Guatavita is a gorgeous town with two well-known bodies of water: the Tominé Dam (Embalse de Tominé), which is right next to the town, and Lake Guatavita (Laguna de Guatavita), which is about 20 minutes away. Lake Guatavita, the topic of this blog post, used to be the central part of an indigenous ritual that occurred when a new Chieftain (Cacique) was put in place. The natives would throw gold statues in the water, making it the site of the El Dorado legend. Because of that, the lake has been a point of interest since olden times, but is now visited because it’s beautiful and has a rich history. This is how to get to Lake Guatavita!

You might also be interested in “How to get to Suesca,” an adventurous town close to Guatavita.

How to get to Lake Guatavita

*The map to get to Lake Guatavita from Bogota is at the end of this post!

In Public Transportation:

1. Starting in Bogota, take a bus to Guatavita. You can hop on at the Portal Norte, which is Bogota‘s North Bus Terminal. It costs $9,000 pesos ($3 USD).
2. Tell the bus driver you’re getting off at the entrance to Lake Guatavita (but don’t say Lake Guatavita, say La Laguna de Guatavita!). Stay attentive to where you are and you’ll see a sign on your left that points towards the lake after you pass Sesquile.
3. From there, there are 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) to the park, and you have three options: (1) walk, which could take about 2 hours, (2) pay for private transportation, which costs around $60,000 pesos ($20 USD), or (3) start walking and try to hitch-hike your way there.
4. When you get to the park and pay the entrance fee, which is $12,000 pesos ($4 USD) for Colombians and $17,000 pesos ($6 USD) for foreigners, the guides will wait until there is a big enough group for the 20 minute guided hike to Lake Guatavita.
5. To get back, you can take a bus where the bus dropped you off before in the opposite direction. Another option is to take the same bus to Guatavita, get to know the town and then take a bus straight to Bogota from there.

In a Car:

With a GPS: enter “Lake Guatavita” in Google Maps or Waze and follow the instructions.

Without a GPS:

1. Exit the city going north and stay on the road to Tunja, not the road to Chia.
2. Shortly after passing the second toll from Bogota, you’ll see a sign that says Guatavita and Suesca are to the right. Turn right after the bridge and you’ll get to a round-about. Enter the roundabout and take the following exit following the signs to Guatavita. Stay right.
3. At the following intersection, turn right to get on the road to Guatavita. Stay on the main road to pass through Sesquile.
4. Soon, you’ll see the road to Lake Guatavita on your left. Stay on that road all the way to the park entrace, following the signs to the Lake.
5. Once you get to the park, park your car and pay the entrance fee, which is $12,000 pesos ($4 USD) for Colombians and $17,000 pesos ($6 USD) for foreigners, the guides will wait until there is a big enough group for the 20 minute guided hike to Lake Guatavita.

What to do at Lake Guatavita

Take pictures: Lake Guatavita is one of the most beautiful, unique places close to Bogota. The lakes and all of the landscape around it are too picturesque. You just have to take pictures to remember the place.

Go to Guatavita and the Tominé Dam: Guatavita and the Tominé Dam are also gorgeous and totally worth visiting. The dam is right next to the town and both are just 20 minutes from Lake Guatavita.

Go to Sopó: a great plan for after the day’s adventure is to visit Sopó and eat at Alpina or, if you want some more adventure, you can go to Pionono Park on the mountain right next to Sopó. Click here to read more about this town and park!

Some things to know:

–          Make sure you take cash to pay for all of the products and services that don’t take cards (almost everything).

–          There are 2 tolls from Bogota to Lake Guatavita and 1 on the way back.

–          The park’s schedule is from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day except the first day of each month.

–          The entrance fee to the park is $12,000 pesos ($4 USD) for Colombians and $17,000 pesos ($6 USD) for foreigners.

–          The bus to Guatavita costs $9,000 pesos ($3 USD).

–          The lake is 3,100 meters (10,170 feet) above sea level.

–          Rainy seasons are between April and June and October and November.

I hope this helped you learn how to get to Lake Guatavita, a great place for an outdoor adventure with a history lesson!

Another great place to eat and ride your bike is the Sisga Dam. Click here to learn more about this spot!