Bogota

La Candelaria is a lovely area to walk around, see the amazing street graffiti, lovely cafe and restaurants, pretty colonial buildings. Mercado de las Pulgas de Usaquen is also a must visit flea market. It mainly consiste of Colonial art, snacks and jewellery. Go to the Plaza de Mercado de Paloquemao for exotic fruits and brilliant smoothies. The most visited malls are Centro Andino, Centro Comercial Santa Fe, Centro Comercial Gran Estacion, Centro Comercial Unicentro Bogota.¾

Bogotians love to go out, drink and dance in night clubs. Different clubs are suitable for a range of different purposes. Theatron is the best electronic club. ¾One should visit Gringos on Tuesdays for parties and the Exchange Salsa on Thursdays for salsa beginners. The 6L6 offers live music from Thursday to Saturday. Le Coq is an open air club with indie and rock music mixing. Andres Carne de Res in Chia should also be definitely visited.¾

Santa Fe de Bogotˆ is the capital of Colombia. Before the Spanish came into the region, Bogota was inhabited by the people of Muisca. These people spoke Chibcha, which is only spoken in some areas outside of the city. Muequeta was the capital of Muisca. From there, the king (zipa who was named Bogota) used to rule with a subordinate (zaque who was named Tunja). The Quesada conquered Muisca and founded Santa Fe on the ruins of Muequeta on August 6, 1538. The Spanish referred to Bogota as New Granada. The infrastructure, the climate and the workforce formed by the natives favoured the Spanish. The city grew very fast, in 1717, it had grown enough that it was named a Viceroyalty, putting it at par with Peru and Mexico, after which the viceroy could take important decisions without consulting Spain. Hence, it was a very big deal. Columbia got its freedom on July 20, 1810, when the patriots demanded the viceroy to step down. The city was recaptured by the Spanish and the new viceroy executed the suspected patriots. Sim„n BolÍvar and Francisco de Paula Santander liberated the city in the Battle of Boyacˆ in 1819.¾

Columbian Spanish is spoken in Bogota. The common phrases that you should know are Ch_vere (adjective that is used to describe something that is "really good", "cool", "awesome", "amazing"), Que mas (used to mean "how are you?"), Bacano (describe anything that is of good quality), Bacano (do me the favor of...), Listo (means "smart" or "intelligent").

The locals dress a bit formal, and bringing a jacket is recommended as the weather is lighty autumnal. No shorts, sandals or hawaiin shirts. If no service is included, tipping 5 - 10 % is customary in restaurants. Tipping cab drivers is not usually done. Tipping hotel personnel USD 1 - 2 will do. Men and women are usually greeted by a hand shake. You can expect women and men who meet for the second or third time to greet with a small cheek-kiss.

Catholicism is the main religion.

Budget Travel: 70000-75000COP; Comfortable Travel: 80000COP; Luxury travel: 85000-90000COP

The best method to exchange the currency is at the forex beaurax at the El Dorado airport in Bogota and offers a decent exchange rate. Banks may not offer a great exchange rate, therefore, tourists must go with foreign exchange beaurax only. Also, most banks may only change US Dollar traveller cheques. ATMs are widely available in Bogota where the tourists may withdraw some cash but they must be extremely cautious while withdrawing money as there are many cases reported of theft and card cloning.

The top places near to Bogota are Cartagena which is 650 km from Bogota, Medellin which is located 16437 km from Bogota, London which is located 8493 km from Bogota, Dubai which is located 13621 km from Bogota, Amsterdam which is located 8847 km from Bogota

The top things to do in Bogota are La Candelaria, Gold Museum, Mount Monserrate, Graffiti tour, Salt Cathedral, Plaza de Bolivar. You can see all the places to visit in Bogota here

There are 1489 in Bogota which can be booked through Holidify. The most popular hotels in Bogota are 8010 Urban Living, Conjunto Residencial Puerto Bahia, El chalet D'natura, En mejor sector d Bogota, Quinta Sans-Soucis, Apartaestudios Quinta Hidalga. You can see all the hotels in Bogota here

Housing so many beautiful landscapes, Bogota is equally famous for the local Columbian cuisine. Try the lip smacking flavour of Bandeja Paisa, Ajiaco Black Folks Fish and the famous cutlet valluna.
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