Manizales - Mariquita Cableway

The cableway system extended across 73 kilometers, incorporating 376 steel towers ranging from 4 to 55 meters in height through mountainous terrain.

Engineers constructed the cableway in sections from 1914 to 1922, overcoming challenges including the loss of design plans when German submarines sank transport ships.

The system connected coffee-growing regions to the Magdalena River ports, transforming the economic relationships between highland and lowland communities in central Colombia.

The cableway operated with eight engines of 140 horsepower each, enabling efficient transportation of goods and passengers through 22 wooden stations until 1967.

Tower number 20, known as Torre de Herveo, required local engineers to create a wooden replica when original English design plans were lost at sea.

Official opening: February 2, 1922

GPS coordinates: 5.05596,-75.48592

Latest update: July 24, 2025 11:45