In the San Bernardo Archipelago, within the Gulf of Morrosquillo in Colombia’s Caribbean Sea, lies Santa Cruz del Islote — a man-made island of just 10,000 m² (roughly the size of two soccer fields) under the jurisdiction of the Corales del Rosario and San Bernardo National Natural Park, where 779 people live on one hectare. It is the most densely populated island in the world — with a population density roughly 4 times that of Manhattan and 33 times that of Monaco.
Santa Cruz del Islote, with its shingled houses, stands out from the crystalline waters of the Caribbean Sea, in the heart of the Gulf of Morrosquillo. It is covered by a collage of more than 100 houses, everyone there is family related, and the offspring continue to grow.
The formation of new families has caused construction to grow vertically, increasing household overcrowding. The island has no public utilities and 40 percent of households still dump feces into the sea; the rest of the community uses septic pits.
The island’s vocation has always been fishing, but in recent years it has been seduced by tourism….
Slum Tourism in Colombia
The hyper-crowded Island
Santa Cruz del Islote has gained much popularity due to its overpopulation. Newspapers, such as The Guardian, have associated it with García Márquez’s magical realism, relating how people live at their own pace and highlighting the absence of violence and the mutual support among the inhabitants who are like one big family.
Documentaries have also been made, such as Aislados (Isolated), an award-winning 2016 documentary. The documentary shows the most densely populated artificial island in the Colombian Caribbean where there are no police, no priests, no armed conflict, and where the arrival of modernity and the possibility of an eviction, makes its inhabitants begin to awaken from the magic spell.
Today many children on the island dream of moving to the mainland, studying, working, and thus “sending money to fix the island”.
Santa Cruz del Islote currently occupies 10,000 m², i.e. 1 hectare. With an average of 1.25 inhabitants per 10 m², 65% of the population is under age, and there are only 6 surnames and 97 houses. Scarce resources, and people’s curiosity, created a niche for a kind of slum tourism, promoted by the same inhabitants. Besides, the official tourism channels, promotes it as a destination to see, for being the most densely populated island in the world.
So far, this slum tourism has made little change or contribution to improving conditions on the island or for its inhabitants; and it does contribute to romanticize poverty, by focusing on the magical realism of the colors of their houses, the marvelous blue of the Caribbean Sea and the children playing on a small soccer field. About their precarious and difficult reality? no idea.
Artisanal aquariums to swim with Sharks
Apart from the social-cultural attraction, another of the island main attractions are some artisanal aquariums, where locals kept sharks and fish, semi-confined, to swim with tourists. The propaganda followed the idea that going to Santa Cruz del Islote means having the opportunity to swim with sharks, rays and fish in the small improvised pool and make short tours through the streets of the island. Sounds Great! right? But reality is different.
In high season, the influx of tourists can reach 1,200 people, eager to participate in the great attraction offered by this community. Thus, for 5 thousand pesos, people have the right to swim with sharks.
There, in precarious conditions of confinement, without scientific surveillance or any kind of professional marine scientists, they keep the fish, which endure the harassment of dozens of tourists who jump into the water to touch them and take pictures.
This is a type of invasive and illegal tourism, even if the intention is not to mistreat the animals, but to have an alternative economic activity, it is not the right way.
On the other hand, as there are no sewage services on Colombia’s most populated island, the unwary travelers do not know that they are swimming in a sea of feces, in the aquarium-pools. There are also all kinds of pollutants, such as motor oil for the boats and large amounts of garbage.
Towards a sustainable tourism
In January 2020 a tourist denounced in her twitter account: This happens in Santa Cruz del islote, they have these animals in captivity so that people enter and touch them and disturb them. The animals were trying to avoid people. They are little animals that have no teeth, they can’t defend themselves #NoAlMaltratoAnimal @PoliciaColombia @Citytv pic.twitter.com/DvvcmZmqxz
– Daniela Correa (@dacf2891) January 27, 2020.
Although the sharks are going to be released, the inhabitants are asking for other work alternatives. Today the local government is working with these communities to implement sustainable tourism to protect the beaches and to eradicate illegal practices such as the captivity and mistreatment of these sharks.
The goal is to provide these communities with new work opportunities, such as implementing pools for lobster farming, training them in sustainable tourism practices, legalizing their boats, among others.
The San Bernardo Archipelago: Ecological Context
Santa Cruz del Islote sits within the Corales del Rosario and San Bernardo National Natural Park, one of Colombia’s most important marine protected areas. The surrounding waters contain coral reef ecosystems home to over 50 coral species and 160 fish species. The archipelago’s 10 islands include pristine mangrove forests, seagrass beds, and nesting sites for hawksbill and green sea turtles.
The juxtaposition of severe human overcrowding on one island with ecologically rich, largely uninhabited neighboring islands makes Santa Cruz del Islote a unique case study in community-based marine resource management — and in the tensions between poverty, tourism, and conservation.
Discovering Santa Cruz del Islote
Santa Cruz del Islote contrasts in a fascinating way with the Archipelago of San Bernardo, of which it is part, where wild mangroves, white beaches and few inhabitants is the common landscape.
However, it has an artificial origin, Santa Cruz del Islote was built by man. The islet was built by fishermen who arrived and built it in the middle of the coral, with stone, rubble and garbage. The little town has four main streets but no presence of cars or motorcycles. You can see that there are boats everywhere, floating on the shores of the sea or on the cement patios of the houses.
On your visit to Santa Cruz del Islote you will see some stores, a health post, a three-story school, a restaurant and 97 houses that are no larger than 40 square meters. About ten people live in each house. The islet has an average temperature of 28°C (83º F).
How to get to Santa Cruz del Islote
Santa Cruz del Islote is located between the islands of Tintan and Múcura. The closest ports are Rincón del Mar, Berrugas and Tolú in Sucre, and boat transportation costs 30,000 pesos per person. To Cartagena, in Bolivar, the boat fare is 60,000 pesos.
- Take a 1-hour flight from El Dorado (BOG) in Bogotá to Rafael Nuñez International Airport (CTG) at Cartagena city.
- Take a 1-hour flight from El Dorado (BOG) in Bogotá to Las Brujas Airport (CZU) at Sincelejo city. Once at the airport, take an approximately 1-hour ride to Tolú.
Once there you must pay a fee of 5,000 COP for the entrance to the islet in exchange you will be offered a guided tour of the islet.
Where to stay near Santa Cruz del Islote
Santa Cruz del Islote belongs to the islands of San Bernardo, in the Colombian Caribbean. You can stay overnight on the island, but if you want a more comfortable accommodation you can stay in one of the adjacent islands: Múcura or Tintipán; or even in the houseboats in the surroundings, as is the case of “Casa en el Agua” (House on the Water), with very basic services and very low comfort.
Activities and attractions in Santa Cruz del Islote
As mentioned before, at Santa Cruz del Islote you will know one of the most populated places in the world. You can stroll through its alleys and admire its colorful houses, you will talk to the people who always seems to be happy; you can also enjoy the peaceful atmosphere of the island (no violence, theft, altercations or fights). If you are a soccer lover you will be able to play a game with the locals.
You can also visit near places in Tolú and Múcura Island.
Sara Colmenares holds a Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) in Ecology from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and a Master’s degree in Botany from the same institution. Her doctoral research focused on palm ecology in the Atlantic Forest, supported by the Rufford Foundation conservation grant.
A published researcher in the Brazilian Journal of Plant Physiology and a member of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC), Sara has presented her work at international conferences across Latin America and beyond. She was awarded the COLCIENCIAS “Virginia Gutiérrez de Pineda” fellowship, one of Colombia’s most competitive academic distinctions for young researchers.
Sara founded the Sula nature tourism brand in 2018, applying her scientific expertise to develop birding and wildlife experiences across Colombia’s six natural regions. Her fieldwork took her from the cloud forests of the Andes to the Amazon basin, the Pacific coast, and the plains of the Orinoquía. She combined deep ecological knowledge with firsthand experience to create content that is both scientifically accurate and practically useful for nature travelers.
She holds a B.Sc. in Biology from the National University of Colombia, where she also taught plant ecophysiology. She speaks Spanish, Portuguese, and English.