Chicaque Natural Park — Attraction in Cundinamarca

Great place about an hour (from the chapinero area) to get to. (took nearly 2 hours to get back) We caught an uber, which was easy and fairly cheap to get there. Getting back was more difficult, we couldn't book an uber as we were staying overnight. We had tried to contact the national park as it says on their website that they can arrange collection and drop off. Nobody got back to us, so we arranged at the park, which was much more expensive, and complicated but we made it back to the city. The park itself is beautiful, lovely paths. Definitely need supportive shoes, it's very wet, lots of slippery rocks. It obviously gets cloudy often so sometimes you don't get to see the views. It's 3km downhill to el refugio which is the restaurant. It also sells snacks and drinks. Lunch and dinner are on at set times and have limited options for vegetarians. But there is something which is tasty so that's good :) It's also very reasonably priced, and you can buy beers and wine which is nice. We really enjoyed the walks, and managed to do virtually all of them across one and a half days. Definitely recommend the cascada one, the longest walk but most beautiful. There's some nice little birds to see. Though I imagine people coming to bird watch would find it tricky as the trees are high and the birds are little! We saw more around el refugio. The paths are really well marked, some other reviews had said how easy it would be to get lost. But I really don't see how that would happen! So the park I would rate 4/5. There isn't a separate thing that I can write about the accommodation unfortunately. So I will write it here. If you want to stay in the park, you can camp, there's cabanas, glamping and 1 tree house. We opted for a cabaña, which was rustic, but nice. Bathroom was clean, a fire was lit at night which was nice. But the bed, was the worst. It was so uncomfortable. The mattress needs changing. We had an awful night sleep. And the accommodation is £60 so it's not cheap. We had dinner at the refugio, which as I mentioned is at set times. But i think we were the only people staying there. So when we arrived when dinner started nobody was there, no staff or anything. We just loitered round a bit and eventually some staff showed up. Same at breakfast, we arrived at 8 when its meant to start, someone was cooking but nobody came to us until 8.20 or so. Its not a complaint as such, it just felt a bit disorganised and we weren't really sure what to do with ourselves. It would be good if they kept some games, so in the evening you could plays chess or something to entertain yourselves as there obviously isn't much to do once it gets dark. If you're thinking about staying I would maybe opt to camp. I believe you can hire camping stuff from...

Amazing park for hikes. We got there around 11:30, ate in the restaurant at the top and then did the “Camino de los Conquistadores” to hike down the mountain to the refuge. With two young kids it took us an hour and a half. Thai hike has two possible paths, one longer but easier that mostly follows a private road, or a shorter but harder path that goes down the mountain in the middle of the forest. We did the shorter one that goes mostly inside the forest (except for the beginning) and did not regret it. It is harder but the views are amazing.

Once we arrived to the “Refugio” we did the “Bosque” hike, a lot easier and took us about an hour.

Some recommendations I wished we had known. First, do not waste your time at the restaurant at the top, by the entrance of the park. Food is good, but if you want to enjoy the park get to the entrance and hike down to the refuge right away. There is a restaurant at the refuge in case you need some food there. Second, get there early, 11:30 is too late and we were not able to do the “Cascada” hike as the park closes around 5. Third, bring rain hiking gear. We got lucky and did not need it, but it rains a lot. Fourth, the hikes have signs that give you good directions, but the distances they show are often wrong. For instance, the “Bosque” signed by the Refugio said 1.34K, what it did not specify was that this was the distance to the middle of the hike, not the total loop distance.

An amazing experience, we will be back but next time will spend the night at the Refugio so we can do...

Such a worthwhile place to visit outside Bogota! Can be done either as a day trip or overnight-- it is beautiful, scenic, quiet, adventurous and run by dedicated, wonderful staff. I stayed overnight in the bellota and it was very comfortable and my kids loved sleeping in a "treehouse"-- stunning views and such an interesting experience. Whether you go for the day or are staying overnight, start early! The car park is nowhere near someplace you can put your bags down and then hike/ explore-- I learned this the hard way and had a TON of extra stuff we didn't need but nevertheless had to schlep up and down the steep hike to the 'refugio'-- or main area where everything takes place (horseback riding, zipline, meals, accommodation, etc). Yes, check in is at 3, which really means you should be parking your car no later than noon to start the process and walk down. They do have jeep or horse service if you don't want to walk, but it is a beautiful if not challenging path both up and down. I can't say say enough positive things about the overall experience: our accommodation was clean and lovely, the food was fantastic and we had so much fun doing their activities! They even host a nighttime walk followed by a campfire where you can learn about the area and see nocturnal animals like the native monkeys to Chicaque. This is an athletic vacation but one that is rewarded with wonderful scenery, hospitality...