About Colombia Colombia is a country of 48 million people at the northwestern tip of the South American continent, made up of 32 departments plus the Capital District of Bogotá. It is one of the most biodiverse countries on the planet, hosting the incredible diversity of the Amazon region. It is home to the beloved literary figure Gabriel Garcia Marquez and his renowned 100 Years of Solitude, salsa dancing, cumbia music, and some truly vivacious religious celebrations. And it is home to, as you may already know, a complicated political history that has shaped much of the country’s challenges, achievements and motivations for decades past and decades to come.
What we hope you will soon discover about Colombia, if you haven’t already, is that it is an endlessly fascinating, contradictory, confusing, beautiful, warm and spirited country. While its internal conflict has long defined its international reputation, a huge transformation is taking place, and the country is opening up more than ever to international tourism and investment. We hope that the information below can begin to orient you to the country’s historical and cultural context.
Quick Facts Official name: Republic of Colombia Government: Representative democracy with 4-year presidential terms Capital: Bogotá President: Juan Manuel Santos Location: Northwestern tip of South America Population: 48 million Official Language: Spanish Religion: 90% Roman Catholic Currency: Colombian peso (COP) Demographics: Mestizo; Afro-Colombian/Afro-descendent; Amerindian indigenous Major exports: coffee, cut flowers, coal, petroleum, emeralds Literacy Rate: 93.5% (adult), 98.2% (youth) Minimum Monthly Wage: 600.000[1] COP (roughly USD $225) per month Interesting facts: Colombia is the second most biodiverse country in the world; it is the only South American country with both Pacific and Caribbean coasts; the jungles of Eastern Colombia have 54% of Colombia’s land but only 3% of its people; Colombia has Latin America’s second largest population of African descendants, second to Brazil. Fun fact: Though the most popular sport is far and away football (or soccer for those from the US), the national sport is actually tejo, a game which involves throwing a metal disk at gunpowder pellets Safety Of all the reactions that you got from friends and family at your announcement of coming to Colombia, we’re guessing that at least one fell somewhere along the spectrum of curiosity to concern. Colombia’s international reputation as a dangerous place to come is particularly present for those who remember hearing about the most tumultuous years of drug violence in the 80s and 90s. It goes without saying that the Colombia of today is a very different place than the Colombia of the 1990s. Regardless, we take safety very seriously, and Teach for All considers safety above all else when deciding where to place the Global Conference. You can read more safety information here.
About Bogota
Bogotá is Colombia's beating heart, an engaging and vibrant capital cradled by chilly Andean peaks and steeped in sophisticated urban cool. The city's cultural epicenter is La Candelaria, the cobbled historic downtown to which most travelers gravitate. Here, a potpourri of preciously preserved colonial buildings house museums, restaurants, hotels and bars peppered amid 300-year-old homes, churches and convents. Nearly all of Bogotá's traditional attractions are here – radiating out from Plaza de Bolívar – and gorgeous Cerro de Monserrate is just east.
Bogota’s grittier sides sit south and southwest, where working-class barrios (neighborhoods) continue to battle well-earned reputations for drugs and crime. In the ritzier north, you'll find boutique hotels and well-heeled locals piling into chic entertainment districts such as the Zona Rosa and Zona G. Here, rust- tinted sunsets dramatically bounce off the bricks of upper-class Bogotá's Andes-hugging residential buildings – a cinematic ceremony that begins the city's uproarious evenings.
Quick Facts
Population: 8-9 million Weather: Colombian “cold”, on average about 15°C/58°F (not that cold) Rainy seasons: March-May, October-November Department: Cundinamarca / Distrito Capital Bogotá is a grid! The streets are organized in numbered “Carreras” and “Calles”. Carerras run north-south and Calles run east-west. o Carerras start at 0 at the mountains (which are at the east edge of the city) and increase toward the west. o Calle 0 is in the middle of the city. From Calle 0, street numbers increase toward the north and also increase toward the south but with “sur” tacked on (Calle 3 is 3 blocks north of Calle 0; Calle 3 Sur is 3 blocks south of Calle 0)
Source: http://www.bogota-dc.com/maps/bog-map.htm
Generally speaking, Bogota is split up into four zones. o North: Modern, commercial and residential area. o Central Zone (Downtown): Between Carreras 1 to 14 and Calles 5-34 is the central area. This includes the colonial and colorful neighborhood of La Candelaria. This area has a lot of government offices, museums, churches, and other historic buildings. o Western Zone: This area has various parks and sports centers, administrative offices, and residential areas. This is also where the airport is located. o Southern Zone: Starts at Calle 1 Sur. This area has commercial centers, residential areas, parks, and industrial complexes.
Transportation Driving & Bogota Traffic: Bogota Traffic is a force to be reckoned with. Rush hour is usually from 7-9 am and then 5-8 pm, but you should expect the roads to be fairly congested throughout the majority of the day. Keep this in mind when you schedule your time. Our rule of thumb? During rush hour, add between 50-60mins to the estimated travel time. Even when it’s not rush hour, expect congested roads and give yourself plenty of time to get to your destination. The Transmilenio (bus) runs on its own roads, so it is immune to the traffic congestion. BUT, during rush hour, the buses get crowded. Transmilenio Buses: You can buy a Transmilenio card for 2.000 COP and put money on your card at any station – just look for the Taquilla (Ticket booth) at the front of the stations. You can plan your trip online here or you can ask the police in the stations about which bus to take. There are also system maps in each station. If you have a smartphone, Mi Transmi and TransmiSitp are great apps to plan your transmilenio routes. Transmilenio Prices: Hora pico (rush hour): 2.200 COP Mon-Sat 6:00-8:30am, 9:30am-3:30pm, 4:30-7:30pm Hora valle (not rush hour): 1.800 COP Mon-Sat before 6:00am, 8:30-9:30am, 3:30-4:30pm, after 7:30pm; Sunday/festivos all day
SITP: SITP is another government operated bus system. You can use either your Transmilenio card or a TuLlave card, which you can recharge at any tienda with a bright green TuLlave banner out front. Rates are the same as the Transmilenio (see above) and you can also plan your trips online at the same website. SITP App: TransmiSitp (maps, routes) Buseta/Colectivo: Busetas and colectivos are slowly being replaced by SITP routes, but there are currently still hundreds of routes. The sign in the front window of a buseta has the destination of the bus at the top and the streets/neighborhoods/landmarks of the route below. These signs are easy to recognize for locals but it may take you some time to get used to identifying the busetas/collectivos. There are some designated bus stops, but most of the time you can just wave them down wherever you are. Board the bus via the front door and pay the driver or the assistant as you get on. To get off, go to the door and press the buzzer (timbre) to notify the driver that you want them to stop. If you have a doubt about the bus passing where you want to go, ask the driver right when you get on. If there isn’t a buzzer, then just tell the driver “por acá, por favor (here, please) or “la esquina, por favor” (on the corner, please) or “baja!”(getting off). Taxi It’s always best to call a safe taxi instead of flagging one from the street, as many taxi drivers overcharge foreigners and Bogotá has a history of safety problems with taxi. The taxi driver will start the meter when you get in, and there will be a laminated paper in the back seat pocket with a list of prices so that you can check that you are charged the correct fare. At night and on Sundays or festivos (holidays) there are additional fees. When you call a taxi, you will be given the license plate number of your taxi (la placa) and a two digit number (el código) that the taxi driver will ask you for when they arrive to confirm that you are the person they are supposed to pick up. The two digit number will be the last two digits of the phone number that you call from. Taxi Apps: Tappsi; Easy Taxi Taxi Numbers to call: 211-1111, 311-1111, etc. (if calling from a cell phone, dial 031 first) Bus Terminals You can catch a bus from Bogotá to ANYWHERE. Plan your trip on this website. The Salitre Terminal is the main bus terminal, located at Diagonal 23 #69-60. Here, you can catch buses to all major cities in Colombia as well as international buses. Most large buses going to larger towns/cities to the south of Bogotá will start and end at the Salitre Terminal, making a brief stop at the Terminal del Sur. The much smaller Terminal del Sur has small buses that go to smaller towns near Bogotá. This terminal is on Autopista Sur with Avenida Bosa. Safety Tips Call a taxi instead of flagging one from the street. It is especially recommended that you call a safe taxi at night, if you have been drinking, if you are going to the airport, if you are going a long distance, or if you have your laptop or other valuables. Do not walk alone at night. Spend the extra pesos to take a quick taxi ride to the nearest Transmilenio station. Hold your purse or bag in front of you. Embrace the stylish look of wearing your backpack on your front while on the bus or waiting in a line. Be aware of your surroundings. Keep nothing in your back pockets, especially not phones or wallets. Don’t flash valuables on the bus, on the street or in public places where no one else is flashing valuables. o In Colombia there is a saying “No des payapa!” (Don’t give away your papaya!), which means don’t expose yourself by walking around with valuables showing. Take advice and cues from Colombians, who are equally aware of safety concerns. Food and Coffee Colombians usually eat a pretty hearty breakfast and lunch and then have a small dinner. Lunch usually consists of three courses. A soup or fruit first course, a main course, and a desert. They usually always have fresh squeezed juice with their meals too. Corrientazo / Menú del Día An excellent lunch option when you’re on a tight budget are corrientazos, which are small restaurants found everywhere that have a constantly rotating menu of the day consisting of typical Colombian food. Prices range from 5.000 COP in the south to 10.000 COP in the north of the city with most places in between charging around 6.500 COP. Areas with many restaurant options, including international cuisines Zona G Parque 93 Usaquén Macarena Coffee Juan Valdez, http://www.juanvaldezcafe.com/es/colombia Amor Perfecto, http://www.amorperfectocafe.net/ Café Devotion, Calle 20 #69B - 12 http://www.cafedevotion.com/ Azahar, Carrera 14 #93A-48 http://azaharcoffee.com/ Bourbon Coffee Roasters, Calle 70A #13-83 https://www.facebook.com/bourboncoffeeco OMA, http://www.cafeoma.com/ Luvina Cafe, Carrera 5 # 26C - 06, Bogotá www.luvina.com.co/ Must-Try Colombian Foods Arepas: An arepa is a kind of bread made from cornmeal which is often served with butter or corn. Ajiaco: This is a soup containing chicken, potato, corn, capers, avocado and sour cream. An essential ingredient in ajiaco is guasca, a herb grown throughout South America. Bandeja Paisa: This meal is considered Colombia’s national dish. This is a traditional meal that workers used to eat to give them lots of energy throughout the day so it’s quite heavy! It is a platter filled with steak, pork crackling and chorizo sausages served on a bed of rice and red beans. To top it off, there is usually a fried egg and it is often served with slices of avocado and fried plantains. Lechona: Lechona is pork stuffed with rice, peas, onions and a fragrant combination of spices and then cooked in a clay oven for up to ten hours. Fritanga: It is a plate full of grilled meat like beef, chicken, ribs and sausages and fried cow intestines (chunchullo) which get served with little potatoes and arepas or with fried plantains. Patacones: Green plantains squashed into thick pancakes that are deep fried in vegetable oil until golden brown. Sancocho: A very common dish although ingredients do vary by region. It usually includes chicken, plantains, yucca, cilantro, corn, and potatoes.
Going Out Best neighborhoods: Zona T, Zona Rosa, Chapinero, Parque 93, Usaquén, Centro La Villa (Gringo Tuesdays, Salsa Thursdays) www.gringotuesdays.com Casa de la Cerveza http://www.casadelacerveza.com.co/ Theatron (LGBTQ) http://www.theatron.co/ Armando Records http://www.armandorecords.org/ Andres DC (Expensive but unique experience!) http://www.andrescarnederes.com/es/andres_dc Chorro de Quevedo, Carrera 2 & Calle 12B Hiking -Quebrada La Vieja: nice free hike just behind Chapinero Alto. Trailhead is at Calle 72 with Circunvalar. Go early in the morning because trail is only patrolled by police from 5:30-10:00am. -Monserrate (the church in the mountains): hike up for free, but for safety go on a Saturday or Sunday when many other people will be on the trail. It’s always safe to pay to take the gondola or train up. -Caminar Colombia: organizes group day hikes or multiple day excursions. Charges 35.000/hike, includes transportation and a guide. http://www.caminarcolombia.com/ -Other trails in/near Bogotá: http://www.eltiempo.com/archivo/documento/CMS-13506655
Free weekend activities Walk around la Candelaria! I love walking down septima (Cra 7, closed off for pedestrains) on the weekends because it's full of street performers, musicians, artists, dancers, food, weird things like guinea pig races, etc. Take the Transmilenio to the Museo del Oro stop and turn left or right down 7th! Turn left to go towards Plaza Bolivar. I also recommend walking around the old streets of la Candelaria up towards the mountains. If you walk up towards the mountains to Cra 0 you'll get a nice view! Free museums! Museo Botero (art); Museo Arte Contemporáneo (contemporary art); Casa de Moneda (the coin history) are all connected. Calle 11 #4-41 Museo del Oro (gold museum) is free on Sundays only. Cra 6 #15-88 Museo Nacional Cra 7 #28-66 Other Local Tips Bogotá has districts for EVERYTHING. There's a flower district, a hardware district, a military uniform district, etc. If you get off the Transmilenio at the Calle 57 stop, you'll find yourself in the pet district! Say hola to block after block of puppies, kitties, birds, hamsters and fish. Nothing against Monserrate, but you can find an even better city view from La Calera, from which you can see more of the city from closer and without all the other tourists. You can catch buses up to La Calera from Calle 72 or from Cra 7 between Calle 72 and Calle 81. There are two viewpoints (mirador) and they're pretty close to each other so you can get off at one and then walk to the other in a few minutes. It's cool to see the view of all the city lights at night, too! Bogotá has some really great parks, and they're full of action on the weekends. Parque Simon Bolivar is enormous and it has little lakes with boats and tons of people selling snacks, riding bikes, rollerblading and hanging out. Parque Virrey and Parque 93 are nice parks up north. These 3 parks also often have free events like concerts and food festivals. Every Sunday morning there's a market of artesanías (handcrafts) up north in Usaquén called the Usaquén Mercado de las Pulgas. It's also a cool area to walk around. Make sure to walk through the main section of tents and then to walk up the hill and through the parking lot to the other half. To get there you can take the Transmilenio to Pepe Sierra and then hop in a cab for a $5.000 ride the rest of the way, or take a buseta up Cra 7 and get off at the Hacienda Santa Barbara mall. Mercado de Paloquemao (8am-1pm every day), is a huge market full of fresh produce, meat, herbs and flowers. The earlier you go, the better! Be extra careful, as pickpocketing is common. Avenida 19 & Carerra 25 Every Sunday morning until around 2pm Bogota also closes down a bunch of main streets for Ciclovia. All of Bogotá takes advantage of the space to bike, rollerblade and walk their dogs. There are also vendors along all the routes selling juice and food. It's fun to just walk along and people watch, and there are also some points where you can rent a bike for free. They will ask for your credit card info in case you steal the bike, but you won’t be charged if you return it. Map of the Ciclovia routes: http://www.inbogota.com/transporte/ciclovia/imagenes/mapa%20ciclovia.gif Bike renting site: http://www.idrd.gov.co/pedalea_por_bogota/ Trips just outside of Bogotá Zipaquirá is a pueblo to the north that is home to the Catedral de Sal (Salt Cathedral). Catch a buseta from Portal Norte – 2 hrs Chía, Tabio, Cajicá, Tenjo are cute pueblos to the northwest of Bogotá. Catch a buseta from Portal de la 80 or Portal Norte – 1-2 hrs
Guatavita is cute little colonial town to the northeast with a nearby hike up to Laguna de Guatavita, the lake that is the birthplace of the legend of El Dorado. Catch a bus to the town from Portal Norte, and from town you can ask around about transportation to the laguna. It’s best to go on a Sunday when colectivos leave from the town plaza to the trailhead.
Parque Natural Chicaque is an amazing park for hiking in a cloud forest, and you can also go horseback riding and camp there. Catch a bus from Portal del Sur. Park entrance admission: 11.000
Villa de Leyva is a touristy colonial town with great cafés and artesanías. Catch a bus from Portal Norte, either a direct bus to Villa de Leyva (4-5 hours, 22.000) or a bus to the Tunja terminal (3 hours, 19.000) and then a colectivo to Villa de Leyva (1 hour, 6.500).