Campo Base Suesca

You could easily scale a different slope or walk a different trail every day through the surrounding area, stopping off for river swims and waterfall picnics, or cycling through a lush landscape of dairy farms and flower plantations. If you’re minded to mooch further afield, the lakes of Suesca and Guatavita are 40 minutes and an hour’s drive away, and sacred to the Muisca people. Legend has it that Spanish conquistadors saw a Muisca ritual on these lakes, as the tribal chief floated out on a golden raft, scattering precious gold ornaments into the waters. Today, people visit these protected reserves for the abundant wildlife, which includes macaws, bears and eagles. (If you want to know where all the gold went, take a tour round the Gold Museum in Bogotá (an hour and 10 minutes), which is stacked with dazzling artefacts crafted by the indigenous peoples.) The city’s also home to a number of family theme parks with rides and activities, while for urban days at a more leisurely pace, it’s hard to beat strolls round the brightly-painted old town district, La Candelaria, or meanders of the Sunday markets in Usaquén. Roughly halfway between the site and the big city, there’s a spectacle or two at Parc Jaime Duque (half an hour), an eclectic combo of a zoo and thrill rides, anthropological museum and miniature replicas of famous world buildings. This can only be topped by a trip to Zipaquirá (an hour), whose mines hide a massive cathedral, carved entirely out of salt.