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where to climb in bogota

Travel Guide

How to get to Macheta

How to get to Macheta, where to climb, climbing in colombia, outdoor adventures close to Bogota

Only 2 hours from Bogota, this little town has a lot to offer, as much for people who want to spend a fun day outside of the city as for visitors staying multiple days. With hot springs, hikes, five-star climbing and more, there is just too much to do. Plus, it’s really easy to get to! This is how to get to Macheta.

For a list of places for outdoor activities close to Bogota, read this blog post!

How to get to Macheta

*The map to get to Macheta from Bogota is at the end of this travel guide!

In Public Transportation:

  1. In Bogota, go to the North Bus Terminal (indicated in the map), which is on Calle 192 on the Autopista Norte (North Highway).
  2. There, take a bus that takes the Macheta-Guateque route. The companies that offer that service are Valle de Tenza or la Macarena. This bus passes by Macheta and goes on to Guateque.
  3. After about 2 hours, get off at Macheta or wherever you are going (make sure to tell the bus driver where you’ll be getting off) and enjoy!

In a car:

With a  GPS: enter “Machetá, Cundinamarca” in Google Maps or Waze and follow the directions.

Without a GPS:

  1. From Bogota, leave the city headed north on the Autopista, which is the main highway. Stay on the main road towards Tunja, not towards Chia and Zipaquira. You will pass 2 tolls and the entreances to Suesca and Guatavita.
  2. After a long descent, you will cross the bridge of the Sisga Dam (where you can get off to check out the view).
  3. Shortly after the bridge, on the main road, you will see a sign that directs you to the right towards Guateque. Take that right turn and then take the first exit on the round-about straight ahead.
  4. On this road, you will be straight on your way to the hot springs, the lagoons, the climbing and, finally, Macheta.

What to do in Macheta:

Climb: the climbing in Macheta is amazing. For now, all the climbing here is sport or trad. There are two areas where you can climb:

  Machetá Viejo:

This area is known for its overhangs and high grades (up to 5.14). To get there, check out ‘how to get to Macheta above you have to pass the town and get to the Rocas del Paraiso Hostel, which is 4.5 kilometers (2.8 miles) from Macheta. When you see the sign that says “Rocas del Paraiso” on the main road, you’ll have to go up a path in your car or on foot to get to the hostel. You can park there (for $10,000 pesos or about $3 USD for a full day) and then you have to walk between 15 and 30 minutes up to the cliff. The hike begins behind the hostel.

  Salón de la Justicia:

This area is known for its technicity, since the hike up is long and extremely steep and the routes are long (up to 40 meters or 130 feet) and vertical. There are also a lot of trad routes. It is recommended to take a full rack with repeats, 26 draws and a 70 meter or longer rope. There is a guide book for this area, which you can purchase in the Monodedo store in Bogota or in Suesca.

Hot Springs: its hot springs are probably the most well-known tourist atraction in the Macheta area. They are places to relax and spend time with family, or to recover from a day of hard climbing, although they can get very crowded. There are three hotels/hostels/restaurants where you can enjoy the hot springs: Termales Los Volcanes and Termales Nápoles (termales means hot springs), which are before Macheta, and Paraiso Termal, which is 12.7 km or 7.9 miles from Machetá towards Guateque .

Hike to Laguna el Cerro: this hike ends at a beautiful lake with some of the best views, that is not too far from civilization. You can start in Macheta and end in another town called Manta, or viceversa, or start in one town and turn back the way you went. It is a 30 km or 19 mile hike, during which you gain 900 meters or almost 3,000 feet to get to the lake. Here’s a map of the hike; use it at your own peril. For long and not well-known hikes like this, it’s usually better to hire a local guide to not get lost. But a lot of people prefer to hike solo or without a guide, so here’s the map for you!

Guasca and Carrilera Music Festival: this festival is one of Macheta’s more popular atractions, where people get together to celebrate Guasca and Carrilera music, which are traditional in Colombia. It happens between May and June, without a specific fixed date. Look for the date on Google starting in April!

Some Things to Know:

  • The roads around Macheta are really beat up because they are undergoing maintenance… and have been for years. Be careful driving along this road, especially at night.
  • Parking at the Rocas del Paraiso hostel costs $10,000 pesos or about $3 dollars.
  • It is recommended to take a full rack with repeats, 26 draws and a 70 meter or longer rope to climb at Salón de la Justicia.
  • In this area, which includes Choconta and Macheta, there is a huge variety of hikes, many of which end at the hot springs close to Choconta and Macheta. The best way to get information about these hikes is to ask around at the tourism centers of these towns’ mayor’s offices or looking for tourism companies that plan hikes in the area.

I hope you go enjoy the activities the area offers now that you know how to get to Macheta. Real close to Macheta is the Sisga Dam. Read about how to get there and what to do!

 

Travel Guide

Indoor Climbing Gyms in Bogota

indoor climbing gyms in bogota, laladventures

Colombia has a ton to offer when it comes to climbing, indoors and outdoors. You could consider Lala and I weekend warriors, climbing indoors during the week, and making it outdoors on the weekends. This is a list of indoor climbing gyms in Bogota.

If you’d like to read our local tips for touring Bogota, click on the link!

Where to Climb Indoors in Bogota

Before we start, for non-climbers, I’d like to point out that there are two kinds of climbing you can practice at climbing gyms in Bogota. First is bouldering, which is without a rope because it’s not very high (you do have pads beneath you, though). Second is sport climbing, which is with a rope and harness because you climb high.

Roca Solida

Roca Solida is our home gym. Lala and I have come to this gym for the most part of our climbing lives, which makes it about 10 years. I’ve worked here as a coach and also set for them (if you go, look for routes with the name “Eric” on them and let me know how you liked them!). This indoor climbing gym, like most in Bogota, only has bouldering. Its walls are filled with holds and are very featured: slabs, overhangs, crazy overhangs, and roofs.

Address: Av 19 #125 – 26

Phone Number: (57-1) 812-1208

Hours: 10am-10pm Monday to Friday, 10am-8pm Saturday, 9am-3pm Sundays and holidays.

WEYA

WEYA is through and through a bouldering gym for boulderers. Come here to boulder your socks off, because everything here is overhung except for maybe a 1 meter by 50 cm section at the end of the wall. Really nice people work and climb here, I must say, and the sports therapist who works on the second floor of the gym, Liliana Roa, is a magician (she’s healed me twice).

Address: Carrera 20b No. 73-17

Phone Number: (57-1) 732-2314

Hours: 1pm-9:45pm Monday to Friday, 9am-6:45pm Saturday, not open Sunday and holidays.

Zona de Bloque

Zona de Bloque is probably Bogota’s most complete bouldering gym. But, again, you can only boulder here. It is a big gym, with a lot of holds and a lot of features. I’d say Zona has the best setting too, so expect to do some fun climbing.

Address: Carrera 21 No. 50-34

Phone Number: (57-1) 255-4305

Hours: 10am-9:45pm Monday to Friday, 9am-9pm Saturday, 11am-5pm Sunday and holidays.

Gran Pared

Gran Pared used to be undoubtedly Colombia’s best climbing gym. It was huge and the sport climbing amazing – world class, even. They closed down for years, but are now up and running again. The gym is smaller now, but still has amazing sport climbing. So if you’ve gotten tired of all those bouldering gyms in Bogota, this place will be a good rest.

Address: Calle 52 # 15 – 27

Phone Number: (57-1) 288-4061

Hours: 2pm-9:45pm Monday to Friday, 10am-6:45pm Saturday, 10am-5:45pm Sunday and holidays.

Cumbre Andina

I honestly don’t know much about Cumbre Andina, except that it is another only-bouldering gym and looks really cool in pictures! It has lot of cool features and holds. So go get to known this gem of a gym.

Address: Calle 78 # 24 – 45

Phone Number: (57-1)  388 27 84

Hours: 8am-10pm Monday to Friday, 8am-7pm Saturday, 9am-5pm Sunday and holidays.

Rocópolis

Rocópolis, for a long time while Gran Pared was closed, was Bogota’s only gym where you could sport climb, so a lot of people came to love it. It’s also really close to my house, so I was able to enjoy it a good bit. This gym is smaller, but it has fun routes and great people work and climb there.

Address: Carrera 49 #128c-17

Phone Number: (57-1) 322 306-1737

Hours: 2pm-10pm Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm Saturday, 12pm-6pm Sunday and holidays.

 

Interested in getting outdoors close to Bogota? Check out this link with our recommendations!

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