Lake Guatavita or Laguna de Guatavita is a small emerald lake in a crater surrounded by forests about 30 miles outside Bogota. It was a sacred site to the Muisca people, a confederation of tribes who occupied the area from about 1000 BC and who performed religious ceremonies at the lake.
Lake Guatavita is in the Sequiles Municipiciality outside Bogota, from Central Bogota by car it took us about 1 hour to get to Guatavita Town and then another 15 minutes to the entrance to the park where Lake Guativita is. The town of Guatavita on the way is a nice place to grab some food and get a good view of the reservoir.
You can only go into the park on a guided tour which they have about every 30 minutes (tour and entrance fee 17,000 COP). Please remember to bring some ID (passport or driver license as they ask for this at the ticket booth). The tours tell about the Muisca people and their religion and way of life. It is interesting but all the tours were in Spanish so if you need a guide for English or another language you need to arrange this with a tour company. You can take the Spanish language tour but note the guide does stop a lot to explain so if you Spanish isn’t great it could be a bit tedious.
The walk and tour is beautiful and takes about 1 hour to get to the Lake Guatavita viewing spots. Little climbing but not too strenuous.
The Muisca in their religious ceremonies cast gold offerings into the Lake (the Lake representing the Goddess Chie and the Sun the God which fertilized the lake to bring life). The tribal chief covered in gold dust took a raft to the middle of the lake and then dove into the lake, washing off the gold. Following this gold and other precious offerings were thrown into the waters by the people. From these ceremonies came the legend of El Dorado (the “Golden One”) and many came in search of the gold believed to be in the lake. Accordingly there have been a number of attempts to drain or otherwise find the gold hidden beneath the water. The first attempt in 1545 found gold items valued at about US$100,000, the second in 1580 US$400,000 worth of gold and finally the last attempt in 1898 but just US$1000 of gold was found. Since 1965 the lake has been protected so we will never know how much gold lies beneath the surface!
On the way back, you can drive to the nearby town of Sequile which is cute town to stop at for food and coffee and check out the town square called Sequile Plaza and the merchants there.
It is a nice scenic ride back to Bogota along this river.
Conclusion
Lake Guatavita is a beautiful place and great relaxing hike. It is also a good tour which explains the Muisca people and their philosophy. Quite easy to get to from Bogota and a scenic ride passing through cute towns. A definite highlight of my trip. Please let me know your thoughts and any questions. Hope you find some gold there too!
