Bring a jacket. Weather in Colombia is not seasonal. Orient yourself with the mountains. Most Bogotanos use these mountains as a reference point, which is why most maps of the city have east at the top instead of north. Find your ajiaco. What else goes in it is a matter of personal—or familial—preference. Some might add capers, cream, avocado or rice, while others might regard those ingredients as nothing short of sacrilegious.
Beware aguardiente. Colombians will be relentless in offering you shots of the national firewater—a spirit made from distilled sugar cane and aniseed—at social gatherings. Most brands contain a lot of sugar, taste like boozy liquorice, and will give you a nasty hangover. Brace yourself for altitude sickness. Some people hardly feel it, but others need a day or so to acclimatize to the thinner air and will feel dizzy, tired, and short of breath. Local remedies include black coffee and aguapanela brown, unprocessed sugar melted into boiled water.
Learn the grid. Carreras , similar to avenues, run north-south with their numbers ascending from east to west; calles run perpendicular to carreras east-west, with their numbers ascending from south to north. Addresses have three parts: Carrera 8 No. But be warned that many streets curve or end abruptly, and there are also diagonal streets in the mix, which can make navigating tough for visitors.
Hit the bakeries. My favorite thing about Colombian food is the baked goods. You can get these in any bakery, where you can also sit and enjoy them with some coffee or hot chocolate. Know your food zones. The city gets together with business owners from these areas to promote the areas and direct tourism there. Skip it. Drink at the grocery store. Many neighborhood grocery stores tiendas have tables where you can hang out and drink beer. Back in the 90s, the city decided that late-night partying was causing too much trouble, noise, and violence, so beginning in , bars and discos had to close at 1 a.
Closing time was extended to 3 a. Also, most late-night venues are closed from Sunday to Wednesday, and most places, including restaurants, close on Sundays from 8 p. Watch where you wander. This system makes it easier for people with lower incomes to find affordable housing, but it also keeps the city rigidly stratified. The poorer areas receive less protection from the police and have far less private security. As a result, people perceive these neighborhoods as more dangerous and will warn you to avoid them, although most places in the city are pretty safe—except at night.
