with excellent air conditioning, a friendly staff, and a restaurant on site. We only had breakfast and it was mediocre.
Sports in Montería
Montería has both a baseball and football stadium. Jaguares de Córdoba play football at Estadio Jaraguay. Leones de Montería play in the Colombian Professional Baseball League at Estadio 18 de Junio.
Climate in Montería
The city has an average annual temperature of 27 °C (80 °F) with moderate humidity. When we visited in June, it was painfully hot and humid. Several locals told us that June experiences the worst heat of the year. If you decide to go, it’s best to avoid June.
Where to Eat in Montería
During our two days in Montería, we were able to try a few different restaurants. We were pleasantly surprised with what we found.
Oliva
On our first night in Montería, we walked to Oliva by Produterra, which features a sort of Colombian-Mediterranean fusion. It’s one of the very few restaurants in the city center that’s open at night. We sat down in an empty dining room and were quickly attended to by the waiters.
We started with a garlic octopus dish. For our main courses, I had a steak with mashed plantains and topped with fried onions. Marisol had a seafood stew with coconut rice.
Both of our meals were delicious but we didn’t really care for the starter. Overall, it was a good experience but service could have been much better. The waiters never came back to the table after serving our food. We would have ordered dessert if they had shown a little more interest. Prices were reasonable for the quality of food although a bit high for Colombia.
El Trapiche
We visited El Trapiche, which was only a block from our hotel, for lunch. It’s a simple place that serves traditional Colombian food. We shared a gigantic fixed price lunch consisting of beef, patacón, beans, pasta, fries, and salad. The food was surprisingly good.
Baalbeck
A great place to eat in the Zona Rosa is Baalbeck. This restaurant is one of the best in Montería and serves deliciously authentic Lebanese cuisine.
We shared raw kibbeh, a fattoush salad, and a sampler plate featuring fried kibbeh, stuffed grape and cabbage leaves, hummus, kofta, and almond rice. For dessert, we had baklava and Arabic coffee.
Everything was fantastic and the service was top notch. Prices were high for Colombian standards but proportionate to the quality of the food. We would happily go back there again.
BBC Cervecería
Also in the Zona Rosa is BBC Cervecería. This Bogotá-based microbrewery features a few different beers on tap and is a great place to hang out or watch a game.
Montería City Center
The city center of Montería doesn’t exactly have much to see in the way of tourism. Outside of La Ronda del Sinú, you can focus solely on the main plaza.
Parque de Bolívar
The main plaza, Parque de Bolívar, lies in the heart of the city center. It contains a monument to Simón Bolívar (1783-1830) in the center and is surrounded by a mixture of historic and modern buildings, including some government buildings. When we visited, there were several tents set up selling crafts and souvenirs.
Cathedral of San Jerónimo
Taking up nearly a full block of the plaza is the Cathedral of San Jerónimo (Catedral de San Jerónimo). It’s easily the most beautiful church in Montería. It was built between 1903 and 1916 by architect Pedro Barrios.
Typewriters?
On the left side of the cathedral is a small covered area full of long benches and tables. We noticed there was a group of men sitting on one side with typewriters. People would come by and sit down on the bench on the other side of the table and ask these men to type different documents for them. They were typing legal documents, letters, resumes, and more. I’ve never seen anything like this anywhere else on my travels.
Architecture in the City Center
Outside of the plaza, just walking around the rest of the city center, I noticed a few beautiful buildings. Most of them were constructed in the Republican style.
La Ronda del Sinú
La Ronda del Sinú is a public park in Montería. It runs between the Sinú River and the city center for about 20 blocks, making it the longest lineal park in Latin America. It was our favorite attraction in the city by far.
The park was constructed in 2005 and contains several bike paths, walking paths, food stands, and craft vendors. There are also recreational areas for children and spaces for gatherings and open air theatre.
One of the best features are the several iguanas living in the park. You can spot them climbing on trees, resting in the grass, and on the rooftops of some of the structures. Some of them are huge! Apparently there are sloths and monkeys as well but we didn’t spot any.
Monuments at La Ronda del Sinú
A few monuments dot the landscape in La Ronda del Sinú. One of them is dedicated to Antonio de la Torre y Miranda (1734-1805), the founder of Montería in 1777. He was a Spanish soldier who rose through the ranks to become viceroy of Nueva Granada (modern day Colombia).
Another monument is dedicated to fallen soldiers from Montería. It’s located in a small area where the city’s first public market once stood.
My favorite monument depicts Pablo Flórez (1926-2011) opposite a woman called “La Aventurera”. Flórez was a musician who had success in several different genres, including porro, tango, pasillo, and ranchera. One of his most important songs was La Aventurera.
Planchón Crossing
Along La Ronda del Sinú, you’ll notice what look like houseboats crossing the Sinú River. These are called “planchones”. A planchón is the traditional way for Monterians to cross the river, and they’re still popular even after bridges have been built.
Each planchón has a number that corresponds to the street on both sides of the river. You’re able to spot them crossing at almost every block along the length of the park.
Touristic Dock
At the north end of the park, there’s the Touristic Dock (Muelle Turístico). Apparently, you can catch a sunset cruise along the river. We walked up to the office to ask about tickets but nobody acknowledged us.
Sinú Cultural Plaza
Further along, there’s the Sinú Cultural Plaza (Plaza Cultural del Sinú). It’s a large open space with no trees, and it’s significantly hotter than the forested section of the park. I didn’t really like the area because it had a strong smell of urine and marijuana, and it was fairly empty.
At the Sinú Cultural Plaza, there’s a large Montería sign as well as concrete steps down to the river. We were able to watch some white herons standing by the river’s edge.
María Varilla Monument
Finally, a large monument to María Varilla (1887-1940) stands in the plaza. It features a woman dancing in the center surrounded by six male musicians. Varilla was considered one of the best dancers of her time.
