Bogotá

Bogotá is the national capital of Colombia, situated on a high Andean savanna. The settlement took its name from Bacatá, the primary center of the southern Muisca Confederation. The Ibero-American Theater Festival has brought theater companies from around the world to its stages since the 1980s.

Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada established the settlement in 1538 after leading an expedition into the high plains. The Spanish crown granted city status by royal decree a few years later. The territory became the capital of the Viceroyalty of New Granada in the 18th century as the administrative headquarters for northern South America. Simón Bolívar led republican forces into the city in 1819 following the victory at the Battle of Boyacá, securing independence from Spanish rule. Urban expansion accelerated through the 20th century as new transit routes linked outlying towns into a single valley district.

Banco de Bogotá, Bancolombia, and Davivienda conduct commercial banking operations, personal loans, investment portfolio management, and corporate financing through extensive branch networks across the national market. Ecopetrol manufactures refined petroleum fuels and petrochemical products, while Bavaria produces lager beers and malt drinks alongside packaged food and roasted coffee processed by Grupo Nutresa. Avianca and SATENA run scheduled domestic passenger flights and international freight transfers, while Claro Colombia, Movistar, and Tigo deploy wireless telecommunication lines, digital data servers, and residential fiber optics.

La Candelaria preserves stone streets, red roof tiles, and Spanish colonial residences dating from the 17th century. Plaza de Bolívar contains the main cathedral, national assembly halls, and the supreme court around an open stone square. The Gold Museum displays pre-Hispanic metallurgy, ceremonial ornaments, and indigenous jewelry crafted from tumbaga alloys. The National University of Colombia provides academic degree programs, libraries, and scientific laboratories across its open parkland campus. Monserrate carries a white pilgrimage church upon its mountain crest overlooking the plateau.