A Wheelchair Accessible Bogota, Colombia Travel Guide

Colombia is a country that I thought I’d never be able to visit, to be completely honest. I was unaware of any wheelchair accessible transportation within Colombia and since my powered wheelchair weighs 400 lbs, accessible transportation with a lift or ramp is the most important thing to me when traveling. However, to my surprise, Colombia has improved their accessibility efforts in recent years and it is now completely possible to explore the South American country no matter what your abilities are. 

In September 2022, I spent a week in Bogotá and the surrounding area, and I was able to experience many of the most notable sights of Colombia’s capital city as a wheelchair user. From trying traditional foods to discovering one of my new favorite art museums to rolling approximately 600 feet underground to a salt cathedral, I left no stone unturned during my wheelchair accessible Bogota Colombia trip. 

In this accessible travel guide, I’ll share wheelchair-friendly tour and transportation options, the best wheelchair accessible Bogotá Colombia attractions and things to do, and where you can stay while in the city. By the time you finish reading this guide, I’m sure you’ll be excited to book your own trip to Colombia! 

Wheelchair Accessible Transportation & Tours in Bogotá, Colombia 

Accessible transportation is a huge concern of mine every time I travel, especially internationally. If you’re wondering how to get around Colombia as a wheelchair user, there are actually a couple options for you. 

Green Travel DMC arranged my wheelchair accessible Bogota Colombia transportation and tours, and they were fantastic. The accessible bus that they used for all of my tours was from a company called Mogotax, which usually handles medical transportation, but they can also do wheelchair accessible transfers. The bus had a lift and tie-downs were available to secure my wheelchair while in the vehicle. If you’re interested in an accessible tour, just contact Green Travel DMC via their website and they should be in touch with you soon. 

While I didn’t use the services of Club Viajero Colombia during my trip, I did have the chance to meet Aldo, the founder of the company and he was incredibly kind. Club Viajero is Colombia’s first tour company devoted to accessibility. Aldo is literally changing the country for the better & it was an honor to meet with him in Bogotá. If you are interested in organizing a wheelchair accessible tour with his company, get in touch with them via their Instagram page here.

Wheelchair Accessible Bogota Colombia Attractions & Things to Do 

Plaza de Bolivar

One of the most popular areas of Bogotá is Plaza de Bolivar. It is the main square in the capital city and houses the Palace of Justice, the National Capitol, the Primary Cathedral of Bogotá, and more historical buildings. I enjoyed rolling around the plaza and taking it all in for a bit. This is a great first stop during a trip to Bogotá! 

Plaza de Bolivar is mostly smooth for a wheelchair and you shouldn’t have any issues moving around. There are a lot of vendors in the plaza and the surrounding area, selling everything from coca tea (this helps with altitude sickness and I enjoyed a cup of it) to souvenirs and even “Big ass ants”. Yes, that’s what they’re really called and yes, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to try them. They weren’t great, but they weren’t terrible either. I’d definitely suggest trying them while in Bogotá.

I also checked out some of the shops and restaurants in La Candelaria, the neighborhood that downtown sits in. There are tons of shops and restaurants within walking/rolling distance of Plaza de Bolivar. Many of the shops and restaurants weren’t wheelchair accessible, but a lot of them were, so I was able to have a few hours of fun rolling around downtown. 

In La Candelaria, I had lunch at a wonderful restaurant beside La Puerta de la Catedral. I can’t remember the name of it, but it was a small eatery just to the right of La Puerta de la Catedral and it was wheelchair accessible to get inside. Ajiaco is a soup made of potatoes, chicken, and corn, and it is the signature dish of Bogotá, so I was excited to try it at this restaurant. Ajiaco was even better than I expected and I ended up having it multiple times throughout my trip. 

Bogotá’s downtown area may not be the most accessible place I’ve ever been, but it is absolutely beautiful and I had a wonderful day exploring the downtown area as a wheelchair user. While there’s still quite a way to go in terms of accessibility, I’m glad that much of the area surrounding Plaza de Bolivar is at least possible in a wheelchair.

The Gold Museum

If you have followed me for a while, then you may know that I am not a huge fan of museums usually. But every time I asked anyone what I should do in Bogotá, they all immediately recommended The Gold Museum. I was curious to see what this museum had to offer, so decided to check it out.

The Gold Museum was truly something special and completely wheelchair accessible. There were multiple levels of the museum, but elevators were available. To access the museum though, you’ll need to go to the entrance on the left side of the building. The main entrance at the front has steps, but a ramp is on the left side. 

Inside of The Gold Museum, there are thousands of golden artifacts on display (over 50,000!) and it was cool to learn about the history of gold in Colombia. As Bogotá’s most popular museum, it was very crowded when I visited, but I had no problem viewing the many artifacts. Exhibits were quite spacious and I had plenty of space to maneuver throughout the museum.

Before leaving The Gold Museum, be sure to hop in the elevator and go to the lower level. Here, you’ll find a nice souvenir shop, but most importantly, you’ll find Cafe San Alberto – home to Colombia’s most award-winning coffee. Colombia is known for having some of the best coffee in the world and this cafe inside The Gold Museum is the perfect place to try it. I highly enjoyed a cappuccino and have to agree that Colombia’s coffee is exceptional! 

Botero Museum

Before visiting Colombia, I had never even heard of the artist Fernando Botero. But after exploring the Botero Museum in Bogotá, I think that he very well may be one of my favorite artists. This museum is undoubtedly a must-visit and one of the best wheelchair accessible Bogota Colombia attractions!

The Botero Museum is completely free to visit and inside the museum, you will see many pieces of art by Colombian artist Fernando Botero. Botero’s art is super unique, as he depicts people, animals, and more in proportionally exaggerated sizes. In addition to the many pieces by Botero, other artwork is on display as well, including some pieces by Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali. 

Accessibility at the Botero Museum was great. The exhibits were spacious and I easily rolled throughout the museum. If you’ll be in Bogotá, this should definitely be on your list of places to visit as a wheelchair user! 

Paloquemao Market

In any destination that I visit, I love going to local markets. Markets are one of the best places to meet locals and see what their day-to-day life is like. You can also try local foods at most markets, which is always a lot of fun. While in Bogotá, I was really excited to check out the Paloquemao Market and honestly, it was one of the best markets I’ve ever been to. 

Paloquemao Market is huge! You could literally get lost in the market it’s so big, but there are so many incredible things to see. There is an outdoor flower market (did you know that Colombia is the second largest exporter of flowers in the world?), and then inside the market, you can find vegetables, fruits, herbs, meat, fish, and more. 

Some vendors inside the market will let you try samples of the fruit. I loved trying some of the fruits that were unique to Colombia, including granadillas and guanabanas. I had never heard of these fruits before being in Paloquemao Market, but they were really tasty. 

One other item I’d make sure to get in the market is an arequipe pastry. Arequipe is basically dulce de leche, but it is a very popular dessert in Colombia. It was delicious and the Paloquemao Market is one of the best places to try it. 

Accessibility at Paloquemao Market was good for the most part. Inside, the aisles were wide enough for my wheelchair, but it was tremendously crowded. Definitely learn how to say “Excuse me” in Spanish before you visit or you may accidentally run over a few toes. 

I absolutely loved rolling around in the market and trying new foods, and would certainly recommend visiting. Paloquemao Market is open every day of the week, but get there early to see the market at its best.

Cooking class at Escuela Taller de Bogota

After trying some fruits and desserts at Paloquemao Market, we headed to Escuela Taller de Bogotá for a fun, and delicious, cooking class. Escuela Taller de Bogotá is a wonderful place in Bogotá that creates job opportunities for young people in Colombia in vulnerable conditions by offering training programs in cooking, construction, and carpentry, but they offer cooking classes as well. 

During our cooking class, we learned how to make empanadas & Ajiaco soup. After a demonstration, we were able to make some of our own. It was a really fun process and the staff of Escuela Taller de Bogotá was happy to assist at any point. 

Once we made our empanadas and Ajiaco soup, we had it for lunch. Everything was delicious and I would love to make it all again at home. The whole experience was a special one. In case you’d like to try making your own Ajiaco at home, I’m including a photo of the recipe that we used at Escuela Taller de Bogotá below.

Jaime Duque Park

I am a big fan of theme parks, as you can probably tell if you look around my blog for more than thirty seconds. I tend to mention my beloved Walt Disney World a lot! As soon as I heard that a theme park was just an hour outside of Bogota, I immediately wanted to check it out. 

Jaime Duque Park is a theme park with a zoo, a replica of the Taj Mahal, a conservation area, and I was even able to roll on some accessible trails for a few miles. Unfortunately, none of the rides are wheelchair accessible, but I was still able to enjoy a full day in the park. 

The zoo at Jaime Duque Park is amazing. There are monkeys, tigers, hippos, lions, and more that you can see. All paths throughout the zoo area were wheelchair accessible and smooth. 

One of my other favorite parts of Jaime Duque Park were the hiking paths. They weren’t paved, but were pretty smooth to roll on in my powered wheelchair. Along the hiking trails, there were some statues and displays that explained Colombia’s history. Rolling on these trails was a great way to enjoy the outdoors on a nice, sunny day and learn a bit along the way. 

Jaime Duque Park is huge and we literally spent the entire day exploring the park. By the end of our visit, my powered wheelchair was running low on battery life, so if possible, I’d suggest bringing your wheelchair charger with you just in case… especially if you plan on doing all of the trails. 

You can enjoy a meal at one of the restaurants at Jaime Duque Park as well and plenty of food options are available, so don’t worry about going hungry. If you’ll be in the Bogotá area, this theme park should definitely be on your list of wheelchair accessible Bogota Colombia attractions to visit!

Zipaquira Salt Cathedral

One of the most unique attractions in Colombia, and all of South America for that matter, is the Salt Cathedral in Zipaquira, Colombia. It is considered one of the “wonders” of Colombia and after visiting, I can certainly see why. 

The Salt Cathedral is an underground Roman Catholic church built within the tunnels of a salt mine. The cathedral is over 600 feet underground, but it, somewhat surprisingly, is wheelchair accessible. There are wide paths that will take you the entire way to the Salt Cathedral.

The paths are wheelchair accessible, but be mentally prepared for how bumpy they are before you visit. It was quite a long journey to the bottom and the paths were extremely rough/bumpy in many parts. To be completely honest, it was a struggle for me since I have poor upper body and neck control, but I was determined to make it all the way.

Once I finally reached the end, where the cathedral was, I realized that it was well worth the bumpy journey. It was mesmerizingly beautiful. There were colorful lights, marble sculptures, and carvings into the rock. This actually is a real functioning church and can receive thousands of visitors on Sundays.

After admiring the beauty for a while, we turned around and rolled all the way back up to the beginning. There is a train at the bottom that brings people to the top and it actually has a ramp, but the ramp was incredibly steep, had no side guards, and there was a two inch lip at the top of the ramp to enter the train, so after scouting it over, I decided that the safest option was to just turn around and roll to the top.

Despite not being the most comfortable journey in a wheelchair, the Zipaquira Salt Cathedral was one of my favorite wheelchair accessible Bogota Colombia attractions that I visited. As long as you think you can handle the rough terrain, I would suggest visiting. It’s a place that is completely unlike anywhere else I’ve been in my travels.

Where to Stay in Bogota: Hilton Bogota Corferias

While in Bogotá, Colombia, I stayed at the beautiful Hilton Bogota Corferias. It was a fantastic hotel with friendly staff, a great on-site restaurant (& 24 hour room service!), and it was located just a short drive from all of the fun in downtown.

My wheelchair accessible room had one king-sized bed, which was a pretty good height for self-transferring, but unfortunately, a hoyer lift could not roll underneath the bed. I also had a PHENOMENAL view from my accessible room!

In the bathroom, there was a large roll-in shower with smooth entry, grab bars, and I loved that there was a mirror above the sink that was angled down, so I could see in it. 

If you’re looking for a nice place to stay in Bogotá as a wheelchair user, I would highly recommend the Hilton Bogota Corferias as long as it’ll work for your accessibility needs. This modern hotel enhanced my experience in Bogotá and I would absolutely stay there again. 

After a full week in Bogotá and the surrounding area, I fell madly in love with Colombia. It’s such a beautiful country with friendly people, delicious food, stunning sights, and so much more. If you have ever dreamed of visiting Colombia as a wheelchair user, there’s no time like the present to start planning your wheelchair accessible Bogota Colombia trip!

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