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Guatavita is a small town near Bogotá, Colombia, that was built in the 1960s. It replaced an older town with the same name that was flooded during the construction of a reservoir. The town is the gateway to Lake Guatavita, where the Legend of El Dorado was born.
It’s very well built for tourism and includes a beautiful little town center with a couple museums, a contemporary church, and plenty of restaurants, cafés, and souvenir shops. It’s a great place to spend an hour or two before or after a trip to the lake.
Lake Guatavita Tours
Round trip transportation to the lake, just a half hour away, can be purchased in town at reasonable prices. Lineas El Dorado sells tickets from a small tourist booth across from the Bullring (Plaza de Toros). We were lucky to get on the last departure for the day at 2:30pm. They drop you off at the entrance and are waiting to pick you up after the guided tour ends.
Getting There
To get to Guatavita, there are two routes. The easiest, most direct route is to take a bus from Portal del Norte in Bogotá. It takes roughly 90 minutes. It’s best to go earlier in the day.
The more “scenic” route involves taking a bus from Calle 72 to La Calera and/or Guasca. There are direct buses to both, with buses to Guasca passing through La Calera. We stopped in both towns on our way to Guatavita. In the end, the direct route would’ve been the wiser choice.
