Bogota is the capital of Colombia. It is often overlooked and usually passed through on the way to other destinations. However, I really enjoyed my days and Bogota and think you will too! There’s also great birding opportunities in and nearby the city. Here are some of my top things to do in Bogota.

Walking Tours

When I’m in a new city, I always try to start out by doing a free walking tour. It helps orient me to the city, and if I learn something unexpected that I have to do, I’ll have time to fit it in.The tour we went on was very informative and we learned a lot about the history of not only Bogota, but Colombia as a whole.

Botero Museum

Fernando Botero is a famous Colombian artist, known for his paintings and sculptures. The museum is free and definitely worth a visit.

Montserrate Hill

Montserrate is a big church on top of a hill overlooking the city. You can reach the top by funicular, an aerial cable car, or walk! Though we planned on hiking to the top, it was closed for maintenance. I want to say the trail is closed every Tuesday for maintenance, however I haven’t been able to confirm this online.

We waited in line to buy a roundtrip ticket. The only option was on the funicular and when we came down the only option was the cable car (but we didn’t have to choose which ahead of time).

The gardens up top are pretty to walk around. I also went down the trail a bit and saw some birding information signs, so I was bummed to not be able to walk through the hummingbird trail. Still got to see quite a few birds!

Andean Guan, White-bellied Woodstar, White-throated Tyrannulet, Great Thrush, Rufous-collared Sparrow, Pale-naped Brushfinch, Blackburnian Warbler, Black-crested Warbler, Golden-fronted Redstart.

A visit to the botanical gardens was a pleasant unplanned surprise.  The gardens are huge and it’s a nice reprieve from the busy city. Every hour they have a different (free!) guided tour that meets near the entrance and takes you to an area of the garden.

I paid an extra couple of dollars to be able to go into the tropical greenhouses, which I highly recommend. In addition to being a birder, I’m big into houseplants so it was cool seeing plants I have at home both here in the greenhouse and out in the wild throughout my time in Colombia.

As an added bonus, the glass on the greenhouses was covered in dots which enables birds to see it and therefore not crash into it! Super impressed they had this and I wish more cities around the world incorporated bird-friendly glass into their infrastructure.

There’s a restaurant onsite where I got a yummy chocolate shake for lunch and later tried some coca tea. As it was my last day in Bogota, I also stocked up on some goodies to bring back for friends: different cookies and crackers from the cafe. 

As of January 2024, according to the official website the entrance fee is $25,000 COP ($6 USD) + entrance to the greenhouses for foreigners. It’s only $7,000 COP ($2) if you don’t want to go into the greenhouses.

Notable bird: purple gallinules

Mercado de las Pulgas Usaquén, or the Usaquen Flea Market, is a great place to find gifts and eat some food. I bought a lovely little framed piece of art made out of flower petals ($5) and leaves and a watercolor painting ($10). My mom also bought a painting and a colorful photograph.

There were some beautiful mosaic bowls that I loved, but were a bit more than what I was looking to spend (plus transporting them). Still very fairly priced around $70 USD for the intricate detail and work required. We took Cabify to get there from the La Candelaria area for $4. It is only open on the weekends so do keep that in mind when planning your visit.

We stayed in an Airbnb a few blocks to the north of La Candelaria because we wanted to be able to do laundry again (as opposed to a hostel). It was near the start of the walking tour and near Montserrate. We frequently walked around the La Candelaria neighborhood to explore and to eat.

I didn’t have time to check these out myself, but some additional suggestions of things to do in Bogota are:

La Florida is a wetlands area and birding hotspot near the Bogota Airport

Parque Metropolitano Simon Bolivar

Check out my post about birding at Finca Suasie, just a short drive away!