Rainy Day Activities in Bogota: South America’s Wettest City

Whereas drizzly afternoons may be the very last thing you image whenever you consider Colombia, its capital Bogota, will get extra annual rainfall than London and Seattle mixed! However earlier than you begin questioning your journey selections, we’re right here to inform you why this sky-high South American metropolis is definitely sensible within the rain!

Welcome to a vacation spot that’s mastered the artwork of indoor leisure. When the heavens open (which they do, roughly 200 days a 12 months), Bogotanos don’t miss a beat. They merely transfer the celebration inside and belief us, they’ve obtained indoor leisure right down to a fantastic artwork. So seize your umbrella and Colombia Check-Mig form and prepare to beat a moist day in Bogota…

Museum Hopping: The Dry Option to Get Cultured

Let’s begin with the crown jewel of Bogota’s indoor sights – the Gold Museum (Museo del Oro). Their three flooring of glittering Pre-Columbian gold artefacts would make a pirate weep with pleasure. The museum homes greater than 55,000 items, making it the biggest assortment of gold artefacts on the earth. And the very best half? The temperature-controlled atmosphere will make you overlook all concerning the rain exterior.

Only a few blocks away, the Botero Museum provides a special form of glitter. Fernando Botero’s famously rotund figures deliver a smile to even the greyest of days. What’s extra, it’s utterly free. That’s proper – world-class artwork with out spending a peso. The museum additionally homes works by Picasso, Monet, and different masters, making it presumably the very best rainy-day freebie in South America.

Café Tradition: The place Espresso Meets Cosiness

If there’s one factor Colombians do higher than espresso, it’s creating atmospheric cafés to drink it in. The historic Candelaria district is filled with characterful espresso outlets the place you possibly can whereas away the wettest of afternoons. Attempt Café de la Fonda in an outdated colonial home, the place the new chocolate comes with cheese (sure, you learn that proper – it’s a Bogota factor, and it really works).

For one thing extra fashionable, head to Amor Perfecto in Chapinero. Their baristas are extra keen about espresso than a sommelier at a wine tasting, they usually’ll fortunately clarify the distinction between beans from each Colombian area when you keep dry.

Foodie Markets And Buying Sprees

Mercado de Paloquemao isn’t only a market, it’s a lined sensory overload in the absolute best method. Right here you’ll discover all the things from unique fruits you’ve by no means heard of to contemporary flowers that put Holland’s tulip fields to disgrace. Go hungry and check out ajiaco, Bogota’s signature hearty soup that’s excellent for wet days.

Attempt to arrive earlier than 9 am to see the market in full swing, and convey small change for sampling fruits. The distributors shall be very happy to allow you to style one thing that appears like a dragon egg however tastes like heaven.

Bogota’s procuring centres aren’t simply locations to purchase issues both, they’re indoor cities unto themselves. Centro Comercial Andino within the Zona Rosa is way more than a mall; it’s a cultural expertise. With three flooring of retailers, eating places, and leisure venues, you can spend a whole wet day right here with out seeing the identical store twice.

For one thing extra native, strive Centro Comercial Hacienda Santa Barbara, constructed round a restored Nineteenth-century hacienda. It’s like procuring in a museum, full with colonial structure and fashionable boutiques.

Getting Cultural: Theatre and Music

The Teatro Colón, Colombia’s nationwide theatre, is a neo-classical masterpiece that hosts all the things from opera to fashionable dance. Even for those who don’t catch a present, the guided excursions (obtainable in English) are price it simply to gawk on the structure.

For one thing extra modern, Casa E provides intimate theatre performances and reside music in a transformed mansion. In addition they have a superb restaurant, making it excellent for dinner and a present whereas the rain drums on the roof exterior.

The Most Epic Underground Journey

When the water spoils life above floor, why not head beneath it at Bogota’s Salt Cathedral in Zipaquirá. Really, ‘cathedral’ doesn’t actually do the place justice – we’re speaking a couple of huge underground church carved right into a working salt mine, 180 metres beneath the earth’s floor. Whereas technically it’s a 45-minute drive from Bogota, this magnificent piece of subterranean structure is totally weatherproof and completely well worth the journey.

The cathedral itself is a marvel of engineering and creative imaginative and prescient. Every of the 14 small chapels, representing the Stations of the Cross, is carved straight into the rock salt, creating ethereal crosses that seem to drift within the darkness. The primary cathedral house is massive sufficient to host 8,000 individuals and boasts the world’s largest underground cross.

Getting there’s a part of the journey. Trains run from Bogota’s central station whatever the climate, or you possibly can catch a bus from Portal Norte. For essentially the most versatile choice, organised excursions embody transport and an English-speaking information who’ll clarify fascinating titbits e.g. how the miners carved a brand new cathedral after the unique one turned structurally unsound (reassuring, proper?).

The temperature stays at a relentless 14°C year-round, so deliver a jumper. Between the lighting results, the rigorously crafted sculptures, and the marginally salty air (sure, you possibly can style it), it’s an otherworldly expertise that feels extra like visiting an underground sci-fi metropolis than a spiritual web site.

Sensible Suggestions for Moist Climate Warriors

Transport within the rain requires some technique. Uber works brilliantly right here, and yellow taxis are plentiful (simply be certain they use the meter). The TransMilenio bus system has lined stations, making it a good choice for longer journeys.

Pack a correct rain jacket although – none of that flimsy plastic poncho enterprise. Bogota’s rain means enterprise and, at 2,640 metres above sea stage, it will probably get correctly chilly. Assume London in November, however with higher espresso.

Whereas rain is feasible any time of 12 months, April-Could and October-November are the wettest months. June-August tends to be drier, however don’t guess your vacation on it. Keep in mind morning rain typically clears by afternoon, so plan your out of doors actions for later within the day.

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Bogota’s rain isn’t a bug, it’s a function. It’s what makes town’s café tradition so cosy, its museums so interesting, and its indoor areas so full of life. Whereas different South American capitals bake within the solar, Bogota has perfected the artwork of indoor leisure.

So embrace the rain. Let it information you into hidden cafés, magnificent museums, and transformed mansions. Generally the very best journey experiences occur whenever you’re pressured to decelerate, keep inside, and actually get to know a spot. Simply don’t overlook your umbrella.