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Airport
Aeropuerto El Dorado is 13km to the west of the city centre. Allow plenty of time within the airport on arrival as all passengers must have their bags checked against the luggage tags on their ticket and almost everybody will have at least one bag searched by customs on the way out. There are money changing facilities at the airport plus the usual array of shops, though most are vastly overpriced and you’re better off stocking up before arriving at the airport. There are no left luggage facilities.
Airport to City Centre
The taxi rank is situated through a side door to the right of customs. There’s a kiosk by the door where a man will ask you for your destination and then hand you a computer printout, including the price for the journey, which you should give to the cabbie. Airport buses to the city centre are far cheaper than a taxi but not suitable for new arrivals in Bogota, especially when struggling with luggage. Most hotels offer transport to and from the airport, but usually for twice the price of an ordinary taxi, and the driver is usually lost in the crowd that inevitably greets each flight. Take the public taxi to save the hassle. 
Orientation
It’s difficult to get lost in Bogota since the hills in the east of the city will normally help you to get your bearings. The city is planned on an American grid system of carreras and calles, with every address an easily locatable cross reference between a carrera and a calle. All street corners have a sign telling you which intersection of roads you are standing at. 
Business travellers are most likely to find themselves in two distinct areas: the city centre, which includes the main government buildings located in the colonial hub of historic architecture, and the prosperous north, which encompasses the main business district and the more affluent residential areas. The two are linked by the Septima, Bogota’s main thoroughfare. South of the Presidential Palace are the poorer suburbs, getting steadily more dilapidated before collapsing into the sprawling shantytowns, many without water or electricity. Bogota’s industrial belt is located in the western district where the airport is situated. 
Excursions      Resebyrå -      Queensway Travel
Usaquen: This once picturesque village has been swallowed up by Bogota’s expansion, yet retains its community feel and colonial architecture. Easily reached by taxi, the best time to visit is a Sunday morning when a large market packed with craftsmen sets up shop. Families from all over Bogota come to stroll around the market, or sit in the central square watching the buskers and street artists perform. For the rest of the week, Usaquen’s plaza is the preserve of the city’s antique traders. Calle 119 with Carrera 5. 
Monserrate: The mountain of Monserrate looms over the city at 3,200m, a beacon at night when the illuminated church is seemingly suspended above the city. The mountain is a site of pilgrimage for foodies contemplating restaurant Casa San Isidro, while pilgrims visit the church to see Pedro Lugo de Albarracn’s sculpture of the Seor Cado, to which many miracles have been attributed. The more active walk up the mountain path, which takes about 35 min, but there is also a cable car and train. The climb is a part of the weekend family ritual, interspersed with regular stops at the stalls selling water and excellent fruit juices. The view from the top on a clear day is well worth the trek. 
If you have a couple of days free and can escape the capital then it’s worth investigating these two holiday possibilities a few hours flight from Bogota. 
Cartagena: On the Caribbean coast and soaked in sun the whole year round, Cartagena is the most beautiful city in South America and Colombia’s best combination of sun, sand, sea and culture. Founded in 1533 by the Spaniards, the city is ringed with fortifications designed to fend off British pirates, and still retains much colonial architecture. 
San Andres: A Caribbean island paradise some 500 miles off the coast of Colombia, with great beaches, diving and duty-free shopping.
Getting Around
Traffic is hideous in Bogota. There is no metro and public transport is a choice between bus or taxi. Consequently, much of the city is gridlocked from 0700-0930 and 1600-1930. Avoiding travelling at these times is easier said than done, so select your hotel carefully to minimise travel around the city. If you’re new to Bogota, there is little option but to take one of the bright yellow city taxis. Taxis are universally available and cheap, the average fare being about 6,000 pesos. At night it is advisable to call a cab firm to minimise risk, as you will be asked the last two digits of your phone number and you must confirm these with the driver. The more adventurous can try their luck on the buses, but determining which bus takes you where can be difficult as only the final destination is displayed. 
What to see
Museo de Oro: The Gold Museum is the most staggering museum of its kind in the world, and arguably the most impressive museum in South America. On display are over 33,000 pieces of gold from pre-Columbian culture, the most spectacular of which are exhibited in a huge vault. If you see nothing else, find the balsa musica, a delicate gold model of the raft on which El Dorado was launched onto the lake at Guatavita, which even today is believed to conceal untold riches of ceremonial Indian gold. Another highlight is the model of the Lost City. 
Iglesia de San Francisco: Almost opposite the Gold Museum is Bogota’s oldest church, built in 1556. It doesn’t look much from the outside, and you’ll have to weave your way through the beggars pleading for alms to get in, but it is an oasis of calm inside and boasts an impressive 17c gilded retable in the presbytery, casting a golden glow on the huge wooden beams supporting the roof.
Museo Nacional: This forbidding building was designed as the city prison by the English architect Thomas Reed in the second half of the 19c. It houses a fine selection of Indian crafts and art, with the upper floor dedicated to paintings depicting colonial history and the fight for independence. For those with a more macabre streak, check out the perfectly preserved Indian mummy on the ground floor. 
Museo de Arte Religioso: This small museum stages mainly temporary exhibitions, and is housed in the middle of a national library which is in itself worth the visit, though you’ll have to fight your way through the throng of students. The stunning centrepiece is formed by two 18c monstrances housed in a vault; the La Lechuga boasts 4,900g of solid gold, 1,485 emeralds, 168 amethysts, 28 diamonds, 13 rubies, 62 pearls, one topaz and one seriously big sapphire. 
Iglesia de la Veracruz: Next door to the Iglesia de San Francisco, the burial ground of 80 patriots killed by the Spaniards during the struggle for independence is known as the National Pantheon. The tomb of the martyrs is in front of the altar. Don’t be afraid of entering the church during mass, since Colombians have a relaxed attitude to religious propriety and will pop in for parts of services and busy themselves in amongst various chapels or statues along the sides of the churches.
Shopping        Svenska resebyråerna - Hyrbil          Queensway Travel
Best for bargains are the San Andresitos markets, with everything from electrical goods to sunglasses. These markets are illegal and often closed down by the government. Avoid if you have any moral scruples, as prices are reputedly subsidised to legitimise the dirty money of the drug cartels. The biggest market is centred around Carrera 38 with 10, and is where the Colombians do their shopping. If you’re after indigenous souvenirs along the lines of beautiful hammocks, Indian art and embroidered wall hangings, drop by El Zaque. If you can’t find what you want, there is another shop next door stocking the same sort of stuff. Colombian coffee is reputed to be the best in the world, so make sure you grab a few bags of the omnipresent fresh beans. For US-style consumer satiation, the San Andino shopping mall stocks expensive imported goods. 
Where to walk
Almost everything there is to see is sandwiched between Calle 7 and Calle 30, easily covered on foot in two to three hours. Start at the presidential palace (Casa Nario) on Carrera 7 with Calle 7. There are changing of the guard ceremonies at 5pm on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Then head up the Septima to the historic core of the city, the Plaza de Bolivar, centred around the bronze statue of Simon Bolivar, the liberator of Colombia from Spanish rule. On the south side of the square are the Congress and the Capitolio Nacional, and opposite is the Palacio de Justicia, newly rebuilt after the November 1985 siege when it was taken over by M-19 guerrillas and stormed by Colombian army tanks. 
Head east (right) from the square to the real gem of Bogota, the Candelaria or colonial district. Beautiful courtyards with fountains lie behind innocuously plain doors on the narrow cobbled streets. Keep an eye out for the life-size sculptures climbing into windows and along the roofs, a bizarre addition by local artists. 
Keeping the mountains on your right, head north to Avenida Jimenez and to the intersection with the Septima, where you’ll find Iglesia de San Francisco and Iglesia de la Veracruz. Just up the Septima is Plaza de Santander and the Gold Museum. Keep going up the Septima until you reach Calle 24, take a right and investigate the Museum of Modern Art, beyond which is a bridge spanning the main road and delivering you into the tranquillity of Parque de la Independencia. 
While you’re resting look out for the Moorish Plaza de Toros de Santamaria, Bogota’s 14,000 capacity bullring. Avoid on peak season Sundays, otherwise pop in and watch the young bullfighters honing their skills. Head down the hill and back onto the Septima. After a couple of blocks you’ll arrive at the old city prison, now the National Museum. Entrance is free and the coffee shop is excellent. 
Weather and Climate
Bogota lies 2,600 metres above sea level. To avoid altitude sickness, take it easy for the first day or so, and expect to find yourself out of breath undertaking even the most basic exercise. The temperature does not vary much from 9ºC during the night to 19ºC during the day. A jacket or sweater is advisable in the evening, though it never gets really cold.
Local Issues
The current fodder for Colombia’s chattering classes is the nascent peace process, begun by the new president Andres Pastrana. Colombians are hoping he can negotiate an end to the civil war that has plagued the country for 34 years, although few are optimistic. The war dominates the papers every day, with some atrocity committed by right-wing paramilitaries, or another attack by Marxist rebels. Fortunately for foreigners, the struggle is restricted to the countryside, some 50% of which is under the control of rebels or their paramilitary foes. 
The Colombian businessman is generally highly educated and fluent in English. Most are US educated and well-used to international business dealings. Unfortunately, only bad news of war, drugs and corruptions seem to emanate from this beautiful and varied country, and little is known about its many positive aspects. An insensitive comment about this is the only thing likely to offend this hospitable people. 
Local Heroes
Bogotans are politically aware, and the Byzantine operations of the Casa Nario (Presidential Palace), Senate and Congress carry significant conversational clout. The key figure is President Andres Pastrana, the 44 year-old former mayor of Bogota and son of a former president, who is the hope for the new Colombia. Other colourful figures on the political circuit are Navarro Wolf, a former leader of the now disbanded M-19 guerrilla movement and a popular figure in the capital, and Noemi Sanin, a determined campaigner who challenged the two party system that monopolized political power by polling the highest number of votes in the capital, only to lose out when the rural votes came in.
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