Group Tours with Rosa Ramirez Carlson

Bogotá

As the commercial center and country's capital, Bogotá is as lively and vibrant as you'll see in South America.  This bustling city is home to a magnificent array of churches, museums, colonial mansions and government buildings.  However, the real charm of the city lies in its diversity. Wherever you look, the mix between old and new is vibrantly displayed.  The balance between its historical past and its stirring future makes the city a destination not to be missed.

Bogotá is now considered Colombia's largest political, financial and cultural center.  With an elevation of 8,660 feet above sea level, this central Colombian city lies on the rim of a mountain plateau high in the Cordillera Oriental of the Andes but is still only 4°36' north of the equator. Founded on August 6th, 1538 by the Spanish conquistador Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada, Bogotá became the vice-regal capital of New Granada in 1717. It was then captured by Simón Bolívar in 1819 and was the capital of Gran Colombia, an independent nation that later became three different countries: Ecuador, Venezuela and Nueva Granada.  Nueva Granada was later named the United States of Colombia and in 1886 it was officially named the Republic of Colombia.