Guatavita: Colonial Townscape and Cultural Heritage

Guatavita combines a colonial-style historic center with a new town dating from the 1960s. Specific landmarks include the Nuestra Señora del Rosario Church on the main square, the guided Pueblitour with lunch, and the Embalse de Tominé within the municipality. The 2026 edition of the XXXVII Festival de El Dorado “Nuestros Saberes Ancestrales” also adds its own cultural note. If you are looking for a hotel in Guatavita, it helps to decide what you want to focus on during your stay: the townscape, a guided experience, a natural attraction, or a specific cultural connection?

The Colonial-Style Historic Center

The historic center of Guatavita (La Nueva) has a colonial character. Its notable features include a museum, a market, and a bullring. You can explore the cobbled streets on foot. The townscape also includes clean streets and house façades that are uniformly and completely painted. As you explore, you can pay attention both to specific named establishments and to the appearance of the streets and façades.

Church and New Town

The Nuestra Señora del Rosario Church is located on Guatavita’s main square. Its location provides a specific landmark within the townscape. The new town was built in the 1960s and classified as architectural heritage in the categories of residential and civil buildings. This gives you two distinct points of reference in time: the colonial-style historic center and the new town built in the 1960s.

The classification adds another dimension to the construction date: the new town is not only dated, but also designated as architectural heritage. If you are interested in architecture, you can consider these two details together without treating the distinct contexts of the center and the new town as equivalent.

Exploring on Foot or Taking the Pueblitour

The Pueblitour is a guided tour of notable places in Guatavita and includes lunch. The guided tour and lunch are specific elements you can consider together when planning. The information about the cobbled streets and the Pueblitour answers different planning questions: the streets can be explored on foot, while the guided tour and included lunch are what matter for the Pueblitour.

You can weigh up whether you would rather explore Guatavita through its streetscape or by taking a guided tour. These offer different approaches to planning your trip, without requiring you to assume a specific duration or route.

Embalse de Tominé Within the Municipality

The Embalse de Tominé is located in the municipality of Guatavita, in the Department of Cundinamarca, and is one of the area’s most important natural attractions. The geographic scale matters: the reservoir belongs to the municipality as a whole, while the streets, façades, and buildings characterize the historic center. These landmarks therefore differ both in geographic scale and subject: the townscape of the center on one hand, and the municipality’s natural attraction on the other.

Cultural Program of the 2026 Edition

The 2026 edition of the XXXVII Festival de El Dorado “Nuestros Saberes Ancestrales” in Guatavita featured performances celebrating the preservation of Muisca memory and ritual dances drawing on the traditions of this community. As part of the same edition, the Feria de Saberes Ancestrales y Artesanías gave artisans, growers, and knowledge holders a space to share their products and knowledge.

Two forms of cultural expression are presented side by side: performances and ritual dances on one hand, and the sharing of products and knowledge on the other. The festival content is specific to the 2026 edition; by contrast, the colonial center and the new town can be understood through their architectural features.

Discover more destinations: La Florida, Ricaurte, Chipaque, El Boqueron, Anolaima, San Bernardo, San Francisco, Cota

For the broader travel overview: Cundinamarca.