The cable car
The city below you.
Karolynaroca — CC BY-SA 3.0 · ACHETORRES — CC BY-SA 4.0 · AmiGueko — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Felipe Restrepo Acosta — CC BY-SA 3.0
A tall green mountain overlooking central Bogotá, rising to about 3,152 metres, more than five hundred metres above the city. It was sacred to the Muisca people before the Spanish arrived and is now the capital's best-known landmark and symbol, its white summit visible from almost everywhere. Visitors ride to the top by cable car or funicular, a short trip that slowly reveals the city below. The fit can walk up a long, steep stone path that takes about an hour and a half, best in the morning. From the top is a stunning view of all Bogotá spread across the plain between the mountains, its towers and districts to the horizon, loveliest at and after sunset when the city lights up. The summit has restaurants, cafés, garden paths and an old church visited by pilgrims. The altitude is high and the air thin, and it is cold with changeable weather, so bring a jacket. Weekends are very crowded; weekday mornings are calmer. Many governments advise caution in Colombia, so check your own government's travel advice and watch for pickpockets in crowded places.
The city below you.
All of Bogotá.
For the fit.
Eastern hills above central Bogotá; cable car and funicular station on Calle 20 Este
The cable car and funicular are easier; the stone path takes about an hour and a half and is hard at this altitude, so do not walk before acclimatising, and go in the morning.
