Bogotá is one of South America’s fastest-changing capitals — a city of 2,600 metres altitude with the world’s largest collection of pre-Columbian gold, a walking street art scene to rival any city, and the most extensive weekly car-free cycling network on earth. This companion post accompanies a real bogota walking tour filmed in 4K, the video Bogotá, Colombia | La Candelaria 4K Walking Tour, which explores the colonial heart of the city through its whitewashed and painted streets.

About This Walking Tour

This 4K walking tour explores La Candelaria — Bogotá’s historic colonial district, characterised by whitewashed and colourfully painted 16th- to 18th-century buildings, cobblestone streets, and a density of museums, universities, and cultural institutions. The video walks the district’s main streets past colonial architecture, the Plaza de Bolívar (Central plaza of Colombia, flanked by the Cathedral Primada, the Capitolio Nacional, and the Supreme Court), and the student café culture generated by the Universidad de los Andes and other institutions that have colonised La Candelaria.

The broader Bogotá walking itinerary includes the Botero Museum — where Fernando Botero donated 123 of his paintings and sculptures along with an international art collection to the people of Bogotá in 2000, permanently free to enter — and the Gold Museum (Museo del Oro), which houses 55,000 pre-Columbian gold pieces including the Muisca Raft, the only known three-dimensional golden representation of the El Dorado ceremony. The Cerro Monserrate cable car or funicular ascent to 3,152 metres provides the best panoramic view of the city with the 6,000-metre Andean peaks visible on clear mornings.

Highlights of Bogotá

The Plaza de Bolívar is Colombia’s symbolic centre — the large paved square is flanked by the Cathedral Primada (the largest in Colombia, completed 1823), the Capitolio Nacional (housing Congress), the Palacio de Justicia, and the Casa de Nariño (Presidential Palace). Simón Bolívar’s equestrian statue stands at the centre of the square. The Museo Botero on Calle 11, free to enter, is one of the most visited museums in South America — its ground floor holds 123 works by Botero (including his trademark rotund figures in oil and bronze) alongside works by Renoir, Dalí, Degas, Monet, and Picasso from the international collection he donated alongside his own.

The Gold Museum‘s 55,000 pre-Columbian gold pieces represent the largest such collection in the world. The centrepiece is the Muisca Raft — a small golden raft covered with figures representing the ceremony in which the Muisca chief was covered in gold dust and thrown offerings into Lake Guatavita, creating the legend of El Dorado. Bogotá’s Ciclovía, established in 1974, closes 120 km of city streets every Sunday from 7am to 2pm exclusively to cyclists and pedestrians — the world’s largest regular car-free urban event.

A Brief History of Bogotá

Bogotá was founded by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada on August 6, 1538 on a high savanna plateau at 2,600 metres in the Eastern Andes — one of the highest national capitals on earth. The conquistadors named it Santa Fe de Bogotá and it became the capital of the Viceroyalty of New Granada, administering the territories of modern Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama. Colombia declared independence in 1810 and Bogotá became the capital of Gran Colombia (1819–1831) and then of the Republic of Colombia.

The Gold Museum, founded in 1939, reflects the extraordinary pre-Columbian cultures that flourished in the Colombian highlands — the Muisca, Sinú, Quimbaya, and other peoples who developed highly sophisticated metalworking traditions. Fernando Botero, born in Medellín in 1932, became Colombia’s most internationally famous artist and donated his collection to Bogotá in 2000. The Ciclovía, now a model copied by cities worldwide, began as a weekly experiment in 1974 and has run continuously ever since.

Practical Tips

Colombia’s currency is the Colombian peso (COP). Spanish is the official language. El Dorado International Airport is approximately 15 km from La Candelaria; the TransMilenio BRT system serves the city with extensive bus rapid transit routes. La Candelaria is walkable and dense with sights within a few blocks. The neighbourhood is busiest and safest during working hours; certain areas should be avoided after dark. Altitude of 2,600 metres affects some visitors — take the first day slowly.

Best Time to Visit

January through March and July through August are the dry seasons in Bogotá — the most reliable for clear skies and mountain views from Monserrate. The city functions year-round in its cool, spring-like climate. Bogotá Bike Tour’s Sunday Ciclovía is a remarkable experience any time of year.

Watch & Explore More

Watch the 4K La Candelaria walk above and explore Colombia’s mountain capital and its extraordinary art and archaeology collections. For more Colombian city walks, see Cartagena: Walled City to Getsemaní and Medellín: El Poblado to the Escalator Comunas. Subscribe to @walkingtoursvideoscom for walking tours from cities on every continent.