If you’re heading up to Bogota from southern Colombia the most direct route is through the town of Melgar. The problem is that the road is a busy highway and also just after Melgar there is a tunnel that bicycles are prohibited from using. This means either having to put your bike on a bus […]
Pueblo Nuevo – Silvania Read More »
This is actually the first part of what was (is?) going to be bikepacking.com‘s Chingaza route. I rode it for the first time with Lael Wilcox and Julian Manrique the night Lael started her FKT on the route; it was a beautiful, clear night with an almost full moon, and the vistas across the Páramo
VALS is the name given to the Bogotá roadie morning classic “Vuelta A La Sabana”, and GraVALS is the gravel equivalent. It starts and ends on the same paved roads as VALS, but the middle part takes in some lovely gravel roads with not too steep gradients and views out across the valleys. This route
This is one of a number of signposted off-road routes in the Department of Cundinamarca that have been developed in recent years. This one is about 50% off-road, and is a great way to get acclimatised to Colombia’s altitude and gradients. It takes you on a loop through the mountains to the east of Bogotá
This picturesque loop takes you through the verdant coffee plantations to the south of San Agustin and returns along the edge of the archeological park. The first part follows a super-steep paved descent out of the village down to River Naranjos at 1,500 masl. The climb back up is paved for the first couple of
San Agustín – Naranjos Loop Read More »
This route takes you on a loop through some lovely southern Colombian scenery on a mostly paved b-road that descends down to the River Magdalena past the iconic Estrecho (a 2m wide gully with the entire River Magdalena thundering through it, less than a metre below the edge), up to the picturesque town of Obando
San Agustín – Isnos Loop Read More »
Desierto de La Tatacoa is technically a tropical dry forest rather than a desert. But it sure feels like a desert when you’re riding the hot, dusty, sandy trails that rise and fall as they traverse a largely barren landscape full of amazing sand and rock formations, with seemingly infinite layers of mountains in the
Desierto de La Tatacoa Read More »
This is the second part of the route across the Central Cordillera; a great way of avoiding the busy Panamericana Highway if you’re riding north (or south). It can also be used between La Plata and Neiva to avoid the main road running through the department of Huila. The route is 65% paved and follows
Tierradentro – Neiva Read More »
This popular route takes you out of Bogotá using the Alto de Patios paved climb, before turning off onto the dirt just past the Teusaca River. After a few kilometres of rolling terrain, you reach a short but mighty gravel wall up and over the brow of a hill, with gradients reaching 20%. After that,
Jerusalén – Choachí Read More »
This route has a bit of everything: steep climbs, an abandoned mining town, rolling hills, amazing vistas, and delicious arepa places at either end. It starts by climbing up towards the Chingaza national park before heading off along the hills between the Bogotá mountain range to the left, and La Cuchilla to the right, meaning
