Bogota Unveiled -
Fun Facts and Insider Tips for Your Visit
WE LOVE BOGOTA…so much so we decided to pack up and move 1000’s of miles from a different continent to this vibrant city. Bogota is the largest city in Colombia with a ton of hidden and underground things to do once you dig in.. Bogota has everything you could ask for out of a large city including the best restaurants, bars and nightclubs in the country! On top of that it also has a unique and rich history predating the city’s founding in 1538.
The city is grittier than most other cities in Colombia but that is exactly one of the reasons we love it. If you like art this is the city for you. Graffiti has taken over the streets in the best and worst ways possible. You’ll find everything from beautiful intricate murals to poorly done throw ups and everything in between. With 38 Universities, the city has a creative and unique lifestyle among the young locals.
The city is grittier than most other cities in Colombia but that is exactly one of the reasons we love it. If you like art this is the city for you. Graffiti has taken over the streets in the best and worst ways possible. You’ll find everything from beautiful intricate murals to poorly done throw ups and everything in between. With 38 Universities, the city has a creative and unique lifestyle among the young locals.
Bogota often gets a bad rap online by other bloggers but this reputation is quickly changing. Speak to any backpacker visiting La Candelaria and you will often hear that the city exceeded their expectations and they should have planned for a longer visit.
But what is our main reason for loving Bogota? You have access to the big city vibes but you are also able to escape to nature quickly and easily. Bogota is a gateway to A TON of attractions and locations rarely explored by foreign visitors. From the largest waterfall in Colombia to caves and swimming holes. There are hidden gems in all directions out of Bogota that you will want to discover.
Table of Contents
- 4 Fun Facts about Bogota
- Insider Tips
- Must-see Attractions
- Where to Stay
- Getting Around
- Safety
- Budget
4 Fun Facts about Bogota
- Bogota is the 3rd Tallest capital city in the world!
- Bogota is home to the world’s largest collection of pre-Columbian gold artifacts located at the Museo del Oro (Museum of Gold). This museum is definitely worth a visit.
- Every Sunday the city closes off over 120 kms/74 miles of streets to vehicles to encourage people to get outside and exercise on bikes and other ways. The event is called Ciclovia! And it is a blast. Bogota is very bike friendly and is home to the largest network of bicycle routes in all of Latin America.
- Bogotá comes from the Muisca word Bacatá, which means "(enclosure) outside the farm fields". The Muisca are the pre-Columbian Indigenous tribe that occupied the area that is now Bogota before the Spanish arrived and brutally took control of the land.
Insider Tips
Open San Felipe Block Party
When to Visit? We recommend trying to visit during a special event. Some of our favorites include:
- Open San Felipe - a huge block party in the San Felipe neighborhood that is all about art! Open San Felipe occurs the first weekend of the month several times throughout the year. Explore over 60 galleries and unique exhibits.
- Rock Al Parque - the largest rock concert in the country and it’s free! This year it occurs November 11-13th.
- Christmas Markets - Christmas is huge in Colombia! What better way to get into the spirit than by visiting one of Bogota’s Christmas markets.
- Festival Centro - is a Cultural music festival that occurs annually in the center of Bogota.
- Estereo Picnic - This festival is located just outside of Bogota and has the biggest lineup of international artists in the country. Artists for this year's festival include; Drake, Modest Mouse, Billie Ellish and Wu Tang Clan.
- Baum Festival - If you are more into the Rave scene Baum Festival is for you! This is the largest electronic music festival in the country and it occurs annually in Bogota.
If you are not able to visit during one of the events above at the very least…plan to visit Bogota on a Sunday. Every Sunday the streets of Bogota become alive. You have Ciclovia and numerous markets all over the city only open on Sundays.
- Las Aguas, A real gritty flea markets in La Candelaria
- Septima Market
- Usaquen Market
- and of course Ciclovia
- You might want to plan more time in Colombia…or at the very least hold off on booking your next flight. Time and time again we hear that people wish they had planned more time in Colombia instead of moving on to other countries in South America or elsewhere. 9 times out of 10 we hear from our guests that Colombia was their favorite country in Latin America. Why do you think we decided to move here?
- Weather - We personally love the weather in Bogota. Light jacket weather year round is our type of climate.
- Bogota is a city of Eternal Fall with an average temperature of 14℃ or 57.2℉ year round
- Bogota’s weather can be unpredictable. We always dress in layers! Jeans, sweater/long sleeve, jacket/rain jacket and boots/tennis shoes. You definitely don’t need flip flops when visiting unless you want to let everyone know you are a tourist!
- Dry Season- many blogs will recommend visiting between December - March…we don’t necessarily agree with this. We personally love the weather in Bogota year round. The rain in Bogota is almost always in scattered showers. So while there may be more rain from April - November it very rarely rains the entire day. The rain is almost always for short increments. While visiting during December - March you will have the least amount of rain but there will also be the most amount of visitors.
- How to avoid Altitude Sickness - Coca leaves are your best friend! This is not at all Colombia’s most well known export and it is not going to get you high in any way…Coca leaves are sacred to the Andean people and have been used to relieve the symptoms of altitude sickness, headaches, sore throats, and upset stomach aches for over 1000 years. Anytime we have friends in town visiting one of the first things we give them is coca tea, coca tinctures, or mambe.
Street food in Plaza de Bolivar, La Candelaria
- Where to find the Best Street Food in Bogota
- Plaza de Bolivar in La Candelaria is a great spot to try delicious Colombian street food.
- Some of our favorite treats include:
- Canelazo - a hot fruit and cinnamon drink that is sure to warm you up on a cold evening. You can add whiskey, rum, tequila or Colombia’s national spirit Aguadiente to your canelazo
- Obleas - a stuffed wafer dessert. You might notice pictures of Mick Jagger on different oblea carts as he visited back in 2016 and tried some
- Empanadas - little pockets of dough typically stuffed with chicken, beef or veggie
- Arepas - maybe the most “Colombian” of all of the street foods. Arepas are a type of food made of ground maize dough often stuffed with a filling such as cheese. These are one of the most popular breakfast dishes in Colombia but are great to eat as a snack at all times of the day.
- Some of our favorite treats include:
- Mercado de Paloquemao is the largest food market in Bogota and by far one of our favorite places to visit. In fact, we do all of our grocery shopping here weekly!
Bogota is the perfect gateway to reach unique places that are on and off the Gringo Trail. Access to these unique places is the reason we decided to open up a motorcycle tour company in Bogota. Some of our favorite places outside of Bogota include; - Villa de Leyva - a beautiful colonial town home to the second largest Colonial town square in all of Latin America
- Ventanas de Tisquizoque - a beautiful series of waterfalls cascading from an even more impressive cave
Las Gachas swimming holes in Guadalupe
- Las Gachas - some of our favorite swimming holes in Colombia! Las Gachas are located on a river that you can slide down into natural “jacuzzis”
- Los Llanos - this region only recently opened up and is covered in gorgeous waterfalls, rivers and swimming holes
Must-see Attractions
- La Chorrera Waterfall -the tallest waterfall in Colombia and just outside of Bogota! It blows my mind that more people don’t visit this waterfall while visiting Bogota. When we have friends in town for a short period of time this is the first place we bring them. Located only 45 minutes from La Candelaria it is often quicker to get here than the Northern part of the city! Once you arrive you can hike to the base of the waterfall for breathtaking views. (If you do the hike I recommend detouring to Cava de Mono/Monkey Cave for a brief foot-break and great view of La Chorrera.) We take guests to La Chorrera daily on our 1 Day Motorcycle Tour!
La Chorrera Waterfall
- Botero Museum (Museo de Botero) - explore the works of Colombia’s most famous artist, Fernando Botero. The Botero Museum is a free museum located in La Candelaria featuring 208 pieces of art with 123 pieces of Botero’s.
- Gold Museum (Museo de Oro) - home to the world’s largest collection of pre-Columbian gold artifacts located in La Candelaria.
- Monserrate - Ok to be completely honest we actually prefer a trip up to the Virgin de Guadalupe/Guadalupe Hill any day over a trip to Monserrate which is why we take our guests there instead on our motorcycle tours. The view is better and higher and it is far less crowded and “touristy”.
With that said, we understand that it is also more difficult to get to so if you can’t make it to Guadalupe Hill a visit to Monserrate is the next best option. Monserrate is a sanctuary located on top of the mountains overlooking Bogota. It is located on the edge of the La Candelaria neighborhood. You can hike to the top for free or you can take a cable car or a funicular (a sort of train that takes you up the side of the mountain.) - Paloquemao Market (Mercado de Paloquemao) - I mentioned this earlier when talking about street food but in my opinion it is a must visit so it should be mentioned again. Located only a 15 minute drive from La Candelaria.
Fruit in Mercado de Paloquemao
Where to Stay
- La Candelaria - You may have noticed a trend so far while reading this article…almost everything we recommend is close to or in La Candelaria. La Candelaria is the only part of Bogota that is precolonial and it is both the historic and tourist center of the city. La Candelaria is filled with great restaurants, museums, bars and plenty of activities to keep you busy during your time in Bogota. It is also where our office is located if you are interested in joining us on a tour! Our favorite place to stay in La Candelaria is the Cranky Croc Hostel.
- Chapinero - is the cool hip artsy LGBTQ friendly neighborhood of Bogota filled with trendy University students. It is a diverse neighborhood filled with a thriving nightlife, antique shops, designer boutiques, bars, art galleries, delicious restaurants and much more.
- Usaquen - is a vibrant neighborhood located in the Northern part of the city. It is full of bars, restaurants, antique stores, and award winning eateries. Even if you don’t stay in this neighborhood we highly recommend visiting on a Sunday when the market is also open, although any day of the week is a great time to see the neighborhood.
- Parque 93 - is by far one of the best parts of Bogota. Located in the Northern part of the city this neighborhood is more “upscale” than any other neighborhood we recommend staying in so far. Your best bet is to find an Airbnb if you want to stay here. The neighborhood is filled with high-end restaurants all within walking distance.
Aerial view of Parque 93
- Zona Rosa - This is another one of our favorite neighborhoods in Bogota and it is also one of the most if not the most upscale neighborhoods in the city. Home to the Andino Mall (the nicest mall in Colombia), tons of cocktail bars, and high end restaurants. Zona Rosa has the best Andres Carne de Res location in Bogota if you aren’t able to make it to Chia on your visit.
Getting Around
- We’re biased: Our favorite way to get around Bogota is on motorcycles… This is how we always get around the city and all of Colombia. You may have heard about the bad traffic in Bogota but you probably haven’t heard of the road Avenida Circunvalar. This is the road we take to navigate Bogota streets without having to deal with traffic. Circunvalar runs the length of Bogota on the side of the mountains and avoids the heavily congested highways of the city. We offer daily rentals of our motos in addition to our tours.
Motorcycle tour in Villa de Leyva
- Rideshare - Uber and inDrive - You're probably familiar with Uber but if you have never heard of inDrive I recommend downloading it to get around while you are in Bogota. inDrive allows you to choose your own fare for your ride and drivers will counter offer so you can meet somewhere in the middle. It is more often than not cheaper than Uber.
You can also select an option to pay in cash when using rideshares in Colombia! Drivers prefer this option so that is the way we pay when taking rideshares. - Taxis - Taxis used to have a bad rap in Bogota but those days are over. We will often use taxis if rideshares are price surging. Because they use a meter the price can be cheaper. We also always use taxis when leaving the airport.
- Bicycles - Bogota is very bike friendly and is home to the largest network of bicycle routes in all of Latin America. We have an American friend that lived in Bogota for 6 years and he solely rode bicycles.
- Transmilenio - this is the huge bus system that covers all of Bogota. It is by far the cheapest way to get around if you are on a budget! But it is also the slowest way to get around.
Safety
Bogota has vastly improved its safety over the past few years. The fact is Bogotano’s are sick and tired of crime and it shows. With that said, it is always recommended to exercise caution in any large city. Keep an eye on your belongings and don’t show off flashy and expensive items.
As Anthony Bourdain once said, “If you want to find bad people in Colombia, you can surely find them, as you could in New York or Los Angeles. But nowhere have my crew and I been treated better or with more kindness and generosity. I’d bring my family on vacation there in a heartbeat. And hope to soon. As I said before: Colombians are proud. Let them show you what they are proud of.”
Robberies do occur and it is important to exercise general caution and follow common sense safety practices while traveling in any destination. There is a saying in Colombia, “Dar papaya” literally “to give papaya”, meaning “don't put yourself in a position where people can easily take advantage of you”. There is one thing in common we have found from everyone we have heard of who has run into trouble in Colombia….They were highly intoxicated and wandering around late at night. Don’t be that guy!
As Anthony Bourdain once said, “If you want to find bad people in Colombia, you can surely find them, as you could in New York or Los Angeles. But nowhere have my crew and I been treated better or with more kindness and generosity. I’d bring my family on vacation there in a heartbeat. And hope to soon. As I said before: Colombians are proud. Let them show you what they are proud of.”
Robberies do occur and it is important to exercise general caution and follow common sense safety practices while traveling in any destination. There is a saying in Colombia, “Dar papaya” literally “to give papaya”, meaning “don't put yourself in a position where people can easily take advantage of you”. There is one thing in common we have found from everyone we have heard of who has run into trouble in Colombia….They were highly intoxicated and wandering around late at night. Don’t be that guy!
Budget
Colombia is very affordable! A US dollar usually goes 4 times as far or more!
Colombia is actually much cheaper than Mexico!
- Accommodation is typically 33-66% cheaper in Colombia.
- Colombia: $30-50 per night
- Mexico: $40-70 per night
- Food is typically 33-50% cheaper in Colombia.
- Colombia: $10-20 per day
- Mexico: $15-25 per day
- Transportation is typically 100% cheaper in Colombia.
- Colombia: $5-10 per day
- Mexico: $10-15 per day
- Activities are typically 33-50% cheaper in Colombia.
- Colombia: $10-20 per day
- Mexico: $15-25 per day
View from Cable Car leading up to Monserrate
Bogota is a city rich in culture and filled with incredible things to do! It would take you years to experience everything this amazing city has to offer. We hope that you get to experience this unique city and fall in love with Bogota as much as we have! If you have any questions about Bogota or what to do when visiting Colombia feel free to reach out to us at goloco@mototours.co ! We are always happy to help and give advice to anyone visiting this fantastic country.