La Calera

La Calera from above

La Calera is a sleepy looking town in the mountains of Cundinamarca, just outside Bogotá. Don't let looks fool you—this is one of the wealthiest towns in Colombia (emerald wealth), and plenty of the farms play host to wealthy Bogotanos on weekends. For a visitor, it's quiet and pretty, and is the principal spot around Bogotá for paragliding (follow the signs). As it is next to the main reservoir supplying water to Bogotá, there is a noticeably heavy military presence.

Get in

The road to La Calera winds up the side of the mountain from Bogota. On this road there are several restaurants with a great view back down into Bogota and they are very popular around sunset.

Once you reach the top of the mountain the road carries on to La Calera and passes several horse ranches where you can stop to take a ride.

Local buses also frequent this road, as do large trucks, which can make driving somewhat exciting. The locals are quite happy to overtake on blind bends and the no-over-taking signs are routinely ignored.

See

Paragliding over San Rafael Reservoir

Eat

The road to La Calera has abundant restaurants, literally appearing every few minutes. Once in this small town there are also numerous small cafes and bars along the main street.