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Bogota

Discover Bogota

Visiting Bogota

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If ever there were a city in the clouds, Bogotá would fit the description aptly. Situated at a dizzying 8646 feet above sea level in the center of Colombia, Bogotá receives its fair share of clouds. The city is a beautiful collage of sky scrapers standing cheek and jowl with colonial churches, universities, theatre buildings and shanty townships. Diverse influences by the original Indian residents, Spanish and English settles give the city its unique flavor.

Abject poverty co-exists with fabulous wealth. Chaotic traffic scenarios and quiet boulevards evocative of a bygone era are both to be found here. It is also a modern and pulsating city with futuristic architecture and its fair share of graffiti. The markets of this Colombian city, pulsate with restaurants, bookstores, street vendors, thieves, beggars, et’ al.

Bogotá traditionally has been renowned for its wet and cold weather, and people have been known to take recourse to the umbrella at literally the drop of a hat. Much like one might do in London, waiting for the rain to stop while watching it beat on the window panes, while one contemplates eternity over a cup of coffee is something you might just as easily do in Bogotá. It however has none of the dreary brooding character of London and is in fact very Latin in its joi de verve.

A visitor is spoiled for choice in so far as things to do are concerned. From the classical music, aficionado to the pub crawler, from the culture connoisseur to the casual tourist Bogotá offers the best options truly representative of the classical South American experience- awe inspiring, soul stirring and on an epic scale.

How to Experience Bogota

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Geography

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Climate Patterns

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Attractions Intro

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Bogotá rewards a visitor who picks a handful of things deliberately rather than trying to see everything -- here's where to start.

For a first-time view of the city: ride the cable car or funicular up Monserrate, the mountain that overlooks the entire savanna, or climb Guadalupe Hill alongside it for a quieter, less-crowded version of the same view.

For history and culture in one afternoon: anchor your visit around Bolívar Square, then walk to the Gold Museum for the single best collection of pre-Columbian goldwork in South America, and the Museo Botero for Fernando Botero's own donated collection, free to enter and a short walk from the square.

For a different pace: spend a morning at the Bogotá Botanical Garden, home to thousands of native Andean and Amazonian plant species, or wander 93 Park in the afternoon, a green square ringed by cafés and restaurants that's popular with locals rather than built for tourists.

For families: the Maloka Museum and the Planetarium of Bogotá are both hands-on and interactive rather than look-but-don't-touch, and travel well for kids on a trip that's otherwise heavy on churches and museums.

Whatever else you fit in, save at least half a day for wandering rather than sightseeing on a schedule -- La Candelaria's colonial streets and Chapinero's cafés reward walking around without a fixed destination more than they reward a checklist.

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