Wonders of Bogota

Bogota, like any other huge city, has millions of pockets to explore, and as a vegetarian, tea-loving women who loves dancing and yoga, I’ve found a ton of places that seem like they were made just for me.

1) Maha Vegetarian Food & Yoga

Photo courtesy of Jasminewanders.com

  • Address: Carrera 7, #46 – 42
  • Hours: Monday to Friday from noon to 5 p.m., Saturdays noon to 4:30 p.m.
  • Website: http://mahaveg.co/
  • My thoughts: There’s surprisingly a pretty strong vegetarian presence in Bogota, and it’s not just limited to the glitzier area north of Calle 93! Inside the bright and colorful Maha restaurant, I treated myself to a meal of a quinoa burger, homemade chips and all-natural mango juice. I then took a wonderful yoga class (first class is free!) in its tranquil upstairs yoga studio, and enjoyed some complementary agua aromatica after the class ended. Check out their website for their yoga schedule and their eclectic, all-vegetarian menu! They are also vegan friendly.

2) Wok

  • Address: Located all around Bogota. I’ve gone to the ones in Parque 93 and in Zona G.
  • Hours: Depends on location. Here’s the horario for the Parque 93 location: Monday to Tuesday, noon to 10:30 p.m. Thursday to Saturday: noon to 11 p.m. Sunday: noon to 9 p.m.
  • Website: http://www.wok.com.co/
  • My thoughts: Oh, how I’ve missed Thai food. Wok is both vegetarian and vegan friendly, and both times I’ve gone, I’ve gotten the tofu and vegetable pad Thai with veggie spring rolls.

3) La Castaña Empanadas Al Horno

  • Address: Calle 57 # 5 – 17
  • Hours: Monday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
  • Website: http://www.lacastana.com/
  • My thoughts: Such delicious empanadas. They’re baked, not fried, and super vegetariain friendly. I especially love the cheese and onion empanada, as well as the dried tomato and oregano one. On Wednesday, they have a sale on vegetarian empanadas, so I’d recommend going then! The cafe also has WiFi and outlets, and a very comfortable area in which to work. They also appear to have chocolate making workshops (?), so ask them what their upcoming workshops are if you’re interested!

4) Cafe Del Sol 

5) Asocación Cultural Adra

  • Address: Diagonal 42A #20-45, La Soledad
  • Hours: Check out their class schedule on their website.
  • Website: www.adradanza.com
  • Phone: 232-8478
  • My thoughts: They offer classes in modern dance, arabic dance, ballet, Afro-Jazz, yoga, Chi-kung and Biodanza. The classes are reasonably priced, about $13 USD each. They had a great deal where if two people signed up for a 4-class deal at once, they could get half off one of the deals. I ended up paying about $30~ USD for 4 classes, which was perfect for me! So far, I’ve taken the Afro class, and am planning on taking the modern class and the ballet class this week!

6) Bogota Graffiti Tours

  • Address: Meet in Plaza de Periodistas, then walk around Candelaria
  • Hours: Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, 10 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
  • Website: http://bogotagraffiti.com/
  • My thoughts: Probably the first thing you’ll notice in Bogota is its often remarkable graffiti. This tour takes you around the colonial La Candelaria area of the city, where you learn about the cultural relevance and history of all different kinds of street art in Bogota, from the beautiful, socially-tinged murals, to tiny stickers on street signs, to sculptures of angels perched on roofs. It’s affordable, with a suggested donation of about $10-$20 USD.

7) Momentos Drink House

  • Address: Carrera 7 # 45 -52
  • Phone: 3143694469
  • Hours: ??
  • Website: http://www.reverbnation.com/venue/353796
  • My thoughts: With comfy couches and a rock-inspired ambiance, Momentos is a very short walk from Maha and features a variety of seating areas for the college students and soccer fans who frequent the locale. I enjoyed a delicious mango and vanilla ice cream milkshake and watched a futbol game , all while listening to the Beatles and classic rock. No WiFi, but there are power outlets, so I found the mellow coffee house a great spot for distraction-free writing.

Also, make sure to hit up just about any “comida corriente” (i.e. fast meals) restaurant you can find. For the equivalent of $3-$5 USD, you can get a typical Colombian lunch of rice, beans, meat, etc. As a vegetarian, I’m perfectly happy with rice, beans, avocado, sweet plantains, salad and of course, mango juice, wherever I go.

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