{"id":36252,"date":"2026-01-24T20:19:46","date_gmt":"2026-01-25T01:19:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.besabine.com\/met-de-kabelbaan-naar-el-paraiso-bogota\/"},"modified":"2026-01-24T22:05:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-25T03:05:17","slug":"with-the-cable-car-to-el-paraiso-bogota","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.besabine.com\/en\/with-the-cable-car-to-el-paraiso-bogota\/","title":{"rendered":"Take the cable car to El Para\u00edso and discover the other side of Bogot\u00e1"},"content":{"rendered":"

Want to see more than the standard tour of Bogot\u00e1? Then visit the colorful neighborhood of El Para\u00edso. <\/strong>In the very south of the city, there’s a cable car that takes you up the mountain. From there, you have the most beautiful view of Bogot\u00e1<\/strong> (even better than from Monserrate), you’ll find impressive street art<\/strong>, and you’ll fly over the colorful neighborhoods by cable car. It’s far off the beaten path, but then you’ll (literally) discover the other side of Bogot\u00e1. Here you can read <\/strong>everything about visiting El Para\u00edso. Including how to get there, of course. <\/strong><\/p>\n

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The colorful neighborhood of Ciudad Bol\u00edvar in Bogot\u00e1<\/h2>\n
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Ciudad Bol\u00edvar is a mountainous district in the south of Bogot\u00e1, located at an altitude of approximately 2800 meters (9186 feet)<\/strong>. For most Bogotanos, this is a part of their city that they would rather not visit. Even my boyfriend didn’t want to come with me, because ‘there is nothing to do’, ‘it is dangerous’ and ‘there is a lot of poverty’. <\/p>\n

And yes, that is partly true. But Ciudad Bol\u00edvar has not been standing still and is developing positively. There is also quite a special story attached to this neighborhood. It started in the 1940s, when more and more people gradually started living on the steep slopes. A large part of their houses are built by the residents themselves.<\/strong> Quite special. In the Museo de la Ciudad Autoconstruida<\/strong><\/a> you will learn everything about how the district originated.<\/p>\n

Ciudad Bol\u00edvar consists of approximately 300 to 350 neighborhoods, of which El Para\u00edso is one.<\/strong> It has an area of approximately 130 km\u00b2 and has about 800,000 inhabitants<\/strong>. Although various sources give different population numbers, this is the average. <\/p>\n

Although the largest part of Ciudad Bol\u00edvar consists of estratos 1 and 2<\/strong><\/a> and approximately 37% of the inhabitants live in moderate to extreme poverty (source<\/strong><\/a>, 2023), much has improved in recent years.<\/p>\n

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The development of Ciudad Bol\u00edvar<\/h3>\n

In addition to the fact that NGOs have been active in the neighborhood for years, the population itself also revolted in October 1993.<\/strong> A major civil uprising, called Paro C\u00edvico<\/em>, in which residents blocked main roads for 13 hours to force the city government to find concrete solutions to the problems in their district. They wanted attention for basic facilities and living conditions<\/strong>. And they succeeded. <\/p>\n

A wave of cultural and social initiatives was launched, such as libraries, youth and education initiatives and cultural working groups. <\/strong>From the 2000s, the result of this became increasingly visible: small festivals were organized and in local media Ciudad Bol\u00edvar was no longer only portrayed as a problem neighborhood, but as a place with creativity and pride. Local guides, street art routes and workshops emerged. <\/p>\n

And then, in 2018<\/strong>, came the TransMiCable. The cable car not only made the neighborhoods in Ciudad Bol\u00edvar more accessible, but suddenly the new developments were given a larger stage.<\/strong> The southern neighborhoods that Bogotanos used to ignore became accessible to everyone. And although there are still many problems, including with safety, the positive changes are clearly visible. <\/p>\n

With one of the best examples being the colorful neighborhood of El Para\u00edso, the pride of Ciudad Bol\u00edvar. Which you can now visit. <\/strong><\/p>\n

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The TransMiCable: the cable car in Bogot\u00e1<\/h2>\n
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The TransMiCable was opened in December 2018.<\/strong> A new and important part of the Transmilenio<\/strong><\/a> transport system in Bogot\u00e1, those long red buses that you see driving through the city.<\/p>\n

The TransMiCable cable car is not a cable car for tourists, but a public transport connection that connects the steep neighborhoods with the rest of Bogot\u00e1.<\/strong> The cable car’s goal was therefore to increase mobility and drastically reduce travel time for residents. Residents now gratefully use this cable car to get to their work, school or other places 45 minutes faster. They are therefore literally more connected to the rest of Bogot\u00e1. On the other hand, more visitors are now coming up the mountain, which benefits the local economy and development. <\/p>\n

And then we have the cultural side. The Mirador del Para\u00edso station is not just an ordinary station<\/strong>, but is increasingly becoming a cultural place<\/strong>, with new neighborhood initiatives, street art<\/strong> and of course that amazing view over Bogot\u00e1<\/strong>. But more on that later. <\/p>\n

It is great fun to go up with the cable car and admire the colorful houses of the neighborhood from above.<\/strong> Highly recommended if you are in Bogot\u00e1!<\/p>\n\n\t\t