Archive for the ‘Parks and Recreations Bogota’ Category

There are a lot of parks in Bogotá, most of them have facilities for concerts, plays, movies, storytellers and other activities. One famous park is “El Tunal” park, it’s a big park which is regularly used to stage free concerts. Such is the annual Rock al Paque, a free festival in which new and popular Latin rock bands play for free. The park is also frequented in the month of August and used for kite flying, a national tradition.

The National Park is one of the biggest public parks in Bogotá. It has many trees and green spaces, as well as ponds, games for children, many foot and bicycle paths, and venues for entertainment such as public screenings of movies and concerts and events organized by the Council of Bogotá. It is situated between two main streets, the Circunvalar Avenue and the 7th Avenue.

One famous private park is the Botanical Garden (Jardín Botánico). It has greenhouses where plants from all Colombian climates are exhibited. The park has a waterfall and labs for studying plants and flowers. It also has public services such as a library and a tourist information desk.

There are many other parks around the city of Bogotá. Each neighborhood has its own park. Some of these parks are private and others are public. Some private parks demand that people from the neighborhood have a card to be able to get into the park. Public parks are for everybody. Some of them have watchmen. These parks also have sporting venues, which provide sports programs for children and adults, such as volleyball, basketball, taekwondo, football (soccer)|football, and other sports.

The most active park (in both leisure activity, promotion of high-end products and nightlife) is the “Parque de la 93″ located between 93rd and 93Ath street, and 12th and 13th avenue. Several of the top restaurants and bars in the city are located in this park or in the “Zona T” (T-zone) in the 82nd street. Recently, restaurant activity has begun in the “Zona G” (69th and 70th Streets, in the Los Rosales zone) and La Macarena.

Bogotá has more than just natural parks but also amusement parks such as Mundo Aventura and Salitre Mágico. There is a special rate to get into these parks and people have to buy tickets to be able to play mechanical games. Mundo Aventura park has mechanical games such as sky-coaster, roller coaster, hammer, and other adult amusements. For children there are some mechanical games like little roller coaster, carousel, turtles, and so on. In this park, people can find both amusements and nature, with animals such as goats for children to feed. Besides, there is a “Cerdodromo”, which is a place where pigs race.

Plaza de Toros de Santamaria

The other amusement park is “Salitre Mágico”, which is one of the entertainment centers for children and adults. There are many mechanical games like pirate ship, apocalypse, 3 roller coasters and other games. The park is next to the Simón Bolívar park, which is a well known place in Bogotá (used also for concerts through the year).

If you’re looking for peace and relaxation from the stress of city life, the Parque del Chicó, with trees, gardens, artificial creeks and ponds, and a colonial style house converted into a museum, is definitely a place worth to visit.

Not so far from the city, up north, the Parque Jaime Duque offers a cultural encounter for visiting families. It has rides, a giant map of Colombia, popular exhibits, and a zoo. A big hand holding the world symbolizes God, and a reproduction of the Taj Mahal provides a picture collection with reproductions of famous paintings.