Monserrate
Highest point
Elevation	3,152 m (10,341 ft)
Coordinates	4°36′21″N 74°3′23″WCoordinates: 4°36′21″N 74°3′23″W
Geography
Monserrate Location within Bogotá
Country	Colombia
Region	Cundinamarca
Provinces	Eastern Province
Settlement	Bogotá, Colombia
Parent range	Eastern Hills Altiplano Cundiboyacense Eastern Ranges Andes
Climbing
First ascent	Pre-Colombian era
Easiest route	Funicular Teleférico de Monserrate Pilgrimage trail

Monserrate (named after Catalan homonym mountain Montserrat) is a hill that dominates the city center of Bogotá, the capital city of Colombia. It rises to 3,152 metres (10,341 ft) above the sea level, where there is a church (built in the 17th century) with a shrine, devoted to El Señor Caído («The Fallen Lord»).

The hill, already considered sacred in pre-Colombian times when the area was inhabited by the indigenous Muisca, is a pilgrim destination, as well as a major tourist attraction. In addition to the church, the summit contains restaurants, cafeteria, souvenir shops and many smaller tourist facilities. Monserrate can be accessed by aerial tramway, a funicular or by climbing, the preferred way of pilgrims. The climbing route, however, had been indefinitely closed due to drought, and the associated wildfires and landslides. It was reopened in 2017.

All downtown Bogotá, south Bogotá and some sections of the north of the city are visible facing west, making it a popular destination to watch the sunset over the city. Every year, Monserrate and its neighbour Guadalupe attract many tourists.

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The Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá (Spanish: Catedral de Sal de Zipaquirá) is an underground Roman Catholic church built within the tunnels of a salt mine 200 metres (220 yd) underground in a halite mountain near the city of Zipaquirá, in Cundinamarca, Colombia. It is a tourist destination and place of pilgrimage in the country.^[2] The temple at the bottom has three sections, representing the birth, life, and death of Jesus. The icons, ornaments and architectural details are hand carved in the halite rock. Some marble sculptures are included.

The Salt Cathedral is considered one of the most notable achievements of Colombian architecture,^[3] being described as a «Jewel of Modern Architecture».^[4] The cathedral represents a valuable cultural, environmental and religious patrimony for the Colombian people.^[5]

The cathedral is a functioning church that receives as many as 3,000 visitors on Sundays, but it has no bishop and therefore no official status as a cathedral in Catholicism.

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Villa de Leyva, also called Villa de Leiva, is a touristic colonial town and municipality, in the Ricaurte Province, part of the Boyacá Department of Colombia. The town is located 37 kilometres (23 mi) west of the departmental capital Tunja. It is «three and a half hours by car or bus from Bogotá.»^[1]

Located away from major trade routes in a high altitude valley of semi-desert terrain, and with no mineral deposits nearby to exploit, the town has undergone little development in the last 400 years. As a consequence, it is one of the few towns in Colombia to have preserved much of its original colonial style and architecture: the streets and large central plaza are still paved with cobblestones, and many buildings date from the sixteenth century. This has resulted in Villa de Leyva becoming one of Colombia’s principal tourist attractions, and it was declared a National Monument on December 17, 1954 to preserve its architecture.^[1] The town and the surrounding countryside, which contains several sites of interest, are popular weekend destinations for citizens of Bogota, and attract an increasing number of foreign tourists.

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