Bogota, Colombia: Where to Play

We felt that the best way to immerse ourselves in Colombian culture and history was to visit the Bogota downtown area known as La Candelaria. Bogota is known as the Athens of South America as it has many museums, historical monuments, universities, and shopping. We wanted to experience all of these aspects in a day. Take a look at where we played below.

Where to Play

Our first excursion was to Monserrate Mountain. We started with a 20 minute taxi ride from our hotel in La Zona Rosa up the mountainside to get to the cable cars. Stepping out of the cab, we had our first encounter with a llama. He was a very poised llama, who wasn’t concerned with us taking pictures with him.We waited a few minutes to get into the cable cars and it was a short ride after that to the top of the Monserrate Mountain. The views at the top were incredible. It was a 360 degree view of Bogota city and the gorgeous mountains. The Monserrate Church sits on top of the mountain as well. It was built in the 17th century and can be seen from all over Bogota. See pics below.

Our second stop was the Museo del Oro, “The Gold Museum”. We really enjoyed this museum as it provides a unique perspective of Colombian history and culture through it’s connection to Gold. It explains how the indigenous peoples of Colombia interacted with Gold; from the unearthing of this precious material, to its usage by Shamans for a connection to the spiritual world and lastly, to its burial for usage in the afterlife. The gold artifacts were stunning and the exhibitions were well done.

Our third stop was Plaza de Bolivar or Bolivar Square. It is located in the heart of downtown Bogota. It is a beautiful square showcasing Colombia’s historical buildings, neo-classical architecture, and a 19th century cathedral. In the center of the square is a statue of Simon Bolivar, the famous general who freed Latin America from Spanish control. The square is a great place to people watch and….feed pigeons. Yes, we were realy surprised by the amounts of pigeons in this area. There are a lot of vendors selling seeds to the public for them to feed the birds. It was an interesting element to our experience at the square.