Description
This Monserrate Mountain 5K run will take you to the most famous tourist place in Bogotá.
The trail will take us through some of the most recognized environments of the Andes mountain range. And once at the top, we will see the famous catholic temple of Monserrate and the whole city from the top.
The tour will start next to the University of Los Andes, where we will see one of the municipal projects in 1996 that had a positive environmental impact on the city’s downtown area and changed the way we see the river. From here, we will start our way up a steep slope, passing by the Quinta of Simon Bolivar, an antique country house owned by the main independence leader of Colombia, then arriving at the entrance to the Monserrate trail.
INTO NATURE
At this point, we will leave the city behind and immerse ourselves fully into the trail that goes through the natural high mountain forests typical to the area, called fog forests. The trail combines purely natural landscapes and resting stops where we can find food, drinks and places to sit if we need to. In the wild, if we are lucky, we can see some of the native Andean birds from like hummingbirds.
Once we finish our way up and reach the summit, we will see the temple in honour of the Lord of Monserrate and the Virgen “La Morenita”. The 360-degree views of Bogotá are mesmerizing. Then, we will visit some of the gardens at the top and the souvenir area before starting our way back down. Finally, we will take the same trail on our way back to Bogotá.
This run is mostly on slopes, some of them pretty steep or full of steps. It is a challenging run – so make sure you are in excellent shape to avoid excessive strain or injuries. Also, remember Bogotá is at 2,600m above sea level (nearly 8,500ft) and Monserrate at 3,200m (almost 10.500ft). It means the air is thinner and will get thinner as we move up the mountain. And you will feel the lack of oxygen. We don’t recommend doing this run on your first day in Bogotá. Give your body some days to acclimatize.
Joel –
I really enjoyed the hike up Montserrate with Santiago following the 8k run the prior morning. Once again he picked me up at my hotel well ahead of schedule, was extremely punctual, in a great mood and a delightful host/guide. Montserrate will definitely get your heart rate up and is a fairly real hike albeit we got it done in less than an hour after a couple of stops for breath given the elevation in Bogota. The views are stunning and I would recommend going early as we did at 630a to beat some of the traffic and crowds. Wear comfortable trail running shoes, pack some water and be prepared to get a good sweat in! Thank you Santiago and what a wonderful experience. Joel
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