bogota travel Archives - Gerbers UnderWay

We love the freedom to go where ever we want and be on our own time frame. That means we always find ourselves renting a car and planning to drive to where we want to go. We have driven ourselves around many countries and large cities and we figured Bogota would be no different. Turns out there is a lot you need to know to drive in Bogota.

First of all there are license plate restrictions to help limit traffic within the city. On odd days you can drive if the last digit on your plate is 1,2,3,4 or 5. On even days you can drive if the last digit on your plate is 6,7,8,9, or 0. The restriction is in place from 6am to 9pm Monday-Friday. We rented a car from Tuesday-Friday during our trip. We didn’t realize this rule lasted most of the daytime hours. We were actually not supposed to drive the car on Friday so our rental company allowed us to return it Saturday morning instead with no additional charge.

The second thing we didn’t quite realize is just how much traffic there really is and how much time it takes to get out of the city. We quickly changed our plans and combined two of our day trips to allow us to get the most out of our time outside the city.

Our recommendation would be to combine any items close together on your list vs splitting things up and trying to drive in/out of the city each day. Another great idea would be to stay outside the city for a few days to better allow you to take your day trips and drive back into the city on a day your allowed to drive.

It isn’t just the volume of traffic, driving in the city is stressful. There are motorcycles everywhere and people on bicycles (even on the highway there were people on bicycles). The motorcycles take any opening they can and often passed in-between the lanes of traffic on either side of the car. The buses and collectivos also drive quite aggressively to keep their schedule. We did it and we were fine but we wouldn’t recommend driving here if you haven’t driven in Latin America before.

Given the restrictions we only got to three of the four day trips we had planned ahead of time. We were planning to do the a hike to Colombia’s tallest waterfall- La Chorrera. We ended up cutting that out of our trip and spending more time in the city given the challenge it is to get in/out. We did read that you can take a bus from the city to this hike if you do want to check it out.

Now onto the day trips we did actually take:

From where we rented our car it took us about an hour and a half to get to Chicaque park. This park is not far outside the city. It was the city traffic that made the trip take so long. The park is privately owned and there is a restaurant at the parking lot and a refugio along the trails where you can eat or stay the night. We read online that there was a cost to enter but when we arrived the gate was open and there was no entrance fee. We walked the trail down to the refugio, stopped for lunch then continued on to the waterfall before heading back to the car. In total the hike was about 4.6 miles.

What we weren’t super prepared for was that this hike is basically all downhill to get to the refugio so the hike back up is quite challenging. It was cloudy while we were there but the breaks in the clouds allowed us views of the large rock cliffs surrounding the trail. This place is beautiful and well worth a visit.

There are many species of birds in the region that you can see and hear on the trail. We saw a few humming birds up very close to us. Unfortunately we couldn’t get our camera out in time to capture them. You will also find some very friendly dogs along the trails here. We had one follow us all the way from the refugio back to the parking lot. He hiked with us for almost an hour, waiting for us as we fell behind.

The second day we left the city we decided to combine a visit to the Salt Cathedral in Zipaquirá with a trip to Laguna Guatavita and the Guatavita Village. All of these are north east of the city. We left our apartment early to arrive at the cathedral when it opened at 9am. It takes about an hour and a half from where we stayed in the city (again traffic is a big part of this). Tickets cost us 98000 COP each to enter the cathedral. We were given an audio guide so we could listen in English along the way. Most of the guide was focused on explaining the religious importance of various structures in the church. There was some information on the mine and the construction but that wasn’t the main focus of the audio guide.

We aren’t religious people, we visited more for the experience of seeing the old mine and the beauty of the cathedral they have turned it into. We ended up only listening to some of the guide along the way but we still really enjoyed our visit. In total it took us about an hour to go through, explore and take pictures. There are restaurants and other attractions on site around the cathedral, most were not open yet as we were there earlier in the morning. It does get crowded during the day so we would recommend first thing in the morning if you want to avoid crowds.

From there we headed to the Laguna Guatavita. We had read mixed reviews online and not a lot of very recent reviews. We were hoping to be able to walk the trails on our own but we were told we needed to pay 20,500 COP a person and we had to stay with the local guide. We were also told the tour ended on the other side of the mountain and then we would need to take transportation to get back to our car. The tour is about two hours long.There was a tour leaving immediately when we arrived at noon and then again in twenty minutes. We made the tour starting immediately. The tour was in Spanish only. We do understand more than we can speak but we did not pick up on most of what was discussed.

The tour starts with a stop at a ceremonial house made in the style of the indigenous Muisca people. We all sat in the house and were given a very lengthy bit of education. It would have been better if we spoke Spanish and could understand. We were there about 20-25 minutes. Then we walked a very short distance and made another stop to talk more. We had a total of two stops along the path before even starting to climb the steps up towards the laguna. We were pretty antsy and frustrated that we had barely gone anywhere at this point.

We didn’t get to the top of the trail to see the lake until nearly the end of the two hour tour. There was much more talking once we got to the lake but at least then we could take in the views while our guide was talking and we weren’t understanding. The tour ended at the first viewing platform for the lake. From there, we were free to walk to the other viewing platforms, take pictures and take our time enjoying the view. The trail leads you down to an area where there is a small food/drink stall with snacks and several buses. We found the driver taking people back to the parking lot and after waiting for about 10 minutes for anyone else needing a ride we left. We didn’t see most of our tour group so we actually are not sure if we had to take the bus back or if we would have been allowed to just turn around on the trail and walk back to our car. Either way the bus took us back no trouble and only charged us 5000 COP total for both of us.

The lake is beautiful but we would have found the experience much more enjoyable if we were able to walk around on our own or if the tour was also offered in English. The signs along the trail that we stopped at were in English so that did give us some context. We feel the lake is worth a visit if your combining it with another stop outside the city but we wouldn’t recommend leaving the city to only see this, it just isn’t worth the hassle driving in/out of the city.

If you want to explore a crater lake like this and be able to hike around and be on your own check out our post on Quilotoa in Ecuador.

From there we drove down to the village of Guatavita which is about 30 minutes south of the laguna. We found parking for free in the center and walked around the main square admiring the architecture.

We had a really good late lunch at Restaurante posada del tomine before heading back into Bogota.

Our drive back into the city from Guatavita took us through the countryside before crossing back over the mountains into the city closer to where we were staying. This was a much more enjoyable drive than going through the city. We really enjoyed the scenery here. We also pasted several cute little towns/areas as we got closer to the city. If we had more time we would have loved to explore this area some more.

The rest of this trip we spent in the city of Bogota. You can find more information on that in this post- A week of life in Bogota.

There are many other day trips and areas to explore near Bogota. What did we miss, where have you traveled in Colombia. Leave us a comment below.

We aren’t usually big city people but after lots of searching for cheap flights we decided on a week long trip to Bogota. Typically we tend to drive around, staying at different spots along the way. This trip we decided to rent an apt in the city and stay the entire trip. We got a discounted price for staying 7 nights and we loved the apartment and its location.

We stayed north of the old town, La Candelaria district where most of the main tourist attractions are located. We were still within walking distance and we had several good restaurants nearby.

We love starting any trip with a free walking tour if the city we are in offers them. We have never been disappointed and this time was no different. Our flight landed at 5am and we took the 10am walking tour with Beyond Colombia that day to get a lay of the land. This tour happens every day at 10am and 2pm. It leaves from the gold museum (museo del oro).

The tour will take you through the historic district of La Candelaria and will make a stop at la Mercada de la Concordia. At the market you can grab a quick snack and as part of the walking tour you will get to try chicha. Chicha is a traditional drink made by the indigenous people of this region, it’s made from fermenting corn.

Near the market you’ll find a small street full of chicha bars where you can try more chicha variations if you’d like. This drink is not mass produced so each bar ferments their own. We stopped in at el refugió del gato later in our trip to share a bottle of chicha. It certainly isn’t our favorite drink but worth a try. You have to have it while you are in Colombia!

You won’t have time for a full meal at la Mercada de la Concordia on the walking tour but we would strongly recommend returning here for lunch. The place is full of locals and the food is amazing! There are several food stalls/restaurants in the market to chose from and you can’t go wrong here.

The walking tour will also take you through the main plaza- Plaza de Bolivar. The plaza is huge and full of locals and tourists. We enjoyed walking through here several times on our trip. Earlier in the day it is less crowded and better for getting your photos.

You will also walk through- Chorro de Quevedo Plaza which is smaller than the main plaza. It is right in the heart of La Candelaria and is said to be where the city was founded. You’ll find lots of students and young people here, hanging out enjoying chicha or other drinks from the small restaurants along the edge of the plaza.

Along the way our guide pointed out several great places to eat or drink. We got a lot of history of the city and country as well as education on the current political situation from our guide.

After our walking tour we stopped for lunch and then went to the Museo de Botero. Botero is an artist from Colombia who depicts people and figures in large, exaggerated volume. He donated a large portion of his art collection to the city which is now housed in the museum. He wanted to ensure that everyone had access to view his collection so the museum is free to enter. You’ll find pieces from many other famous artists here as well.

Our apartment was north of La Candelaria, near the Santa Fe district. We walked down the main street- Carrera Siete to get from our apartment to La Candelaria. In Bogota all the streets are either carreras (running north and south) or calles (running east and west). A portion of Carrera Siete is always for pedestrians only. Street venders of all kinds line the street selling anything and everything you can imagine. This is especially true on Sundays. We happened to arrive on a Sunday so we got some great insight into life in the city just walking down the street.

While you walk down this street you will see many, many stands with people selling grilled arepas. They will warm them on the grill for you, in butter and they are AMAZING! You cannot miss the arepas! Many stands will have several sauces you can top your arepa with. In the morning we grabbed arepas for breakfast and added a blackberry sauce on top, so good!

Also of note on Sundays many of the city streets close down to allow bikes to use the road. This makes walking around the city nicer because there are less cars but the number of people on bikes is crazy! Make sure you pay attention and keep out of their way while your walking around!

Our second day in the city we took advantage of a couple more free tours to really learn all we could about the city. We started the morning on a Graffiti tour. We went through Bogota Graffiti Tour because we read they were the best experience for this type of tour. Beyond Colombia does also offer a Graffiti tour which is likely also very good. The Bogota graffiti tour starts at 10am or 2pm daily at the Liberator monument in the Gabriel García Márquez Park for Journalists. The tour will explain how graffiti started in the city, how it became decriminalized and evolved into the beautiful street art that covers much of the city today.

After the graffiti tour we spent the late afternoon back with Beyond Colombia on their free food tour. The tour happens on the weekdays at 2pm, again starting at the gold museum. The tour stops at several street venders and small restaurants providing education about the food and making recommendations as to what to try. If you try everything they recommend you will spend in total about $10 USD. Items we tried on the tour include- arepa de huevo (fried arepa from the Caribbean region of the country), buñuelos ( cheese and corn dough fried with sweet jam inside), grilled arepa de queso, obleas (waffle sandwich with cream, blackberry and other sweet fillings), aguardiente liquor, chocolate completo ( hot chocolate served with cheese which the locals break into pieces, dip in the chocolate to get it melty then eat), and high end coffee at Arte y Pasión Café.

The group size was very large which meant that we took over pretty much everywhere we stopped. It worked okay but we felt it would have been a better experience in a smaller group. We are very independent travelers and aren’t afraid to struggle through trying to order from street venders even though we aren’t fluent in the language and may not know exactly what we are ordering. For us, we felt like most of what we tried we could have gotten on our own.

We enjoyed the food tour and met some great people but we weren’t feeling like the tour was a must do. The last stop, however, the Arte y Pasión Café changed our mind! This place was amazing and we got to learn about different techniques used to make a quality cup of coffee. This experience would have been challenging without the tour as most people in the city don’t speak English. If we didn’t have our guide we would have missed most of what we learned. We enjoyed the coffee here so much we went back a few more times during our time in the city. They have two locations in La Candelaria. One near the gold museum and another near the main plaza.

While we are on the topic of food here are a few other places we really enjoyed in the La Candelaria district and closer to our apartment near the Santa Fe district:

Outside of the Gabriel Garcia Marquez Cultural Center there is a teal ice cream stand- Selva Nevada. They have a variety of flavors including many fruits from the Amazon region of the country. You can sample two flavors for free before deciding. The people working gave us their recommendations as well. We really enjoyed all the flavors we tried!

Near the Plaza de Bolivar you will find one of the oldest restaurants in the city, La Puerta Falsa. Every blog we read said this place was a must and it certainly is! This is not a tourist only place, it is full of locals and the prices are amazing! It is very, very small and will be packed everyday.

We strongly recommend going earlier in the morning, before 10am to get a seat without waiting in line. This is a great place to try chocolate completo. It comes with cheese as well as buttered bread. It is a snack in itself so come hungry! You also must order a Tamale here. The tamales are wrapped in leaves and filled with chicken and chickpeas. The tamale here was hands down the best thing we ate in Bogota! They are also huge, very filling and very cheap!

Near all the chicha bars, across from la Mercada de la Concordia there is a small shop/bakery selling baked goods and snacks as well as drinks- Panaderia Donde el flaco. You’ll see several tables in the front but if you walk through the narrow hallway to the back of the place it opens up into a nice sitting area with several tables, chairs and couches. We were told about this place by our first Beyond Colombia guide. We ordered a beer and after a few minutes sitting at a table up front we were escorted to the back area. The beer here is $1 USD a bottle. Our guide said “it doesn’t get more local than this place”.

Near our apartment, we found Calle Bonita which is a beautiful street full of colorful buildings and restaurants. We walked by several times at off times of day before figuring out that these restaurants are open for lunch but they close around 4-5pm. Lunch seems to be the main meal in the city. Restaurants are busy and people seem to eat their large meal then. At typical dinner time for us from the U.S, a lot of restaurants near our apartment were closed. Do go to Calle Bonita and sit inside or outside to enjoy a great lunch!

Plaza de comidas La Perseverancia is a small market near where we stayed. This place was packed at lunch time, we never actually ate here but it seemed to be a popular place with the locals.

Lima Cantón- This place was right around the corner from our apartment. The ceviche here was some of the best we have ever had!

Restaurante Aria- Also very close to our apartment. We were craving pizza and beer and were very happy with our meal here. The restaurant is small but has several stories and large windows so you can sit higher up and have a view of the street and surrounding area while you eat.

Must do within the city:

You cannot miss the Museo del Oro (gold museum)! The museum is closed on Mondays and free on Sundays. Tickets cost 5000 COP a person. There is an audio guide you can purchase as well but all exhibits are in English so we didn’t find it necessary. The museum is three stories and has a very impressive collection of gold artifacts dating back to prior to Spanish Colonization of the region.

Monserrate is a mountain on the edge of the city, standing at 10,341 ft tall. Go on a clear day and you will get great views of the city down below. There is a white church at the top as well as several food and drink stands. To get to the top you can take the funicular, cable car or hike. We opted for taking the funicular. We arrived in the morning and had only a short line. This is a popular attraction so it does get busy later in the day.

Every blog post we ready showed beautiful pictures of Santuario Nuestra Señora del Carmen. This is a large red and white stripy church near La Candelaria. It is supposed to be open in the mornings until 11:30am. When we walked by the front door was open and we watched two girls go in. We took a photo of the outside then crossed the street to go inside. As we did the guard shook his head at us and closed the door. We aren’t sure why we weren’t allowed inside but we had to admire it from the outside only.

The Chapinero district is worth spending some time in. We took a cab in the morning and started off at Libertario coffee roasters. The coffee and the food here were amazing! Chapinero is full of coffee shops and restaurants. There are also several streets lined with cute houses. You’ll find very different architecture than in other areas of the city. After wandering around for the morning we stopped in at Vida café y jardín for some fresh juice before continuing on. This cafe has a great little garden area where you can escape the busy, noisy city streets.

The main plaza in Chapinero surrounds Iglesia Nuestra Senora de Lourdes church. You’ll find street vendors and locals just hanging out in the square.

Two important apps you will likely want while visiting Bogota include Cabify and Rappi.

Uber is illegal in Colombia although the app does work and lots of people use it without any issue. If you do use Uber, the driver will likely ask you to sit up front so that it appears as if they are driving a friend. We read from several different sources that using Cabify is the best way to ensure you will be safe when getting a cab. On the Cabify app you can chose a cab or a private car (we are pretty sure the private cars are just Ubers on a different app). We used both private cars and cabs from the Cabify app and found the cab drivers to be better drivers. You can pay on the app just as you do with Uber so you know how much your ride will cost before you get in the car. We never had any issues with Cabify and felt safe with every driver we had.

Rappi is the equivalent of uber eats. You can order take out and have it delivered right to you. You will see Rappi delivery bikes all over the city. We used this app to order dinner a few nights after getting back to our apartment after day trips outside the city. The cost is much lower than using uber eats in the U.S.

During our trip we did a few day trips outside the city. We rented a car to drive ourselves. For more on those trips and driving in and around Bogota check our our post- Day Trips and Driving in Bogota Colombia.

We enjoyed the city and felt safe walking around and exploring on our own everywhere we went. Colombia is a beautiful country that we would love to come back to. What do you love about Colombia, let us know in the comments below.