Have you heard of Monserrate? It’s a church on top of the mountains that overlook Bogota. EVERYONE goes there. And you should too! But if you’ve been there, I’m sure you’ve seen the enormous statue on the mountain peak across from Monserrate. This place is called Cerro de Guadalupe (Guadalupe Hill) or Santuario de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe (Parish of our Lady of Guadalupe). It has a road all the way to the top and, in my opinion, has a better view of the entire city of Bogota! To use a cliché, this place is the road less traveled. If you want to get to know a place not even very many Colombians know, this is definitely the spot. This is how to get to Cerro de Guadalupe!
How to get to Cerro de Guadalupe
*The map to get to Cerro de Guadalupe 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 the map below). The trip should cost less than $10,000 Colombian pesos ($3.5 dollars) and last about 45 minutes. 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 Cerro de Guadalupe (“la entrada al Cerro de Guadalupe,” in Spanish). Be looking for signs on the road anyway because the driver may forget.
- When you get off, a long, steep walk up to the mountain peak and statue awaits you.
- If you’re going on a Sunday, which is when the place gets really crowded for catholic mass, you can take a bus all the way up for $2,000 pesos. Grab the bus at Carrera 10 with Calle 6 (I marked it on the map below).
In a Car:
With a GPS: enter “Cerro de Guadalupe” in Google Maps or Waze and follow the instructions. I recommend using a map because getting out of downtown Bogota can be confusing!
Without a GPS:
- In Bogota, get on Calle 26 East (towards the mountains) and follow it until it becomes the Av. Circunvalar. The Circunvalar is a road that snakes along the outer edge of Bogota by the mountains.
- Headed south, turn left where you see a sign towards Choachi. That left turn comes right after the Universidad Distrital campus.
- After a few minutes, there will be a sharp U-turn. Do the U-turn to stay on the main paved road instead of continuing straight.
- Follow this main road towards Choachi until you see a sign pointing to the right towards Cerro de Guadalupe.
- Drive up the very steep road all the way to an informal parking lot, and then walk the remainder of the way through some restaurants and up to the statue and parish.
Click here for a list of outdoor adventures close to Bogotá!
What to do at Cerro de Guadalupe
Eat typical Colombian food:
Don’t expect an all-out restaurant up here. What you can expect is a bunch of different stands that sell a huge variety of typical Colombian food. I’ll give you a list of things you can ask for: arepa, almojabana, hen (I know, that’s a little weird), agua de panela, pony malta and tomato chips. The list could go on, but with this, you’ll at least get a good taste of all my favorite typical treats (except hen – I included it because it’s different and worth trying).
Bike:
Yes, I did say the road up to the Statue is extremely steep. I also did just say you should bike up here. So many Colombians are so good at biking, that hundreds of people bike up to Cerro de Guadalupe every weekend to do some exercise, get a good view and, if they’re about it, go to church. If you’re a really good cyclist, I encourage you to try it out and understand why Colombians do so well in mountain stages in cycling races like the Tour de France.
Take pictures:
Like I said, I think Cerro de Guadalupe has a better view of the entire city of Bogota than Monserrate. That being said, it’s hard not to take out a camera and start snapping shots. Panoramic shots are amazing, as you can capture entire cumulus cloud filtering rays of light onto the city. A portrait shoot up here would be great too, actually!
Some things to know:
- Security at Cerro de Guadalupe used to be a concern, but not so much anymore. Still, the place can be lonely, so be wise, don’t show off expensive things and be wary of suspicious people.
- Make sure you take cash, especially small bills to pay buses and shops/services that can’t take your card (most places).
- The bus ride from Calle 6 with Avenida Caracas will cost less than $10,000 pesos or $3.5 dollars per person. On Sundays, the ride from Carrera 10 with Calle 6 costs $2,000 pesos, or 65 cents.
- The road up to the Statue and parish is VERY steep.
- Sundays are very crowded for mass at 9:00 a.m., 10:30 a.m. and 12:00 noon. On the first Sunday of each month, mass is at 8:00 a.m., 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon.
- Number of tolls between Bogota and Cerro de Guadalupe: none!
I hope this blog post helped you learn how to get to Cerro Guadalupe, or Guadalupe Hill!
Colombia’s tallest waterfall is further down the road, passing Cerro de Guadalupe towards Choachi. Read about La Chorrera here!
