Maps of Movies
Romancing the Stone (1984)
Where Romancing the Stone says it takes place, and where it was really shot.
A New York novelist chases a treasure map through Colombia, but the jungle was mostly Mexico, and the opening scene was Utah.
View on the map
Scenes and places
The western scene that opens the film (1984)
The film opens inside Joan Wilder's own novel, where a gunslinging heroine named Angelina faces down a villain. It sets up the romance-novelist fantasy that real jungle trouble is about to test.
Set in Joan Wilder's novel: the Old West — A scene from Joan's own romance novel, set in an unnamed frontier. It has no fixed place on the map.
A stand-in frontier from a novel, so there is no map point for the story itself; only the Utah shooting location is known.
Filmed at St. George, Utah (Snow Canyon area) — The opening scene was filmed in St. George, Utah. The Snow Canyon listing is a separate location in the filming list. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Joan's New York apartment (1984)
A lonely novelist comes home to find her apartment ransacked, then gets a call that her sister has been kidnapped. The only way to save her is to carry a treasure map to Colombia.
Set in Joan's apartment, New York City — Joan's home in New York, where the envelope with the map arrives. Google Maps · Apple Maps
Joan lives alone with her cat in a New York apartment.
Filmed at New York City — New York City appears in the filming list; the exact street is not named in the sources. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The wrong bus and the crash (1984)
Joan boards a bus that Colonel Zolo has sent into the country's interior instead of to Cartagena. It crashes into a Land Rover, and she is saved at gunpoint by its owner, Jack Colton.
Set in Colombian mountain road — A mountain road in Colombia's interior, far from Cartagena. The film gives no named place.
A remote mountain road in a Colombian jungle, the kind of place nobody takes a tourist bus.
The jungle cliffs and the mud slide (1984)
Joan promises to pay Jack to get her to a phone, and the two cross the jungle while eluding Zolo's military police. Her city shoes and her faith in his plan are both tested.
Set in Colombian jungle — A jungle hillside where Joan and Jack walk away from the crash. The film names no place.
A steep green hillside typical of the cloud-forest slopes around Xico in Veracruz.
Filmed at Cliffs near Xico, Veracruz (Mexico) — AFI's production notes list the cliffs in Xico. The coordinate is the village center, not the cliff. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The drug lord who loves Joan's novels (1984)
Joan and Jack reach a village where a drug lord named Juan turns out to be a huge fan of her novels. He happily helps them escape from Zolo's soldiers.
Set in Juan's village — A small mountain village in Colombia where a local boss lives. The film gives no real name.
A hill village that stood in for Colombia, filmed in the Mexican state of Veracruz.
Filmed at Tonayán, near Xalapa, Veracruz (Mexico) — One blog places the village scenes at Tonayán, with the house interiors at Hacienda Las Ánimas; the filming list says only Tonaya. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
A night of dancing (1984)
After a day on the run, Joan gets cleaned up and Jack takes her dancing. The night turns into a romance, and Jack suggests they find the treasure themselves before handing over the map.
Set in A small Colombian town — A town where Joan and Jack stop for a night of music. The film names no real place.
A lively square in a Mexican city district, per a single blog source.
The river that splits them (1984)
They find the emerald, are chased into a river and over a waterfall, and end up on opposite banks of a raging river. Joan has the map and Jack has the emerald.
Set in A raging river in Colombia — The river and waterfall that carry Joan and Jack away from Ralph and Zolo's men. No real name in the film.
The Rio Antigua is a whitewater river near Jalcomulco, a river-rafting town in Veracruz.
Filmed at Rio Antigua near Jalcomulco, Veracruz (Mexico) — Wikipedia names this river and town as where the opposite-banks scene was shot. The coordinate is the town center. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Cartagena at last (1984)
Alone and with the map, Joan finally reaches the city she was told to find, to trade it for her sister.
Set in Cartagena — The Colombian port city where the ransom handover is set. Google Maps · Apple Maps
Veracruz's colonial center stood in for Cartagena's old town.
Filmed at Veracruz city center, Veracruz (Mexico) — Cartagena was played by the city of Veracruz; the coordinate is the city, not a specific street. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The fortress showdown (1984)
Joan trades the map for her sister, but Zolo's soldiers arrive with a captured Jack, and a crocodile pit and a stolen emerald decide the fight.
Set in Fortress in Cartagena — A fortress in Cartagena where Joan meets the kidnappers and Zolo arrives. The film's fortress is not tied to a named real site in the sources.
A 16th-century island fortress and former prison off Veracruz harbor.
Filmed at Fort of San Juan de Ulúa, Veracruz (Mexico) — Wikipedia and AFI both list the Fort of San Juan de Ulúa as a filming location. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Home to New York (1984)
Some time later, Joan is back in New York and has turned her adventure into a new novel. Her editor Gloria is moved to tears by it.
Set in Joan's apartment, New York City — Back in New York, Joan has a new book. Google Maps · Apple Maps
Manhattan's waterfront, where the film begins and ends.
Filmed at New York City — New York City is in the filming list; the exact waterfront is not given in the sources. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Characters
- Joan Wilder — A lonely New York romance novelist who flies to Colombia to ransom her sister.
- Jack T. Colton — An American exotic-bird smuggler who helps her across the jungle.
- Colonel Zolo — The man who killed Eduardo and ransacked Joan's apartment.
Questions answered on the map
- Where was the Colombian jungle of Romancing the Stone really filmed?
- Where was Cartagena's fortress really filmed?