Landing at Bogota El Dorado International Airport in Bogota keeps everything close, with nearby cities and attractions within easy reach. Bogota sits high in the Andes at over 2,600 meters, so the air is cool and the light is sharp. The city is big, creative, and fast-moving, with colonial streets, brick high-rises, and a cycling culture that closes major roads to cars every Sunday.

Standout experiences around Bogota: - Ride the cable car or funicular up Monserrate for a view over the whole city - Walk the painted colonial streets of La Candelaria - See thousands of pre-Columbian gold pieces at the Museo del Oro - Visit the Botero Museum, free and full of the artist's rounded figures - Join the Sunday Ciclovía, when more than a hundred kilometers of streets become bike paths - Browse the Sunday flea market and brunch spots in Usaquén - Eat ajiaco, the chicken, potato, and corn soup made for cool evenings - Go out in Chapinero and the Zona Rosa for restaurants, bars, and salsa - Sample tropical fruit at the Paloquemao market

Bogota also makes a good base for the Cundinamarca highlands. The Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá, carved inside a salt mine, is about an hour north, and Lake Guatavita, source of the El Dorado legend, is around ninety minutes away. Chía, home of the famous Andrés Carne de Res restaurant and dance hall, is a half-hour drive, and the Chicaque cloud forest reserve is about an hour southwest. Order a hot chocolate with a slice of cheese dropped in, as locals do, and give yourself a day to adjust to the altitude. Bogota rewards the patient visitor.