Laguna Guatavita is inside a natural reserve under the jurisdiction of the CAR Regional Autonomous Corporation, so its entrance is done through a very well-organized park of the corporation with the capacity to receive a flow of seven hundred tourists daily. At the entrance to the lagoon park, a CAR guide will be assigned to carry out the tour because it is not allowed to do the walk on your own. Along the way, the guide recounts the history, legends, and local rituals of the Muisca ancestors.
The tour begins on foot along brick paths surrounded by forest. You first arrive at an old house of the Muisca indigenous people, also called bohíos or malokas, which are characterized by circular structures made of wooden poles and clay walls, with a conical reed roof. In it, the guide gives a 15-minute talk telling everything about the town and the customs of the Muisca culture.
The walk to the lagoon continues up a cobbled path, 140 steps in the middle of nature and with surprising landscapes due to the geology of the place. After 45 minutes you will reach the three viewpoints around the lagoon where you can appreciate it in all its majesty. Another geographical wonder to enjoy in the place is the underground connection between the lagoon and the páramos, which is where constant water comes from.
The reserve is made up of 613 hectares, its climate is very cold and rainy with an average temperature of 9°C, which means that the color of the water varies depending on the time of year. As for recommendations, pets are not allowed and neither is the entry or consumption of food, you must bring a lot of water because the route is uphill and finally remember to bring a cape and umbrella because it rains a lot.
If you want to know how to get to Laguna de Guatavita along with more tourist information, continue reading this guide because we will answer most of the frequent questions that travelers have before visiting the sacred lagoon for the Muiscas.
The legend of the Guatavita Lake
What we most recommend is to listen to the legend of El Dorado told by the guides, since in the entire history of La Laguna del Cacique Guatavita there have been 3 attempts to empty it to extract the gold thrown by the indigenous people. The first in 1545, the second in 1580, and the last at the end of the 20th century before the founding of the CAR in 1993. The El Dorado ritual consisted of throwing small gold statuettes, called tunjos, into the lagoon by the subjects. natives; while the new naked chief mounted on a raft was submerged in its waters.
Currently the lagoon is protected by the CAR to prevent new attempts to extract gold from its depths and to preserve the ecosystem that surrounds it, which has also been affected by looting attempts.
How to get to Laguna de Guatavita
To get to the sacred lagoon of the Muiscas located in the Tierra Negra village of the municipality of Sesquilé de Cundinamarca, you can do it by car or by bus. To guide you better, near the lagoon is the town of Guatavita and the Tominé Reservoir.
To get to the Guatavita Lagoon by car from Bogotá along the route to Sesquilé, you must go along the North highway, go through the La Caro bridge and the Briceño-Tunja road until the detour to the municipality of Sesquilé. You must continue towards Guatavita bordering the Tominé Reservoir until a second detour at the La Hornilla Paradero restaurant. From the second detour, there are 8 kilometers by road to the CAR visitor parking lot. For this route, there are 2 tolls, a distance of 73 kilometers, and a travel time of 1 hour and 30 minutes. You can also arrive through the municipality of Sopó to save a toll but the travel time is two hours.
To get to the Guatavita Lagoon by bus from Bogotá, you must take a route that says to Guatavita at the North Satellite Transportation Terminal. The price of a ticket has a cost of COP 10,000 (2 dollars) per person. Once you get to the town of Guatavita, you must get on a bus that takes you to the reserved parking lots for another COP 10,000 (2 dollars) each way
Schedule
The authorized hours of entry to Laguna de Guatavita are from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM from Sunday to Sunday (except for the first business day of each week). To visit and tour the entire site you must have at least 1 hour and 30 minutes of your time. The best days to go are during the week in the morning because after the middle is where there is more flow of visitors.
Guatavita Lagoon price per ticket
Regarding values to visit Laguna Guatavita, these are some fees that you must take into account to enter the park where the lagoon is:
- 14,500 COP for Colombians (3 dollars)
- 20,500 COP for foreigners (4 dollars)
- 9,500 COP for Colombian students (2 dollars)
- 7,000 COP for Colombian adults over 62 years of age (1.5 dollars)
- 10,000 COP for foreign adults over 62 years of age (2 dollars)
- Children under 5 years of age, people with disabilities and certified tour guides do not pay admission
Parking
If you go by car, the parking lots of La Laguna del Cacique Guatavita are located at the entrance of the CAR park, known as the visitor parking lot. They are open from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm and the fee is free, they are free but they fill up very quickly.
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