Gorgona NNP

Between July 2024 and March 2025, under a contract with Colombia’s National Natural Parks, MARA carried out the maintenance and upgrading of the island’s Poblado sector: houses 14 and 15, the staff block, the administrative block, the Umantatay B module, the water system and the hydroelectric plant. On the water supply system, MARA laid a new high-density polyethylene main and built elevated crossings on steel frames, some of them hung from steel cables, to span streams and unstable stretches of the hillside. The photos run from the initial state, in August 2024, to the final finishes, in April 2025.

Gorgona lies in the Colombian Pacific, about 35 km off the coast of Cauca, reached by boat from Guapi or Buenaventura. It is tropical rainforest on an island: rain most of the year, high humidity and constant salinity.

Everything, from cement to roof tiles, arrives by boat and is unloaded by hand. Salt and humidity shorten the life of untreated wood and unprotected metal, so materials are chosen for that environment. And the work happens inside a national park, alongside the park staff on the island and under its environmental rules.

2024–2025 · Poblado sector cabins. Between November 2024 and February 2025, in parallel with the maintenance works, MARA upgraded the type 1, 3 and 4 cabins, the Umantatay A module and the researchers’ block.

2026–2027 · Ecotourism infrastructure (in progress). With Patrimonio Natural and funding from FONTUR, Colombia’s National Tourism Fund, we are building the multipurpose center, the Yundigua and Playa Palmeras trails, a viewing tower, traditional market modules, an elevated day-visit deck and boardwalks. This project now has its own page.

The Poblado sector’s houses, service blocks and water and power networks, ready for the National Parks team and researchers to live and work on the island, and to receive visitors.