OUTSIDE OF BOGOTÁ
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back in time. Hospedaje El Mirador de Pueblo Viejo is a nicer option with
comfortable rooms, a single goes for 70,000 COP. Please check with the hotel for
the double room price. There is a restaurant called Charly Restaurant that
serves a good typical breakfast and a healthy bowl of fruit.
Guatavita is a good place to visit and spend a relaxing night. You can wake up
early and check out the Laguna Guatavita, a small round lake that was sacred for
the Muisca — each year, the cacique dusted himself in powdered gold and dove
in the lake. This was the origin of the Spanish legend of El Dorado, the golden
man. You need to take a Bogotá bound bus (14 kilometers) and ask the driver to
let you off at the access road entrance. You must walk 7 kilometers straight
uphill to get to the Laguna Guatavita entrance. It's highly recommended that
you bring water and food as there are few services in this area. On the
weekends there are shuttles to the Laguna Guatavita park entrance from the
town of Guativita. Travelers can choose to try to hitch or walk the distance. It's a
nice, but challenging hike to the entrance. You must pay 13,000 COP for the park
entry fee. From the park entrance it's another 20 minutes to the Laguna
Guatavita. This lake has a long history of exploration for mythical gold. It's a
crater with a lake inside and is worth the visit. There are information plaques in
both Spanish and English throughout the hike in the park. If you want to hike
back to the road you can leave through a back entrance. If you choose this exit
you must be careful of the route you take. There are many forks in the road and
you must make difficult decisions. It's best to take the road that goes downhill.
Don't take the back route out unless you have plenty of time to get your
bearings if you get lost. The total hike if you don't get a ride is around four
hours. It's beautiful hilly country and is well worth the energy spent.
Once at the road take a Bogotá bound bus back to the Portal del Norte and work
your way back to your hotel.