BEST OF BOGOTÁ AND ZIPAQUIRÁ IN 3 DAYS

You decided to go to Colombia and very likely you will land in Bogotá. And if not, you will very likely come across this city one or the other way, which bears the question, whether you should just skip the city or spend some time there. Most travel blogs will advise you to just skip Bogotá and don’t waste any time there. I want to give you some tips on how to spend 3 days in and around Bogotá that’ll be worth your time.

Public Transport & Where to Stay

Bogotá is one of the few cities in Colombia that actually have bus stops and use a public transportation card. You can neither pay by cash nor by credit card in the buses. You have to have this public transportation card. If you have time and want to save money, get that card. However, I would recommend using Uber or Cabify, because its fast, safe (especially at night) and is very affordable. Using the bus system might save you 1-3 $ but double or even triple your travelling time.
Ideally you stay in “La Candelaria”, which is the old town of Bogotá. Most of the sights are located here. Alternatively you can stay in “Parque 93”, which is hip bar and restaurant quarter, but about 30 min by Taxi away from La Candelaria.

DAY 1: Museo del Oro, Walking Tour and Montserrate

First Stop: Museo del Oro

The Museo del Oro is one of the largest collections of artesian gold worldwide. Yet, it inhabits merely 1 % of the Gold the Spanish Conquestadors have encountered at their arrival in the first half of the 16^th century. There are golden artefacts that spread all over the pre-hispanic time period. Some artefacts date back more than 2000 years. Furthermore, the museum inhabits the El Dorado artefact that resembles the origin of the legend of “The Golden City of El Dorado”.

Recommended time effort: 2-3 hours
Costs: 4,000 COP (about 1 $), Free on Sundays

What is the El Dorado legend?

In Pre-Colombian time the Muisca people lived in the area of what is called Bogotá today. They had a religion that is rather close to nature. A term that you will often hear in all of South America is “Pacha Mama”, which is Mother Earth. For many Pre-Colombian cultures gold was an important material in terms of being used for accessories, but it doesn’t resemble the same value as for people in the modern world or the Spaniards that arrived in Colombia in 1499. Gold had spiritual, or rather religious character. Whenever a new Muisca king was crowned a big ceremony would take place at Laguna Guatavita, a sacred lake 70 km outside of Bogotá. During the ceremony everybody would gather around the shores of the lake and the king would float in a raft with his closest people to the middle of the lake. There he throws massive amounts of golden artefacts into the lake to give the gold back to Pacha Mama and close the cycle of receiving and giving. The ceremony was important to ensure the success of the king. The Muisca believed that everything they take from the earth is only borrowed and has to be given back sometime.

The Spaniards saw this ceremony and thought these people must be crazy to just throw gold into a lake. How rich must these people be if they can allow themselves to throw away gold? The Spaniards went crazy and the mouth-to-mouth propaganda about this ceremony, called “El Dorado” took its turns until the legend was born, that a city of gold exists in Colombia. The actual “Lake of Gold” meaning Laguna Guatavita was completely emptied. The Spaniards enslaved the locals to force them to dig a vent into the walls of the lake that is located on a mountain. After all the water was gone, the Spaniards collected all the gold in the lake that gathered there over centuries, melted it down and transported it to Spain. The biggest robbery in history. A golden artefact that resembles this ceremony can be found in Museo del Oro.

Second Stop: Bogotá Walking Tour

Like most cities Bogotá has a company that offers Free Walking Tours. I did a Free Walking Tour with “Beyond Colombia” and it was absolutely amazing (Check their website here). Hector was our guide, he was very knowledgeable and had a professional way of telling the story. We even got to taste the Colombian traditional drink “chicha”, which was actually pretty nice. Walking Tours are offered daily at 10 AM and 2 PM and start in front of the entrance to Museo del Oro. I recommend to go to the Museo del Oro around 11 AM and then join the tour outside at 2 PM.

Time Effort: 2 ½ – 3 hours
Costs: Tip-Based, recommended are around 40,000 COP and it’s definetely worth every penny.

Third Stop: Amazing views from Cerro Montserrate

You’ll be done with the tour at around 4:45 PM. Take an Uber to Telefericó Montserrate and take the cable car to the top of the mountain. If you decide to amend this plan and you arrive earlier, you can also decide to walk up, which takes about an hour. Remember that the walking path closes at 5 PM. From Montserrate you will have a stunning view over the city. It is also perfect to see the sunset, if the Bogotá weather allows for it. Either way, you will have the chance to gaze at the marvelous lights of the city during the night, if you stay there for a while. Check hours here.

Recommended time effort: 2 hours
Costs: For the cable car 14,000 COP One-Way and 23,500 COP Round-Trip

Impressions of Cerro Montserrate

DAY 2: Graffiti District, Museo Nacional de Colombia, Food Tour, Parque de la 93

As soon as your ready, take an Uber and head to the Graffiti District. Walk around there for about an hour and get inspired by the beautiful art of both Colombian and international artists. Afterwards, head to the National Museum of Colombia (4,000 COP, free on Sundays) and extend your knowledge about Colombian heritage. However, make sure you are at the Museo del Oro at 2 PM when the food tour starts (check here). I haven’t taken the tour due to lack of time, but I wish I had! You can taste through several typical Colombian dishes and decide yourself, whether it is your thing or not. (From what I have tried, I’m not :D)

Impressions of Bogotas' Graffiti District

As with the walking tour the day before, you will finish the tour around 5 PM and can head to Parque de la 93 to grab some drinks and have some food. Parque de la 93 is a rather safe district with many bars, yet be cautious of pickpocketing and don’t do anything stupid like walking into dark streets with little people around, which applies to any city in South America.

DAY 3: Daytrip to Zipaquirá & Guatavita Lake

Today will be spectacular. Zipaquira is a town approx. 1 hour north of Bogotá and inherits the 1^st wonder of Colombia: La Catedral de Sal is literally a CATHEDRAL in a SALT MINE! And we’re not talking about some crosses in a small cavity. It is a huge structure with three naves. Walking around there makes you understand how important religion is for Colombian people. It shows how much effort they are willing to make to show their dedication to god.

Additionally, you can visit Lake Guatavita, where the El Dorado legend was born. Just don’t make the same mistake as I did and arrive too late. The Lake closes at 4 PM and you will have to be there by 2:30 PM at latest, because walking around the lake takes about 1 ½ hours with a guided tour (which is compulsory and included in the entrance price).

So, how do you manage to do the daytrip? You can either do it individually or in an organized tour, which you can book through local travel agencies or through BeyondColombia. The latter is surely the easiest way, but it will cost you 300.000 COP, which is quite expensive. Doing it individually isn’t very hard though and much cheaper, which is why I prefer it this way. So, here’s the instructions:

How to visit Zipaquira & Lake Guatavita idependently?

Take a cab to “Portal Norte” (around 10,000 COP)
From there jump into a bus heading for “Zipa” (40 min, 5,500 COP)
Tell the driver to get you off at a spot, from where you can walk to Catedral de Sal (~20 min)
The cheapest option is called “Basic” (Totally enough) and will cost you 77,500 COP as a foreigner (check here)
Then walk to “Terminal de Transporte Zipaquira” and take a bus to Guatavita (~12,000 COP)
Now you have two options:
- Hopping off in Sesquilé (1 – 1 ¼ h) and taking a cab to Guatavita Lake (40 min, ~25,000 COP)
- Tell the driver to stop at the crossing that is the entrance to the lake and either walk (1 ½ hours or hitchhike your way up (10-15 min). Often buses pass by that will gladly let you hop in for no more than 6,000 COP.
Admission to Guatavita Lake is 17,000 COP (Check here)
After you are done, take a transfer to Sesquilé or to the crossing where you hopped off. Wait there until a bus passes by to Bogotá. Don’t worry about being stuck there, it’s been literally no more than 5 min until a bus to Bogotá stopped by. They pass by very frequently and its literally the normal way-to-go to just stand at the street and wait for a bus to come by. It’s less of a deal than you might imagine! The cost are approx.. 12,000 COP and then you only have to take a cab or Uber to wherever you want to go from Portal Norte.

Impressions of the Salt Cathedral in Zipaquirá

You want more?

And that’s the plan for 3 days in Bogotá which aren’t boring at all! Don’t listen to people that tell you to skip the city. Sure, I wouldn’t stay there for an entire week, but 3 days are easy to fill and if you want it to be more chilled, you can split up the plan to 4 days. If you have more time to kill or want to see more of the city, here are a few additional destinations for you.

Jardín Botanico
It’s nothing super special but it is nice to take a walk there, when you’re stressed out by the city. They even have a greenhouse for tropical plants, because Bogotá really isn’t as warm and cozy one might expect. The Walk through these greenhouses is quite nice and I actually learned a bit about tropical and arid plants that day.

Admission: 5000 COP (Just the Garden) 15.000 COP (With the Tropicario)

Parque Metropolitano Simón Bolívar
A quiet park, where you can get some fresh air and rest your ears. Its much bigger than Jardín Botanico and is free.

Usaquén Flea Market
I haven’t been there, but its supposed to be a really cool fela market that is always opened un Sundays. Maybe you’ll find some really cool souvenirs? 🙂

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