Travel Guide Parque Matarredonda

Want to get out of Bogotá, to disconnect, to fill up with fresh air without seeing too many tourists? The Parque Ecológico Matarredonda is located in the Páramo del Verjón, between Bogotá and Choachi, half an hour's drive from La Candelaria. You can find the country restaurant, where you pay your access fee to the trails. You can eat a typical meal there, before or after the hike. It is recommended to arrive early (around 9am) and to take something to protect yourself from the rain and cold. Temperatures can go down to 5°C, we are at more than 3,000 meters of altitude! The name of Matarredonda comes from a shrub endemic to the Andes, the miconia squamulosa, which was used as a reference point, more than a century ago, to locate the house of Doña Gabriela Sabogal, the " casa de la abuela" , a meeting place for the inhabitants of the time. The tree no longer exists, but the name remains. The Sabogal family still owns the land, which until a few years ago was dedicated to agriculture and livestock, before the new generation became aware of the importance of protecting the fragile ecosystem of the páramo and began to engage in tourism