Guatavita - The new old town

 

What comes to your mind when I mention Guatavita? 

If you have some knowledge of Colombia’s indiegenous history - The obvious answer would be the laguna de Guatavita that is associated with the legend of the el dorado. The legend of the gold filled lake and its treasures is well known in this part of Colombia. 

Laguna de Guatavita

What if I tell you that the laguna de guatavita is not actually in Guatavita but in another town? Well, the lake is in Sesquilé, Cundinamarca. 

Sesquilé - Main church

Why? Well just like any other story in Colombia, it is complicated.

Without further ado, here is the answer.

Panorama of the Tominé reservoir

Back in the 1950s, the government wanted to build a reservoir for hydro electric power with a water source from the river Tominé. The old town Guatavita was flooded and the new town Guatavita was built on a different place, a higher ground. This meant that the limits of the municipality was also redrawn, and with the new Guatavita lost control over the Guatavita lake, and it went to Sesquilé. 

This post is not about the laguna de guatavita and not remotely about el dorado, however is about the new town Guatavita. Needless to say, Guatavita has a lot more to offer than just the lake and the legend.

Where is Guatavita?

Guatavita, as it stands today is about an hour and 15 minutes from Portal Norte, in the north of Bogota. Buses to Guatavita are available from the Terminal Satelite from the section for the Savannah towns. Buses are pretty frequent to this town. The journey is through the small towns of Tocancipá, Gachancipá and Sesquilé.

New town Guatavita with her architecture of white houses

Guatavita architecture

As an exception to the colonial architecture of Colombian towns, the architecture of Guatavita is different as it is new, yet colonial. The white washed buildings with brown colour dominate the center of the town, however the architecture gives it the appearance of a model museum town. 

The houses along the main street makes me wonder if they are real or just models. They are so beautifully maintained, and the streets are spotless. The center does not have a Cartesian layout with the church on one side, rather the architecture flows from one structure to another like a clear stream.

Walk and explore

Tominé Reservoir viewpoint

The town is not huge, hence can be covered in foot pretty much in a couple of hours. Getting down from the bus, the last stop is the main parking in the center of the town. Thankfully there is a well maintained public toilet setup in this place. Taking advantage of the day, my recommendation would be to take the walk in this lovely path to the Tominé  reservoir viewpoint, which is about 30 minutes from the town square. The road is motorable too, though unpaved after a certain distance. 

View towards the road to the view point

The end of the walk is on one of the banks of the reservoir where we can pass the time admiring the beauty of the Andean landscape of this part of Cundinamarca. The veredas in the distance, the small yachts in the reservoir dancing in the breeze, the deep water of the reservoir, with rains in the distance is a scene that I would spend hours just watching, photographing, time lapsing. 

God really has made this country beautiful!

To eat

Back in the town negotiating a hard climb up the mountain again, there are few restaurants for lunch. For a town that is touristic, surprisingly, Guatavita is not a gourmet paradise, though. There is a plazoleta de comidas (a food plaza) right in the center near the main parking with typical lunch options. There also are some restaurants in and around the main square.

Coffee and Museum - an excellent combination

After lunch, my recommendation would be to walk to the cafe that is also a museum and is aptly named Museo y Café Guatavita. The coffee options are very good here, though in my opinion the artefacts that constitute the museum part that is more impressive. There are some well preserved photographs of old town Guatavita in all her glory. 

The main church

The main church has a very tall tower and is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The name of the church is Iglesia Nuestra Señora de los Dolores (Our lady of sorrows). The architecture here is a mix between the old pre Colombian, colonial and modern architecture. One side of the church though resembles a fortress. Being Guatavita as the town that takes its name from the legend of the el dorado, the plaza is filled with symbolism dedicated to the pre colombian history. 

Sun’s Atrium

A walk down the stairs from the church crossing the municipal offices leads one to the Atrio del Sol monument (atrium of the sun) dedicated to the Sun. 

The walk around

On the other side of the church there is a garden crossing which leads a path up a small hill. There is a canal in the middle and path on both the sides. Here are some postcard shots of Guatavita, overlooking the Tominé  reservoir that drives this town’s economy and also the reason for the existence of this town here in this place. The houses are so uniform and are so neat that we can mistake them for museums like I pointed out earlier in the post.

The lovers bridge
There is a small wooden pedestrian bridge called the Puente de los enamorados or the lovers bridge. This is a popular photo point in the town. Climbing up the path though leads one to more houses and more beautiful viewpoints of the town.

Bliss Well

Climbing down the path towards the center leads one to a spot called the Pozo de la dicha or the well of the bliss. This is a small monument and there are some food spots around. Crossing the road leads one to the bulls plaza that houses bull fights. This has a medieval architecture and walking further away leads to residential neighbourhoods of Guatavita. 

Plaza de toros

A walk from the bliss well towards the main square, on the left side leads one to the plaza de toros or the bulls plaza. This is a bullfighting arena.

Camping in Guatavita

There are  lots of hotels and sites offering camping in Guatavita if one decides to spend the night in the lovely town. 

Night time Guatavita

The night lights are one of the prettiest, the white walls of houses with the old sodium vapor lamps make it magical. Being a town with plazas everywhere, the place becomes very cold in the evenings, while being sunny during the day. Hence please carry sun protection and jackets, of course accompanied by an umbrella as is typical in any other place in the Cundiboyacense plateau.

The night time is when the bars and cafe also come to life. Some restaurants offer outdoor sitting as well, enjoying the views of the plazas of Guatavita and of course the night view of the Tominé reservoir. The night walk in the town gives another perspective of everything Guatavita!

For a video adventure please watch the video here : Guatavita - The old.new town