Hotel Las Americas

Bogota Colombia is a city loved by its warm-hearted people that greets you with smiles.

Bogota, Colombia was founded in 1538 by the gold-seeking Spaniards and is Colombia's first city in every way. At the center of Bogota is the historic district of La Candelaria where is located the Plaza de Bolivar and San Carlos Palace.

Liberator Simon Bolivar slept here, and his name echoes on the plaques of hundreds of monuments and squares in the Andean countries. Bogota has wonderful museums: tops are the Donation Botero, a superb collection of 19th and 20th century paintings donated by artist Fernando Botero; the fresco-lined Santa Clara Church and Museum of Popular Arts and Traditions displaying regional crafts in a beautifully restored convent.

The capital’s most spectacular attraction, however, is the Gold Museum, whose darkened vault lights up to illuminate some 18,000 ancient golden artifacts: ceremonial masks, exquisite jewelry, weapons, and votive figurines. From Bogota, a day trip to the salt mine of Zipaquira and its Salt Cathedral carved out of rock some 450 ft below ground is an essential excursion. Another is Villa de Leyva, the colonial gem of the hill towns of the neighboring state of Boyaca; its setting is right our of Man of La Mancha, with small convents, monasteries, plazas admirably restored. In the country side you will find the Guatavita lagoon where the “Dorado” is located (Dorado is the name the Spaniards had for the place where indigenous people used to store the gold).

The salt cathedral of Zipaquira and more than 50 museums like the gold museum (which houses the biggest collection of gold-art pieces

Sample Tours to do in Bogota:

• San Francisco Church – built in 1567
• Museo de Oro – Museum of Gold with more than 30,000 treasures.
• National Museum of Colombia (Museo Nacional de Colombia)
• Quinta de Bolivar – Country home of Simon Bolivar at the foot of Cerro Monserrat