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Bogotá · Mysteries & legends

Bogotá of gold, gunpowder and secrets

Bogotá does not boast of haunted houses, but it holds more unsettling mysteries: unsolved crimes, people who vanished, conspiracies and a myth of gold that lured half the world. This route follows those stories through the centre, from Parque Santander to Calle 10, and always separates what is proven from what belongs to tradition or suspicion.

  • 6 stops
  • 1.3 km
  • 1 h 35 min
  • Free
Start with GPS Read about this stop 1
Gold Muisca raft with the chief and his retinue

The route

Stop by stop

  1. 1 Gold MuseumA chief covered in gold on a raft: the Muisca ceremony that the conquistadors turned into an impossible city.
  2. 2 Church of La VeracruzThe brotherhood that accompanied the condemned buried some 80 patriots shot in 1816 here.
  3. 3 Site of Gaitán's assassinationOn 9 April 1948, gunshots on this pavement unleashed the Bogotazo. Whether anyone else was behind them is still unknown.
  4. 4 Palace of JusticeOn 6 and 7 November 1985, a guerrilla siege and the army's recapture left around a hundred dead. Some questions remain open.
  5. 5 Primatial CathedralFour churches on the same ground, a roof that caved in on the eve of its opening and a founder who never found rest.
  6. 6 Palacio de San CarlosOn the night of 25 September 1828, Bolívar escaped through a window of this house while the conspirators hunted for him inside.

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Start with GPS

Guide mode

Walk it with GPS.

Open guide mode on your phone: you’ll see your position and the distance to each stop, and we’ll let you know when you arrive. Then read or listen.

Start with GPS

  1. Turn on your location

  2. Walk to the spot

  3. Check the photo and listen

What you’ll discover

Bogotá of gold, gunpowder and secrets

The El Dorado myth

From the Muisca ceremony on Lake Guatavita to the city of gold that nobody ever found.

Open questions

Gaitán's assassination and the Palace of Justice, two wounds of recent history told with care.

Plots and escapes

The September night of 1828 and the window through which Bolívar escaped.

Keep exploring

More routes in Bogotá

Back to Bogotá
HistoryThe Bogotá that made a nation: from colony to republic MixedBogotá's must-sees: from the Gold Museum to La Candelaria