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Netflix’s Narcos made a striking debut, instantly grabbing attention with its intense storyline. Set during the height of Colombia’s drug wars, the show follows the real-life rise and fall of notorious drug kingpin Pablo Escobar.
To bring that history to life, the creators didn’t cut corners. Narcos was primarily filmed in Colombia — Bogotá, Medellín and Cartagena served as the backbone of the show’s raw, sun-soaked aesthetic. A few scenes were shot in Mexico and the U.S., but the bulk stayed grounded in the places where the actual events had unfolded. That commitment to location gave the series its texture — gritty, vibrant and real.
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Wagner Moura’s turn as Escobar is cold, magnetic and weirdly human, while Boyd Holbrook and Pedro Pascal — playing DEA agents Steve Murphy and Javier Pena— bring the law enforcement side to life with equal weight. The stakes feel high because, well, they were. Real history, dramatized just enough.
Here’s a breakdown of the exact spots that brought Narcos to life.
From Colombia to Mexico City, exploring the filming locations of Narcos
1) La Candelaria, Bogotá (Season 1)
Marta Ochoa’s kidnapping was a turning point in cartel history. In real life, it happened on the campus of Medellín’s University of Antioquia. However, for Narcos, the producers chose to recreate the scene in Bogotá’s La Candelaria — a neighborhood that still looks frozen in the early ‘80s.
With its mix of Art Deco details and worn colonial architecture, the area brought a gritty, lived-in vibe, which made it feel just right for the show’s tone. According to producer Eric Newman, the setting had a kind of visual rhythm that just clicked. It wasn’t just about the kidnapping, either.
La Candelaria also played host to the first scenes with DEA Agent Javier Peña and Colonel Carrillo. A tucked-away bar in the area, with just the right touch of noir, became Pena’s unofficial hangout. The location doubled as a character, quietly doing the heavy lifting in the background without ever drawing too much attention.
2) Comuna Manrique, Medellín (Season 1)
In Narcos season one, Escobar’s Robin Hood persona takes center stage — funding schools, building sports courts and essentially pouring money into Medellín’s hillside comunas. The real-life version of this story played out in an eastern neighborhood now named Barrio Pablo Escobar.
However, when it came to filming, the crew went about a mile north to Barrio Manrique. It brought the kind of vibrant, gritty atmosphere that could pass for the early days of Escobar’s empire. Producer Eric Newman called it “bustling” and “welcoming,” which helped the crew hit the ground running.
Locals added to the energy, while the layout of the neighborhood made it easier to stage those sweeping community scenes. In a show packed with tense moments and dark turns, this location gave the story some breathing room while still staying close to the history it was rooted in.
3) Villavicencio (Season 1)
Escobar’s sprawling estate becomes a key backdrop in the back half of Narcos season one. And yes — it was every bit as over-the-top in real life. The guy built himself a private kingdom, complete with 27 man-made lakes and a personal zoo stacked with elephants, giraffes, tigers and those now-infamous hippos.
Instead of shooting at the real thing, the team rebuilt Escobar’s hideout in Villavicencio, a rural stretch about four hours outside Bogotá. Wide open skies, long plains and a string of roadside asaderos — big open-air joints grilling slabs of beef over open flames.
It’s a spot that now feels laid-back and rustic, but for years was too risky for day trips, even for locals. That tension — beauty layered over danger fit right into the show’s rhythm. Villavicencio brought the space, the look and just enough remoteness to feel like a place where someone like Escobar could play king.
4) Casa de Nariño, Bogotá (Season 1)
During Pablo Escobar’s reign, President Cesar Gaviria was often seen on national TV, addressing a country in crisis. Most of those speeches — and the closed-door meetings with international diplomats — took place inside La Casa de Narino, the official presidential palace just a short walk from Bogota’s Plaza de Bolívar.
Narcos didn’t fake it here. The production actually got access to the real palace, shooting every Gaviria scene inside the same walls where history had played out. That’s rare. Most film sets have to recreate this kind of space on a soundstage or somewhere that "feels" presidential, but this was the real deal.
According to showrunner Eric Newman, some locations — like the Palace of Justice and Bolívar Square — are so iconic and unchanging that they just speak for themselves. No trick shots or CGI necessary, just a layer of historical texture that quietly elevates the scenes without ever pulling focus.
5) The rooftop in the finale (Season 2)
Escobar’s final moments weren’t shot where they had actually happened, even though the current owner of his last safe house was totally open to it. According to showrunner Eric Newman, the problem wasn’t permission; it was logistics.
The house had been converted into a themed brothel, complete with a stripper pole and wall art of Escobar himself, making it nearly impossible to strip back to 1993. So the team found a nearby interior that worked better on camera. As for the rooftop scene where Escobar was gunned down? That was also a workaround.
The real building had since grown a second floor, messing with the original sightline. Instead, the crew used a neighboring roof and laid down fresh tiles to spare Wagner Moura’s bare feet from the rough, decades-old surface. Small fixes, big payoff. It’s those kinds of behind-the-scenes decisions that shaped how Narcos recreated its most infamous moment.
6) Mexico City (Season 4)
After the death of location scout Carlos Munoz Portal, the Narcos: Mexico team took a hard look at safety. Showrunner Eric Newman worked closely with Mexican authorities to reassess their on-ground protocols before the cameras rolled. Filming primarily took place in and around Mexico City, with scenes also shot in other cities across the country.
The choice to film in Mexico wasn’t just about visuals — it was about grounding the story in the place it actually happened. “Authenticity is so important to us,” Newman explained. Just like how Narcos filmed its Colombian cartel arcs on Colombian soil, the story of the Guadalajara cartel called for boots on the ground in Mexico.
The landscape, the atmosphere, the everyday rhythm of local life — it all helps shape the world onscreen. And for a series rooted in real history, shooting anywhere else would’ve just felt off.
From bustling neighborhoods in Bogota to quiet plains outside the city, Narcos filmed across Colombia and Mexico to bring its story to life. The locations weren’t just backdrops — they helped anchor the series in a specific time and place. Each spot carried history. Each frame, a layer of truth beneath the fiction.
