Bogota's name comes from the Chibcha word Bacatá. Bacata was the territory of the zipa (overlord) of the Chibcha or Muisca Indian tribes that inhabited the region before the arrival of the Spaniards. Bogotá was founded on the 6th of August 1538 by the Spanish conquistador Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada who fough the Chibcha Indians near the site of the populous tribe center. The town was named Santa Fe de Bogotá, a combination of the traditional name and Quesada's hometown in Spain, Santa Fe. Nonetheless, the town was simply referred to as Santa Fe throughout the colonial period.
Bogota climate and temperature is very mild, but considerable variations in temperature can occur during the day, with warm sunny mornings and cold nights. The average temperature is around 14.4°C (58°F) all year round dropping to about 9°C (48.2°F) at night and rising to around 18°C (64.4°F) and higher when sunny. In the rainy season, there is less difference between day and night temperatures. Climate conditions are irregular and quite variable due to El Niño and La Niña phenomenon occurring at the Pacific basin and responsible for very strong climate changes.
Bogotá is now Colombia's largest financial, political, economic and cultural center. Bogotá is the home of the nation’s tire, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries, but its chief activities are commercial.
Bogotá is a modern city with a modern transportation system. It includes an international airport, bus lines, taxis, the TransMilenio bus rapid transit system, and even a train that serves as transportation for the outskirts of the city. Buses are the main means of mass transportation. There are two bus systems: the traditional system and the trasmilenio. The buses are divided into two categories: “ejecutivo”, which is supposed to be a deluxe service and is not supposed to carry standing passengers, and “corriente” or normal service. TransMilenio is a bus rapid transit system, a network combining modern articulated buses that operate on exclusive roads (busways) and smaller buses (feeders) that operate in residential areas, bringing passengers to the main grid. As in any other highly crowded area, users of TransMilenio must be aware that when riding the system they are exposed to pickpockets.
Bogotá remained the most important cultural and educational center of the country. The city is Colombia's educational "Mecca"; it boasts more schools, colleges, and universities than any other city in Colombia and contributes with high academic levels. Bogotá's colleges and universities have a major impact on the city and region's economy.
There are about 80 museums in Bogota: fine arts museums, contemporary and modern art, religious art, history, museums of archaeology, science and technology, and many others. Banco de la República Gold Museum collection was declared National Monument and is considered the most important of the type in the world. Includes nearly 34,000 pieces of gold and 20,000 bone, lithic and ceramic objects and textiles pertaining to Calima, Quimbaya, Muisca, Tairona, Sinú, Tolima, Malagana cultures, among other.
Cathedral of Salt of Zipaquira is an impressive work of architecture of the people of Bogota. The Cathedral is an enormous cathedral that is constructed from the salt mine and has baptist font in the year 1995. The twelve stations found in the cross are made out of salt rock. One can see twelve stations that are filled with blue light.
Many different types of events take place every day in Bogotá. Theatre, classical and popular music concerts, exhibitions, sports and table games events, shows, etc. Some special events take place every year such as the annual Book Fair, Expodiseño, Expohogar the Carnival of Bogota that begins August 6, birthday of the city, the Festival of Salsa al Parque Festival of Jazz al Paque, Festival of Opera al Parque, Festival of Rock al Parque, the bullfighting season, Festival of Summer and European film Festival. The International Fair of Bogota, held every other year in Corferias (Corporation of Fairs and Exhibitions).
Bogotá surroundings provide multiple attractions of the historical and cultural nature, together with places offering peace and beauty. Many towns still have the name given by Muiscas indigenous to their villages during the Pre-Columbian age. Prevailing panorama along north roads shows extensive plains bordered by a mountain range, pastures crossed by numerous water flows, forests planted with foreign species such as pines and eucalyptus.
