Destination Guide
Cycling in Bogotá & Cundinamarca
Bogotá: the world's greatest cycling city — Ciclovía closes 120km of roads every Sunday, La Calera rises to 3,200m on the eastern ridge, and 2,640m altitude makes every ride a training camp.
Bogotá makes the argument for itself as the world's greatest cycling city with three facts and one tradition. The facts: it sits at 2,640m above sea level, making it higher than the summit of almost every Alpine pass; it has over 550km of protected cycling infrastructure (ciclovías and ciclorutas) integrated into the urban street network; and it is surrounded to the east and north by the Cordillera Oriental, whose roads provide HC and Category 1 climbing objectives that begin within 8km of the city centre. The tradition: every Sunday from 07:00 to 14:00, 120km of Bogotá's primary arterial roads are closed to motor vehicles entirely, creating the world's largest weekly cycling event — the Ciclovía — that draws 1.5 million participants per Sunday and has operated without interruption since 1976.
Last updated: 15 Mar 2026
- Terrain
- Road, Climbing
- Difficulty
- Easy — Expert
- Road Quality
- Good
- Cycling Culture
- Exceptional
- Traffic
- Moderate
Pro Cycling Connection
Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers, Tour de France 2019 and Giro d'Italia 2021 champion) trained on the Zipaquirá and La Calera roads throughout his development, and the Cundinamarca road network is associ...
Best Time to Cycle in Bogotá & Cundinamarca
Bogotá's dry season (December-March) provides the finest conditions for the eastern cordillera climbs and the Cundinamarca road network. January has the clearest skies and driest roads of the year. The Ciclovía operates every Sunday year-round in all...
Temperature: 7°C (winter) to 19°C (summer)
Best Cycling Climbs in Bogotá & Cundinamarca
Alto de Patios
22.5km · 850m · 3.8% · CAT1
Alto de Patios extends the La Calera corridor to a more serious altitude objective, continuing beyond La Calera town and rising to 3,300-3,350m on the road toward Guasca — a Category 1 effort that delivers high-altitude paramo conditions within 25km of the Bogotá city centre. From the eastern city limit at 2,575m, the total distance to the Alto de Patios summit is 22.5km at 3.8% average, gaining 850m to the broad ridge at 3,350m where the road crests between the La Calera and Guasca drainage basins. The first 14km to La Calera town replicate the La Calera Cat 2 climb; above La Calera the road continues northeast, leaving the town and rising into progressively more open and exposed terrain as the paramo ecosystem begins above 3,000m. The final 8km above La Calera are the defining section: gradients of 5-9% on a road with significantly less traffic than the La Calera town section, the vegetation changing from mixed agricultural woodland to the low, wind-sculpted frailejón (espeletia) plants characteristic of the Colombian paramo — a high-altitude moorland ecosystem unique to the northern Andes that exists at 3,000-4,500m and has no European equivalent in appearance or character. At 3,350m the ridge is fully exposed to the weather systems that build over the eastern cordillera, and the wind at the summit is consistent and often cold regardless of the valley conditions below. Cloud mist above 3,100m is frequent even in the dry season. The physiological demands of riding to 3,350m from a 2,575m base are substantial for acclimatised cyclists and challenging for those not yet adapted: heart rate at threshold on the upper section can be 15-20 bpm higher than equivalent effort at sea level, and pacing discipline on the La Calera section below is essential to ensure sufficient reserves for the final 8km.
Alto de Verjón
15.7km · 780m · 5% · CAT1
Alto de Verjón climbs the eastern cordillera above Bogotá on a different alignment from La Calera — rising southeast from the city's upper residential districts to the Verjón Alto pass at 3,350m — and provides a Category 1 alternative for Bogotá cyclists seeking a harder, less-trafficked route than the canonical La Calera. The road begins from the Choachí highway junction in eastern Bogotá at approximately 2,575m and rises 780m over 15.7km at 5.0% average, with maximum gradients of 11% on the upper switchbacks between 3,000m and the summit. The lower 6km at 4-5% traverse the upper residential edge of Bogotá, the road passing through the Usme and San Cristóbal sur neighbourhoods before entering the open hillside above the city limit. The middle section (km 6-11) at 5-7% is the character-defining section of the climb: the road is narrower than La Calera, less polished, and carries lower traffic — a consequence of its orientation toward the Choachí descent on the far side rather than the La Calera plateau's commuter function. The upper 4km to the Verjón pass are at 7-11% through paramo vegetation, the gradient increasing to its maximum in the final 2km on a road that offers no shelter from the wind that consistently blows across the pass from the east. The Verjón summit at 3,350m is a technical road junction on the Bogotá-Choachí highway — functional rather than scenic as a summit point, but the view back over Bogotá from the approach road at km 13-14 (approximately 3,100m) is the best single viewpoint of the capital available from any accessible cycling road. The Choachí descent on the far side of the pass drops 2,000m in 36km to the warm Choachí valley — one of the great Colombian descending experiences if a vehicle pick-up is available at the bottom.
Choachí Reverse Climb
18km · 1100m · 6.1% · CAT1
The Choachí Reverse is the return climb from the warm canyon town of Choachí back up to the Verjón pass at 3,350m — an 18km Category 1 ascent that is among the most altitude-spanning cycling climbs accessible from Bogotá, beginning in the subtropical warmth of the Choachí valley at 1,350m and finishing in the cold paramo conditions at the eastern cordillera divide. While the Alto de Verjón is typically ridden as a Bogotá-side ascent (2,575m to 3,350m, 780m gain), the reverse approach from Choachí adds 2,000m of additional height differential and transforms the climb from a high-altitude training exercise into a genuine cross-cordillera expedition. The Choachí valley at 1,350m sits in a dramatic thermal inversion zone: on clear mornings the valley temperature can reach 22-25°C while the Verjón pass 2,000m above is at 4-6°C — a differential that requires carrying four distinct clothing layers for the ascent. The first 5km from Choachí town rise at 5-6% through the canyon walls above the town, the road cut into the rock face with the canyon river below and the warm air of the valley still accompanying the rider. Above km 5 at approximately 1,800m the road enters the lower cloud forest zone: the temperature begins dropping, the vegetation transitions from the dry thorn scrub of the canyon to cloud forest with bromeliads and ferns, and the gradient firms to 6-8% for the extended middle section. The most demanding section is km 10-15 between 2,400m and 3,100m: sustained 7-9% gradients in the cloud forest, with maximum gradients of 13% at km 12-13 on the steepest hairpin section, arriving at altitude where the physiological effect is fully established. Above 3,100m the cloud forest gives way to paramo ecosystem: the frailejón plants appear, the temperature drops further to 6-8°C, and the wind on the open sections is consistent and cold. The final 3km to the Verjón pass summit at 3,350m are at 6-8% through open paramo, the Bogotá sabana visible in the distance to the west when cloud conditions permit. The Choachí thermal springs (aguas termales) in the canyon town provide an extraordinary pre-climb warming opportunity and post-descent recovery option — the outdoor thermal pools at 38-42°C serve as both acclimatisation preparation and muscular recovery treatment within 100m of the climb start.
La Calera
18.3km · 650m · 3.6% · CAT2
La Calera is the canonical Bogotá training climb — the road that every serious cyclist in the capital knows by heart and rides regularly as the default measure of form. From the eastern city limit at approximately 2,575m, the Carretera de La Calera climbs 18.3km to the La Calera plateau town at 3,150-3,190m, gaining 650m at 3.6% average with maximum gradients of 8% in the upper switchback section above the Calera Reservoir. The 3.6% average is a deceptive figure that must be read in the context of the starting altitude: at 2,575m, the physiological demand of riding at 3.6% sustained gradient is equivalent to riding at 5-6% at sea level due to the reduced oxygen availability, and riders newly arrived from lower altitudes regularly find that a gradient they could sustain effortlessly in the Alps becomes a serious cardiovascular test within the first 5km. The road is well-surfaced and carries mixed traffic throughout the day — commuters from La Calera town, agricultural vehicles, and the dense groups of weekend cyclists who use this road as their primary training circuit. The La Calera Reservoir, which fills the valley between km 8 and km 11, is the visual centrepiece of the middle section: the road runs along the western bank above the water, the eastern cordillera reflected in the reservoir surface on still mornings, with the gradient easing to 2-3% along the lakeside approach before rising again on the final 6km to town. La Calera town itself at 3,150m is a functional Colombian market town with several tiendas selling tinto, hot food, and the basic supplies that support the cycling traffic the road generates. The view from the town's eastern edge over the sabana de Bogotá — the full extent of the capital visible below, the western cordillera bounding the plateau on the far side — is the reward that explains why this road is ridden 365 days a year by the Bogotá cycling community.
El Verjón to La Calera Plateau Connector
10km · 500m · 5% · CAT2
The El Verjón to La Calera Plateau Connector is a 10km Category 2 road linking the upper sections of Bogotá's two classic eastern cordillera climbs — providing the critical route that enables the Bogotá cycling circuit most prized by local riders: a loop that ascends via the Alto de Verjón road from the city, traverses the plateau connector at high altitude, and descends via the La Calera road back to the eastern city boundary. The connector itself begins from approximately 2,600m at the plateau junction above the Alto de Verjón mid-section and rises 500m over 10km at 5.0% average to approximately 3,100m on the high plateau that forms the ridgeline between the two classic roads. The route runs through open paramo and high-altitude pasture at elevations between 2,600m and 3,100m — a landscape of remarkable emptiness and visual scale by the standards of the Colombian Andes, where the populated valleys and forested hillsides give way to the windswept high plateau with its frailejón plants, rough pasture, and the particular quality of light at 3,000m in the Colombian dry season. The maximum gradient of 10% occurs at km 4-5 where the connector crosses the first of two ridge spurs between the Verjón and Calera drainage basins — brief but at altitude, and requiring proper pacing in the context of the larger loop circuit that precedes it. The road surface on the connector is of lower quality than the main Alto de Verjón and La Calera roads — it is a rural access road rather than a commuter highway, and the surface carries occasional gravel wash and standing water in the wet season that makes 25mm-plus tyres the appropriate choice for the full loop. Traffic is minimal: the connector serves the handful of farms and a paramo cattle operation on the high plateau, and the cycling population constitutes a majority of road users on weekend mornings. The La Calera town at the far end of the connector provides tinto, food, and the main square ajiaco stop before the 18.3km descent to Bogotá.
Insider Tips
The Ciclovía route is best experienced with an early start and an itinerary that moves through multiple zones. The canonical Sunday programme: depart from the Plaza de Bolívar (his...
Alto de Patios is the Bogotá climb that separates the serious acclimatised rider from the visitor who arrived yesterday. The 22.5km to 3,300m+ requires full altitude adaptation and...
How to Get to Bogotá & Cundinamarca for Cycling
Getting around:
Bogotá is the most bike-independent of Colombia's three cycling zones. The 550km+ ciclorruta network makes city navigation by bicycle safe and straightforward. La Calera, Alto de Verjón, and Choachí a...