The sixth tallest waterfall in Latin America, at 590 meters, or 1,953 feet, is only an hour and a half from Bogota!! I had heard of the place, but I had never heard how special it was. But after someone told me La Chorrera was so tall, I went to see for myself the next weekend. What a spectacular place! The hike is beautiful, there’s water everywhere and even the car ride is amazing. The landscape and mountains look like Chiribiquete in the department of Guaviare. You have to go! This is how to get to La Chorrera.
If you like cloud forests, like the once you’ll find at La Chorrera Park, check out our post on Chicaque Park!
How to get to la Chorrera
*The map to get to La Chorrera from Bogota is at the end of this post!
In Public Transportation:
- In Bogota, take a Transoriente or Cootransfómeque bus on Calle 6 with Avenida Caracas (see on map below). The trip costs $10,000 Colombian pesos ($3.5 dollars) and it lasts an hour and a half. Buses leave between 5:15 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. every day.
- Tell the bus driver you’re going to the entrance to la Chorrera (“la entrada a la Chorrera”, in Spanish). Be looking for signs on the road anyway because the driver may forget.
- The entrance to la Chorrera is 4 kms (2.5 miles) of unpaved road until the actual park entrance. To get there, follow the main road, staying left every time it splits. Either way, there are signs that point your way to the park. If you feel lost, ask someone! Another option is to take a moto-taxi from where the bus drops you off. It costs $5,000 pesos or $2 dollars.
- Once you get to the park entrance, which is also the campsite, you’ll have to watch a video and pay $12,000 pesos ($4 dollars) to go to la Chorrera or $8,000 pesos ($3 dollars) to go to el Chiflon (another smaller waterfall). Go to la Chorrera and see both waterfalls… it{s so worth it!
- Follow the trail to the waterfalls. It’s impossible to get lost! *You can also pay $32,000 pesos ($11 dollars) to do the trail on horseback.
In a Car:
With a GPS: enter “Aventura la Chorrera Park” in Google Maps or Waze and follow the instructions.
Without a GPS:
- In Bogotá, take Calle 26 going East (towards the mountains) and follow it until it becomes the Circunvalar.
- On the Circunvalar, follow the signs that say Choachi is to the left. That left turn comes right after an Universidad Distrital campus.
- Shortly afterwards, there’s a confusing U-turn. Stay on the main paved road, don’t keep going straight.
- Follow this main road towards Choachi until you see an unpaved road to your left where there’s a little store with a big billboard on top of it.
- Turn onto this road and drive 4 kms (2.5 miles) to the Aventura la Chorrera Park entrance. To get there, follow the main road, staying left every time it splits. Either way, there are signs that point your way to the park. If you feel lost, ask someone!
- Towards the end of the road, you’ll get to a little store where you can park if your car isn’t ready for the toughest hill of the road. If there’s no problem, go on to the entrance, where you can park and camp.
- Pay $12,000 pesos ($4 dollars) to go to la Chorrera or $8,000 pesos ($3 dollars) to go to el Chiflon (another smaller waterfall). Go to la Chorrera and see both waterfalls… its so worth it!
- Follow the trail to the waterfalls. It’s impossible to get lost! *You can also pay $32,000 pesos($11 dollars) to do the trail on horseback.
What to do at La Chorrera
Walk to El Chiflón:
El Chiflon is another waterfall in the park that only seems small because la Chorrera is 590 meters tall. El Chiflon is actually quite imposing, since it’s 60 meters (200 feet) tall. The roar the falling water makes is music to my ears. This waterfall is only 15 minutes from the park entrance, and has a trail that goes behind it. You can also rappel from the top of el Chiflon, which means descending next to it attached to a rope with safety equipment. It costs $25,000 pesos or $8.5 dollars.
Get to La Chorrera:
Of course, if you’re going to La Chorrera Park, you have to go to la Chorrera! What’s crazy is that they do have a payment option that includes only going to el Chiflon. El Chiflon is awesome, but nothing like la Chorrera!! Even though the hike is longer (an hour and a half vs. 15 minutes), it’s worth it. Plus, all the best things in life come after having worked hard for them. Go to la Chorrera and you will not be disappointed.
Get to know la Cueva de los Monos (the Monkey Cave):
En route to la Chorrera, you’ll see a sign that point to a steep trail upwards. La Cueva de los Monos is at the end of that trail, about 6 minutes away. One of the park officials told us that, sadly, there are no monkeys. I would say there is no cave either, just a rock roof. I’ll also say, though, that it is beautiful and gives you another view of la Chorrera in the distance. So if your legs are feeling good, go here. If you don’t feel like it, you won’t miss out on much.
Take pictures:
This place, like any cloud forest, has a magical vibe because of the bright greens you see everywhere and the clouds that envelop the landscape. The park is a great place to take bright, happy pictures as well as dark, moody ones. It’s a great spot for a photo shoot.
Camp:
Camping at la Chorrera is amazing. The camping spot is at the park entrance, not the actual waterfall. Even so, you feel in the middle of nowhere and it’s exciting to know such a special waterfall is nearby. The park does not rent any equipment, so you have to take your own tent, sleeping bags, etc. It costs $10,000 pesos ($3.5 dollars) a night per person. The camping area has bathrooms, showers and grilling areas.
Eat a lot:
There are a lot of little shops before and at the park entrance, which is not a bad thing! You can buy snacks, cuajada with melao or blackberry sauce, arepas, empanadas and there’s even a Cuban restaurant with great dishes and mojitos. These are all things you should eat while in Colombia, by the way. Except the Cuban food, it’s not as much of a must.
Go up to the Statue of the Guadalupe Virgin:
On the way to La Chorrera Park, not too far from Bogota, you’ll see a road that goes up and to the right. It goes up to the statue of the Guadalupe Virgin. This statue is the one you can see from Bogota up on the mountain across from Monserrate. It’s a place not many people know and is as good a lookout point as Monserrate. Bogota looks amazing from up there. It’s worth getting up a little earlier to stick this place into the agenda.
Some things to know:
- Make sure you take cash, especially small bills to pay buses and shops/services that can’t take your card (most places).
- The Chorrera waterfall is the sixth tallest in Latin America and the tallest in Colombia.
- The hike that includes everything (el Chiflón, la Cueva de los Monos, and la Chorrera) costs $12,000 pesos or $4 dollars.
- Camping at the campsite costs $10,000 pesos or $3.5 dollars a night per person.
- The bus ride to the unpaved road costs $10,000 pesos or $3.5 dollars per person.
- The moto-taxi from the spot the bus drops you off to the Park entrance costs $5,000 pesos or $2 dollars.
- The road to the park entrance is unpaved. Smaller cars won’t have trouble until the last hill. I recommend parking below, at a little store, if you have a low or old car. If you have a high car or a 4×4, go on ahead to the entrance!
I hope this blog post helped you learn how to get to La Chorrera and that you go!
If you’d like to know another special place close to Bogota, read our blog post on Suesca!
