Cerro de Monserrate: an icon of the city of Bogotá

At the heart of Bogotá lies a hill, Monserrate. It rises 3,152 metres above sea level where a church was built and devoted to “El Señor Caido” (Fallen Lord). Access is via funicular, a cable car (Teleférico de Monserrate) or by climbing, which is the preferred way of pilgrims and sportsmen. We were told that the record getting to Monserrate's top by walking is 18 minutes—this is definitely trickier than climbing the CN tower which is only 553 metres!

The view from the funicular

We took the Transmilenio (bus transit system) to the foot of Monserrate. After getting tickets, we lined up for the funicular ride to take us to the peak. The funicular had wide windows and glass ceilings allowing us to view the beautiful landscape. A few steps upon disembarking, the Stations of the Cross began. This activity marked yet another one of our hikes up a mountain.  We should be getting used to this by now!

One of the Stations of the Cross

The church sits at the top where you can also see a wonderful panoramic view of the city of Bogotá. It was a simple structure but, nonetheless, beautiful.

As with other tourist destinations, the summit had restaurants and souvenir shops. Since it was almost noon, we bought some snacks of empanadas and pastel de pollo (stuffed pastries) at the cafeteria to tide us over until lunch. Apparently, line-ups were not quite respected—ironic or typical for a place of pilgrimage? As it started to rain, I pulled out the kids’ raincoats from the backpack only to have folks cut in line to order. Good thing we were not too hungry! I was hoping, however, that my irritated stare would translate well in Spanish.

After saying my prayers (forgive me for getting annoyed at the folks who cut in line and delayed getting food for my kids!) and admiring the fantastic view, we made our way down the mountain. The Swiss-made cable car, Teleférico de Monserrate, then took us down in about 4 minutes and made for another picturesque ride.

The view from the top

Monserrate is not only known for being a part of the Bogotá cityscape, it is also symbolic of the faith of the people, rising above all. We have noticed that religion is very much ingrained in the culture. In pretty much every town we have visited, the attraction highlight includes a church (there is even a small chapel at the El Dorado airport terminal!). And, if there was one thing I can choose to represent Bogotá’s mountains and importance of faith, it would be Monserrate.