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Travel Guide

How to get to Matarredonda Ecological Park

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Matarredonda Ecological Park (Parque Ecológico Matarredonda in Spanish) is a perfect place to rest from the city. It’s a beautiful, small and not very well-known park. It’s only 1 hour from Bogota (depending on where you are and the traffic) and is a gorgeous paramo with water everywhere and an easy hike. A paramo is an alpine ecosystem that only occurs close to the equator. One hike ends at a lake and another one goes to a lake and a waterfall. They’re both about an hour a half trek and are not very steep. This is how to get to Matarredonda Ecological Park.

La Chorrera, Latin America’s sixth tallest waterfall, is only 30 minutes from there! Click here to read how to get there!

How to get to Matarredonda Ecological Park

*The map to get to Matarredonda Ecological Park from Bogota is at the end of this travel guide.

On Public Transportation:

  1. Starting in Bogota, take a bus with the companies Transoriente or Cootransfómeque on Calle 6 with Av. Caracas (its on the map below). The bus costs $10,000 Colombian pesos ($3.5 USD), although it may be less because you aren’t going all the way to Choachi, and the trip lasts about an hour. Buses leave between 5:15 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. every day.
  2. Tell the bus driver you’re going to Parque Ecológico Matarredonda, which will be on your right (be watching for it in case the driver forgets).

In a Car:

With a GPS: enter “Matarredonda Ecological Park” into Google Maps or Waze and follow the directions.

Without a GPS:

  1. In Bogotá, look for Calle 26 going east (or towards the mountains) and stay on it following the signs to the Circunvalar.
  2. Then, follow the signs that indicate that Choachi is to the left. The road upwards begins right after an Universidad Distrital campus.
  3. A few minutes from there, the road makes a confusing U-turn. Be watching for it and stay on the main road.
  4. Stay on this road for about 30 minutes until you see the entrance to Matarredonda Ecological Park on your right.

What to do at Matarredonda Ecological Park

El Marquez del Once: this famous lookout point over Bogota is best known by the cyclists that climb up Bogota’s Eastern mountains every day. It is a great place to have breakfast before hiking or a late lunch after hiking a few hours. Make sure you get the classic Colombian agua-panela, cheese and arepa. See where it is on the map below.

Eat at the Entrance: just like at el Marquez del Once, you can eat at the park entrance, where theres a nice restaurant with traditional food. You might have to eat at one place on the way there and at the other on the way back!

Cerro Guadalupe: even closer to Bogota is Cerro Guadalupe, the mountain with the statue of the Guadalupe Virgin that’s across from Monserrate. Its a great place to visit after hiking the Matarredonda paramo. From Bogota, it’ll be on you right. From Matarredonda, it’ll be on your left. It’s marked on the map below for your convenience!

Stay all day: my recommendation for Matarredonda Ecological Park is to get there early (9 or 10 in the morning) to be able to do both hikes. At a slow pace, both hikes will take a maximum of 5 hours and they’re easy, so it’s worth getting to know them all. That way, you get some exercise, breathe a LOT of fresh air and can be back home by 4 or 5 to take it easy the rest of the day.

Some Things to Know:

–          Make sure you take cash to pay the bus and whatever you buy in places that don’t take your card.

–          There are no tolls on the way to Matarredonda Ecological Park.

–          Entering the park costs $8,000 pesos ($3 USD).

–          The park’s schedule is from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day.

–          Camping costs 12,000 pesos ($4 USD) per person.

–          You don’t need a guide because the trails are very well developed.

–          Click here for a link to a map of the full two hikes.

–          For more information, call this number: 3178657320 or email vjmatarredonda@gmail.com.

I hope this helped you learn how to get to Matarredonda Ecological Park and that you go enjoy the place!

If you like hikes, I suggest you read this blog post on Chingaza National Park, one of Colombia’s most amazing national parks.

Travel Guide

How to get to the Sutatausa Bluffs

how to get to the sutatausa bluffs, farallones de sutatausa, where to climb in colombia, climbing, green, andes, outdoor adventures close to bogota

The Farallones de Sutatausa, or the Sutatausa Bluffs or Cliffs (I’ll call them Bluffs from here on out), are an amazing place for a little bit of adventure. It’s a place you can come and go easily in a day and also a place that makes you want to stay a few days. You can rock climb, hike, camp and relax in beautiful hostels. This is how to get to the Sutatausa Bluffs!

You might also be interested in reading “how to get to the Neusa Dam,” for an awesome camping spot nearby Sutatausa.

How to get to the Sutatausa Bluffs

*The map to get to the Sutatausa Bluffs from Bogota is at the end of this post!

In Public Transportation:

  1. In Bogotá, go to the Portal del Norte, which is Bogota’s North Bus Terminal.
  2. Take a bus to Ubaté, which costs about $10,000 pesos or about US $3.50.
  3. Tell the bus driver you’re going to the entrace to the Farallones de Sutatausa. I recommend you look at the map below in Street View to get an idea of where you need to get off. The road to the bluffs is about 5 minutes from the town of Sutatausa, has a sign that points you towards the bluffs, and has a store right next to it called “Parador las Brisas.” Be watching!
  4. Walk along this unpaved road and you’ll get to a fork in the road. Go right until you get to la tienda de Don Antonio (tienda is a small store in Spanish).
  5. From there, you have three options: (1) go up the mountain to climb or to hike to the top of the bluffs on a trail that starts right in front of the store, (2) hike to the right of the store on a stone trail to climb or to hike to the top of the bluff, or (3) hike to the left towards a hostel, Kamp Nattivo, and to other trails that make it to the top.
  6. For more information on these options, read the “what to do at the Sutatausa Bluffs” section below.

In a Car:

With a GPS: enter “Tienda DON Antonio, Sutatausa, Cundinamarca” into Google Maps or Waze and follow the directions.

Without a GPS:

  1. From Bogota, exit the city going north.
  2. Stay on the highway until you get to a bridge after you pass a toll. Don’t go over the bridge. Instead, take the road that goes right, which then curves left and goes under that same bridge.
  3. Stay on this road until the net bridge. Go over it, staying right where it splits in two. Follow this road until you get to a Homecenter on the right. A little later, go right where there’s a sign towards Zipaquirá and Ubaté.
  4. Stay on your left to go over the next bridge, which curves right, following the signs to Ubaté.
  5. Not long afterwards, you’ll get to a round-about. Take the second exit.
  6. Stay on this road all the way to the entrance to the bluffs, which will be on the right. I recommend you look at the map below in Street View to get an idea of where you need to turn right. The road to the bluffs is about 5 minutes from the town of Sutatausa, has a sign that points you towards the bluffs, and has a store right next to it called “Parador las Brisas.”
  7. Get on the unpaved road towards the bluffs and stay right where the road splits in two to get to la tienda de Don Antonio (tienda is a small store in Spanish). You can park there and the cost of parking is to buy something in the store.
  8. From there, you have three options: (1) go up the mountain to climb or to hike to the top of the bluffs on a trail that starts right in front of the store, (2) hike to the right of the store on a stone trail to climb or to hike to the top of the bluff, or (3) drive to the left of the store to a hostel, Kamp Nattivo, and to other trails that make it to the top.
  9. For more information on these options, read the “what to do at the Sutatausa Bluffs” section below.

What to do at the Sutatausa Bluffs:

Climb

One of the best spots to go bouldering in all of Colombia is right underneath the Sutatausa Bluffs. You can find boulders from V0 to V12 and the rock is bomber. You can simply take your crash pad and start climbing (or rent it from Kamp Nattivo), but if you want a guide, you can stop by Kamp Nattivo , which is to the left from Don Antonio’s store, and get one – its not much of a guidebook, more like pieces of paper, but it works. There are boulders right in front of Don Antonio’s store and upwards and to the right of the store in the pine forest you can see from there.

There is also some great sport climbing on the bluffs themselves, up to 5.14a. You can find the routes going right from the store on the stone trail. If you need a guide, you can go to Kamp Nattivo and they’ll get you good to go. If you’re wondering where to climb in Colombia or close to Bogota, this is one of the best options!

Go Hiking

The Sutatausa Bluffs have a lot of trails to get to the top. There are two most well-known hikes. The first one is directly in front of Don Antonio’s Store. The trail is very well developed and is pretty steep. The second one is to the right of the store and starts on an unpaved road that becomes a stone trail that makes it to the top.

You have to hike up to the top! The landscape around the place is incredible, with really uniquely shaped mountains. So make sure you turn around when you rest during the hikes to admire the landscape. Also, take some food to have a picnic, rest and enjoy the view from the top. And don’t forget to hike along the top, since there are some amazing formations there.

Go Camping

You can camp under the stars and surrounded by mountains in lots of places: Quinta de Fragua, which is right to the right of Don Antonio’s store, Kamp Nattivo, which is a few minutes to the left, or up on the mountain with Don Antonio’s permission and only on his property.

Kamp Nattivo is a hostel created by a climber, one of the climbers who most developed this area, and is an incredibly comfortable and beautiful place. It has unique structures in the woods, they have a stellar customer service and if you see photos of the place, you’ll want to go stay there. So go Google Kamp Nattivo and go get to know it!

Take Photos

As always, you have to take photos. This place has a unique, gorgeous landscape. And everyone knows photos are best with action, and what better action than people enjoying, hiking and climbing with an amazing background?

Some things to know:

–          You can rent crash pads to go bouldering at the hostel, Kamp Nattivo.

–          This is a stellar place to go bouldering and sport climbing.

–          To pay for parking at Don Antonio’s store, just buy something in the store.

–          Take cash to pay for the bus, something at the store and for places that won’t accept your card, which is most places.

–          In 1541, the area’s natives collectively committed suicide, preferring it to falling in the hands of Spaniard missionaries.

–          There’s 1 toll on the way to the bluffs and 0 on the way back.

 

I hope this blog post helped you learn how to get to the Sutatausa Bluffs (or Farallones de Sutatausa) and a little more. But mostly, I hope you go climb in this wonderful area.

If you’re looking for another place to climb, check out this blog post about Suesca, the most popular climbing spot close to Bogota!

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