Americas

[Visited: January 2020]

For years, I had wanted to climb Cerro Monserrate, clearly visible from many parts in the city on top of the mountain range directly east of Bogotá, but for several reasons, I never did (trail closed, weather bad). Until I was back in Bogotá, it was a fine day, and I was on my way to the foot of the mountain with a pleasant taxi driver who confessed he had been up only once, and took the funicular. He dropped me at the foot of the mountain, I walked past the queue at the base station, and started the hike up. The first few minutes, I feel the altitude: after all, I was below sea level only 24 hours earlier. Then, my body adjusts and I keep a steady pace on the wide path that seems to get steeper the higher you get, with most parts being winding stairs. The city is slowly disappearing below me. Then, sooner than I expect, I see the bell-tower above me, walk the last bit, and find myself on the top at 3152m in a little over half an hour.
Another few steps up take me to a viewpoint where I turn around to finally take in the views over the Colombian capital. From the south, clouds are floating in, taking a curtain of showers over the million-people city. I enter the Nuestro Señor de Monserrate church, which is a modern building on a spot where older churches once stood. In fact, Monserrate was a holy mountain before the Spanish colonised Colombia in the early 16th century. The Muisca venerated Monserrate and called it grandmother's foot. They found that at the June solstice, the sun (the Muisca had a solar god called Sué), rose exactly behind the mountain. The Spanish named the mountain after Montserrat in Catalonia, and constructed a church on top of it in the 17th century. For a long time, the only way up was to walk; nowadays, both an aerial tram (teleférico) and a funicular can be used to get to the top.
After walking around the interior of the church, which has some remarkable stained glass windows, I walk a little further up, where I find many a souvenir shop and restaurant. When I walk down to the square in front of the church, I see many religious scenes in white, and walk down to more restaurants and the funicular and aerial tram station. I walk up the Via Crucis, with the stations of the cross, until I am back at the church where I sit on the stairs. A great way to people-watch, and enjoy the views over the city. The wind keeps blowing clouds overt he city. and whenever it blows an opening in the cloud cover, the light shines over the streets far below like a giant torch. When I have enough of the views and the crowds at the top, it is time to walk back, enjoying the views on the way down until I am back at street level and it is time for a well deserved lunch.

Around the World in 80 Clicks

inspiring you to travel

Cerro Monserrate (Colombia)

Cerro Monserrate > Colombia > Americas

[Visited: January 2020]

Around the World in 80 Clicks