RFI-Hotels near (but not in) Bogotá (1 Viewer)

I am thinking of spending a few days near Bogotá this December, can anyone recommend a hotel (within, say, one hours' drive of downtown) that has good birding right on the grounds?

I ask because I'll be there without my own vehicle, and therefore relying on taxis; I don't mind using taxis some times, but don't want to absolutely need to take one to get some birding in.

Thanks,
PC.

I'm not sure that staying on the outskirts of Bogota is any great advantage - the key birding sites are either in / close to the city (Parque La Florida, botanical gardens, Monserrate) or demand a day trip outside of the city to places like La Calera. Also, within the city, getting around by taxi is cheap and easy - although for safety you should use the Easy Taxi app and book online.

I stayed at the Ibis, which was close to the hills on the eastern edge of the city, and gave good access to the funicular up to Monserrate. It's not far from the historic central district either. The botanical gardens are a little further, located closer to the airport, and it wouldn't be convenient for Parque La Florida - but it was a pleasant place to stay in a relatively safe area.

Hi kb57,
Thanks for the advice. The S.O. and I will be staying for three nights in Suba, a relatively green area of Bogotá, and taking day trips from there.

I was just interested in having a (different) place where we could wake up to a good garden with birds in it. We settled on a cottage in the hills near San Francisco, which is only a few km. from Laguna el Tabacal.

Would you recommend the trip up to Monserrate? I've seen some very good eBird lists from there, but also heard that the security situation is not so good. I am hoping to get to the botanical gardens at some point, while we're in the downtown location - is it worth a trip?

Thanks,
PC.

One of the few reasonable options for lodging with birding on the grounds near Bogota is at the Chicaque Natural Park. There is good montane forest and species such as Golden-bellied Starfrontlet (feeders), Black Inca (lower sections), Rufous-browed Conebill, Moustached Brushfinch, Flammulated Treehunter and others are present along with the standard species.

http://www.chicaque.com/en/lodging/

Avery

Hi Avery;

Thanks, we went there - wish I'd found a place to stay near there! We had an insane 1.5 hr taxi ride (at an insane cost) to get there, through Bogota traffic; I had been on another birding trip to Colombia about 5 years ago, and had spent one day of that in Bogota - but it feels like the roads have gotten much, much worse in that short time (how that is possible is hard to fathom...)

I had been considering staying at one of the cabanas right in Chicaque, but as we weren't going to have our own vehicle, we decided on somewhere more central ... didn't work out for us, in the end.

Got the Starfrontlet (a real looker!) but dipped on virtually everything else. Part of the problem with a place that doesn't even open until 0800! So quiet...