La Manuela – the former mansion of Pablo Escobar, Colombia

One of the places I visited when I was in Colombia, was the small town Gautápe, located by the shores of Gautápe Reservoir. The small town is beautiful. So is the countryside. Besides wandering around the town itself, I did a couple of excursions to places along the lake. One of these places was the former mansion, La Manuela, that once belonged to Colombian drug lord, Pablo Escobar (1949 -1993). He became one of the wealthies men in the world because of smugling cocaine. You might have seen or heard of the Netflix series «Narcos»? That series is about Escobar.

La Manuela was burnt by Escobar's rivals. What we can see is only ruins. But the place has a beautiful location by the water and you can easily imagine what it once looked liked. It has been made into a tourist attraction. The place is loaded with activities like jeep tours, paintball games etc. Fortunatly these activities are located out of sight of the mansion, so it didn't disturb.

I joined a small guided group tour, which turned out to be a good idea. There were no rush and an informative guide took us back to the one of the darker periods of Colombia's history. We started by walking through the gardens. Escobar had bought trees and plants from all over the world.

The main house. We enter from the back and walk through the building to the main entrance, which faces the swimmingpool. The guide explanined where the bedrooms had been, the rooms of his daughter (Manuela) and his son, etc. She also explained the extravagnce of Escobar. How he had importet materials from abroad and from different places. This mansion was not the only one in his posession. According to the guide, he had 300 homes! In that way he would always have somewhere to hide when it became nessecary.

The swimming pool is located on the tip of the peninsula. Surrounded by beautiful countryside. The mosaics in the pool are the original ones.

In addition, there is a sauna, a watch tower and a veranda with a fireplace. All indicates his luxurious lifestyle.

Pablo Escobar

Escobar became one of the world's richest men due to cocaine smuggling. Approximately 80% of all cocaine from the Medellin cartel was smuggled to the USA. This activity led to the cartel earning close to 400 million dollars a week (which the guide stated is an estimated figure). It is believed that he began an early criminal career in his hometown Medellin by stealing cars. Later he began transporting cocaine within Colombia. That became the start of his career as drug lord of the Medellin Cartel. Eventually he used his enormous fortune to buy houses, a zoo, cars, planes, etc. According to our guide, he also used part of his fortune to build houses for people with little money, sponsor football teams, etc. This charity helped make him popular among the poorest. But, as she said, one should not forget how brutally merciless he was. Either you had to accept a bribe, or you were simply shot.

We move up through the garden of the guesthouse and the stables. The guide took time to tell us about each tree. Unfortunately I don't recall any of the names.

The guest house is located on a hilltop with a fantastic view of the lake and the countryside. It must have been nice to be a guest here! The stables have a couple of horses standing. They are not from Escobars era. But the car that is parked in the yard is.

The end of his life and the Medellin Cartel

What triggered the hunt for him was his shooting down of a passenger plane. A presidential candidate was supposed to be on board. He wasn't, but two American citizens were. This led to the US getting involved. He was imprisoned in 1992, but managed to escape. For the hunt, wiretapping and surveillance was taken into use. A traced phone call led to the end of the hunt. He was shot on the 2 of Desember 1993. The guide told us that (without knowing for sure) his son believes his father took his own life when he realized he couldn't escape. Escobar is said to have told his son that he would shoot himself in the left ear if he felt pressured. He is also said to have said that he would rather have a grave in Colombia than a cell in the US. After his death, the Medellin cartel crumbled. Cocaine smuggling continued for a while, when other cartels took over. These too eventually crumbled and efforts were made by the authorities to clear up.

I think you pay the place a visit with mixed feelings. Escobar was perhaps one of the biggest drug lords the country have ever seen. His criminal activities belong to part of Colombia's darker history of violence and death. A visit to La Manuela with a guide, does give a deeper insight to this part of Colombian history and understanding of Colombia. It was a good day.

Sources:
Information from the live guide
On December 2, 1993, he was killed.