Guatavita is one of my favourite towns, and it is not far from Bogotá. I would recommend the route through Sesquilé. The distance from Bogotá to Sesquilé is 58 km, and from Sesquilé to the new town of Guatavita it is another 21 km. If you drive straight through, it will take you a little over an hour and a half. I would, however, recommend a short stop at Sesquilé.
You may find the names of several towns in Colombia very different from what you would have encountered in other parts of the world. That is actually one good thing the Spanish colonialists did: they retained the original indigenous names of towns and cities across the country. You therefore have interesting names like Guatavita, Sesquilé, Tocancipá, Gachancipá, and Zipaquirá. The towns and cities are as interesting as the sound of their names, and it is worth paying attention to the accents over the vowels when you learn to say them.
When you think of a trip to Guatavita, there are two lakes involved, and you will need to indicate clearly to your driver or tour company which one you wish to visit. One is the ancient, sacred Laguna de Guatavita. The other is the Embalse de Tominé, the Tominé reservoir. In my personal opinion, you cannot do justice to both lakes in a single day if you also wish to spend time in Guatavita town. If you want to see both, consider staying the night in Guatavita.
How to Get There
The easiest way to get there is by car, taxi, or public bus. Unless you are used to driving in Colombia, I would recommend that you do not drive yourself. The popular way to get there is to hire a car and driver. Please negotiate your fare before you leave the capital, and make sure you ask to be brought back as well. As mentioned above, I would recommend that you approach Guatavita through the town of Sesquilé.
A Note About Sesquilé and the Muisca
It is estimated that there were once between 500,000 and three million Muisca people at the time of the Spanish invasion, although no accurate figure is available. A study of Colombia’s Muisca population in 2005 found a little over 14,000 remaining. Today they are found as small communities in certain areas of the Department of Cundinamarca and in Bogotá DC. The Muisca Councils of Cota, Chía, and Sesquilé together numbered only 2,318 people in 2006.
You may not normally see any of them when you visit Sesquilé. If you are lucky, you may see a few selling their handicraft or souvenirs in a corner of the main square. They do not seem to like being photographed, so please ask permission before you click the shutter. On one of my visits to the town I was lucky to see a couple of them, though they would not allow me to photograph either themselves or their wares. Even so, I was lucky to see some Muisca people.
The Altiplano Cundiboyacense
As you drive to Sesquilé, you will get an idea of the flatness of the high-altitude Altiplano, which is essentially a high plateau. It was part of the long inland sea of northern South America, formed as part of the uplift of the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes since Neogene times.
The drive will also give you an idea of why Bogotá is one of the largest cities in South America. The city can expand almost endlessly. You will see mountains along one side and lush green vegetation on the Sabana de Bogotá all the way. Keep your fingers crossed for no rain on the day of your drive, and remember that Colombia is the rainiest country in the world.
In Sesquilé you can get out, stretch your legs, and walk around the main plaza, or visit the church and the chapel if they are open. After that, and after a delicious cup of Colombian coffee and a pastel de pollo in the rustic panadería on the square (standing on the square facing the church, you will find the bakery on the right), you can carry on to Guatavita.
The Conquistadors and the Sacred Laguna
The Spanish conquistadors had learnt about Laguna de Guatavita probably as early as 1531 CE. You will remember that the Spaniards came to this part of the world looking for the precious yellow metal.
Going back a little further, before the Spanish arrived the area was inhabited by the Muisca and ruled by the Casique, or ruler, of Guatavita. He was a powerful figure, consulted regularly by the Zipas of Bacatá, which is Bogotá, and the Zaques of Hunza. Guatavita specialised in working with gold.
The Legend of El Dorado
The Laguna de Guatavita was high on the colonialists’ list in their quest for gold. They had heard that the lake was sacred to the local Muisca. On the appointment of a new Casique, as part of the ceremony, he was covered in gold dust, which is why the Spanish called him El Dorado, the golden one, and he was ferried on a ceremonial raft towards the centre of the lake.
He jumped into the water to wash off the gold. Attendants and followers then offered gold artefacts and objects, emeralds, and jewellery to the gods of Laguna de Guatavita.
The Spanish tried to drain the lake in an attempt to find the gold. They initially managed to lower the surface level by about ten feet before abandoning the project. It is said that later another man tried to drain the water by cutting a notch deep into the rim of the lake, and he succeeded in lowering the level a little further. Little did they know that the lake is 410 feet deep. The attempts at draining it were a futile exercise. Laguna de Guatavita keeps its secrets and its gold.
Walking Up to the Laguna
This trip to the Laguna is really a hike. You need to be prepared to climb about 750 feet, and it is not for those with a weak heart or with pulmonary problems.
Tourists enter the trail to the Laguna de Guatavita through a protected park. Tickets have to be purchased at the entrance, and they are not expensive. You are then taken through the park by guides, who are part of the visit and need no extra payment, and who will tell you about some of the interesting flora and about the Muisca. After that you start on the trail and your climb. Be prepared for some stages where the incline is steep.
The reward is a walk along the crest of the circular lake, with views from several viewing points. The lake looks like a volcanic crater, but it is not one. It is now believed to be the result of the dissolution of underground salt deposits from an anticline, producing a sort of sinkhole. If you are hoping to get the whole lake into a single photograph, bring a wide-angle lens, because a standard lens will not hold it.
Once you have finished with the views, you walk down a gentle slope to find your transport. The trip will take up most of your morning, or the better part of a day, depending on when you start and how long you spend on the crest. You are then free to drive on to Guatavita town, if you plan to do both lakes on the same day.
The Creation of the Tominé Reservoir
Once upon a time, in Colombia’s Department of Cundinamarca, on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, there was a town called Guatavita. It was founded on 18 March 1593 by Miguel de Ibarra.
In the late 1950s and 1960s, the Colombian authorities began to draw up plans for a large reservoir at Guatavita. The Embalse de Tominé was completed in 1967 and the valley was slowly flooded. Today the lake is 18 kilometres long and 4 kilometres wide at its widest, and it reaches a maximum depth of 125 feet. It powers hydroelectric plants and supplies Bogotá with drinking water, and it is the largest reservoir on the Sabana de Bogotá.
Unfortunately, the old town of Guatavita is completely submerged at the bottom of the lake, lying at a depth of about 125 feet. When the water drops to lower levels during El Niño years, it is said that the tower of the old church becomes visible. Do not be disappointed if you do not see it. It means the reservoir is full, which will give you far better photographs by the lakeside. I have been to Guatavita several times over the years and have never seen the tower.
The New Town of Guatavita
As the reservoir was being built, the new town of Guatavita was constructed well above the water line, and the people of the old town were resettled there. The architecture of the new town is colonial Spanish, and there are many interesting streets and buildings.
One of Guatavita’s main squares, with its whitewashed bell tower and arcaded gallery above the brick steps.
The town lies 75 kilometres northeast of Bogotá, at 8,790 feet above mean sea level on the Eastern Range of the Andes. The population of the municipality and town was 6,898 at the 2015 census.
What is most interesting about the town is that although it was built only some seventy-odd years ago, it was designed in the style of Spanish colonial architecture. Everywhere you go in the centre of New Guatavita you see walls made to look like old colonial adobe, painted white, and every building is roofed in red terracotta tiles.
The Three Town Squares
In colonial Spanish towns you usually find the church, a bank or two, the school, a police station, and a few restaurants on the main square. The centre of Guatavita has three main squares. One of them holds the church, the parsonage, an auditorium, a small museum, which when I last visited was not worth the time I spent inside, and a couple of restaurants.
To the south of that is another main square with a hotel, a few restaurants, and souvenir shops. Further south again is a square with a large parking area in the middle, along with the main police station and a few other facilities. It may be a good idea to grab a quick lunch at one of the restaurants. If you have a packed lunch or sandwiches with you, you could eat by the lakeside and enjoy the views while you do.
The Bullring
Walking across the road in a south-westerly direction will take you to the town’s small bullring. It is not used for bullfighting, but is these days often the venue for small exhibitions and events. I would recommend that you walk around and explore the town on foot.
The town’s small bullring, ringed by tiered stone seating and terracotta roofs, now used for exhibitions and events rather than bullfighting.
Down to the Tominé Reservoir
Going downhill through the gateway in the corner of the town, in a westerly direction, will take you to the lakeside. I would not recommend walking the distance, because walking back uphill can be quite a task. Sometimes, especially on holidays, there is free transport for everyone to use, in a vehicle pulled by a tractor. If you have hired a car for your trip, I would recommend driving down. At the lakeside you have some beautiful vistas for the camera.
The Embalse de Tominé from the high ground above the town. The reservoir runs 18 kilometres long and covers the valley where the old town stood.
A Different Panoramic Viewpoint
Another viewing point, not very well known, is one I like for the view from a higher elevation. If you take Carrera 3 in a southerly direction and turn right at the crossroads, it leads to an unfinished road, and from the end of it you have a good view of the lake and of the whole of central Guatavita from a vantage point.
Returning to Bogotá via La Calera
For the return trip, I would recommend the route back via La Calera. Just before the town of La Calera there are some excellent views of Usaquén, in the north of the capital. The police have in recent years closed off the points where we used to stop for the views and for photographs during the golden hour.
Usaquén and the north of Bogotá, seen from the road down through La Calera.
There are, however, a few restaurants from which the view is still visible. You will either need to research viewpoints in advance or keep an eye out for those restaurants and hotels as you drive by. Your driver may well know a place or two with good views over Usaquén.
Guatavita is not a tour we run, and it does not need to be. It sits in the same band of highland country as the day trips we do offer from Bogotá, the Salt Cathedral at Zipaquirá and Villa de Leyva, so it fits easily into a week for anyone who wants more of the Altiplano than a single excursion allows.
Written by
Mano Chandra Dhas ›Founder of Coromandel Tours. In travel since 1975, from Singapore Airlines to Emirates and Carlson Wagonlit, he now curates private journeys through Colombia, Peru, India, and Nepal from his home in Bogotá. Many of the photographs on this site are his.
