Santuario Chiquito8 kmMedium
Photo — Laguna de las Tapias
Guided
Laguna de las Tapias
Head into the Páramo de Guerrero and walk through wetlands, lagoons, bunchgrass meadows and frailejón forests in the Santuario...
Páramo de Guerrero · Cundinamarca
Eco hikes near Bogotáat the Santuario Chiquito Nature Reserve · Páramo de Guerrero
A páramo you hike, and protect by hiking it.
Hiking in Cundinamarca, where nature tourism helps sustain the conservation of the territory.
Discover the territory we protect
Experience the reserve
Guided routes and self-guided trails in the Páramo de Guerrero
You discover the territory on foot. Every route has a defined carrying capacity, which is why the territory stays healthy while more people walk it.
31Routes in the reserve
3Self-guided trails
28Guided routes
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Hiking and trekking near Bogotá
Santuario Chiquito is a private nature reserve in the Páramo de Guerrero (Cundinamarca), 70 km from Bogotá. Here you can go on one-day eco hikes, guided hikes, hiking on self-guided trails and high-mountain trekking through high-Andean forest, frailejones and lakes.
Choose from 31 routes (3 self-guided trails and 28 guided routes) and 4 experiences such as night hiking or hiking with pets. Every hike includes a contribution that funds páramo conservation, and every route respects a defined carrying capacity.
See all hikes
More to experience
Other experiences in the territory
Besides the guided hikes and self-guided trails, the territory is also the setting for these experience concepts:
Hikes designed as fitness and altitude preparation for people training to climb snow-capped peaks. See Entrenamiento Nevados →
Wellbeing, team building and educational outings for organizations. See Corporate groups →
Planting and restoration days within the territory. See the Planting Voucher →. Would you rather join a volunteer day in person? Arrange your spot directly by WhatsApp, free of charge: see how →
Outings designed for watching the páramo sky. See Senderismo y Estrellas → or Senderismo Nocturno (full moon) →
Senderismo con Mascotas → in Zipaquirá and Cogua, or Exploración Viajeritos →, an adventure designed for the little ones.
Sports events
Trail running and hill-climb time trials in the Páramo de Guerrero
You can also experience the territory by running and taking on new challenges.
Trail Running
Santuario Chiquito Trail Running
The reserve’s own mountain race, held on the last Saturday before December 24.
Trail Running
Páramo de Guerrero Trail Running
A mountain race through the páramo ecosystem, six months after the Santuario Chiquito Trail Running.
Hill-climb time trial
Neusa–Cerro Santuario Hill-Climb Time Trial
4 rounds a year, from the Neusa Reservoir to Cerro Santuario.
Discover
The land
Santuario Chiquito is a productive conservation initiative on a private nature reserve linked to the Páramo de Guerrero and the high-Andean forest.
It is not just a tourist destination. It is a territory of high environmental value where nature tourism is used as a tool to generate resources for conservation.
Here the páramo, the forest, the water and the biodiversity are protected. The work includes restoration, patrolling, maintenance, monitoring, environmental education and control of gorse (retamo espinoso).
Páramo de Guerrero
Part of the Corredor Guerrero, on the continental water divide between Pacho and Tausa. It protects 7 species of frailejón, 3 of them Critically Endangered, and broad stretches of native bunchgrass.
High-Andean forest
Active restoration, with more than 2,000 native trees planted along water margins and 8 ha already cleared of gorse (retamo espinoso), the invasive species that most threatens this ecosystem.
Water and biodiversity
The territory supplies 2 large watersheds (Río Bogotá and Río Negro), with 4.2 km of water margins and 7 bodies of water and springs conserved. They are the foundation that all biodiversity depends on.
Discover
How a visit helps conserve
Nature tourism
Hikes, events and experiences in the territory.
Generating resources
Every visit and every voucher brings in financial resources.
Conserving the territory
Those resources sustain the protection of the páramo and the forest.
Tourism is not an activity separate from conservation. It is a tool to fund it and make it sustainable.
Whoever hikes, runs or takes part in an experience feeds the same cycle: resources that can return to the territory to sustain its protection.
These resources can contribute to:
- Caring for the páramo
- High-Andean forest
- Protecting water
- Biodiversity
- Restoration
- Control and removal of gorse (retamo espinoso)
- Monitoring
- Camera traps
- Inventories
- Maintenance
- Patrolling
- Environmental education
Conserve
Conserve the territory
Conservation Vouchers let you contribute to specific conservation actions in a defined territory.
Watershed Protection
Contributes to protecting a water unit in the territory: a river, lake, waterfall or other water unit. Each unit is equivalent to 365 L/year under Santuario Chiquito’s reference model.
COP 125,000 / unit (365 L/year)
See voucher
Carbon Footprint Calculator
Calculate your annual carbon footprint and find out how many m² of Páramo Protection it is equivalent to, using the reference factors of this model (it is not a certified carbon offset).
Reference equivalence. The real contribution is Páramo Protection by m²
See voucher
Water Footprint Calculator
Calculate your annual water footprint and find out how many units of Watershed Protection it is equivalent to, under Santuario Chiquito’s reference model (1 unit = 365 L/year).
Reference equivalence. The real contribution is the Watershed Protection Voucher
See voucher
Frailejón Adoption
Adopt a frailejón in the territory as an act of conservation. Available only in páramo polygons; it represents one unit of adoption.
COP 30,000
See voucher
Tree Adoption
Adopt a high-Andean forest tree as an act of conservation. It represents one unit of adoption, not an area you can freely select.
COP 30,000
See voucher
Gorse (Retamo Espinoso) Control Voucher
Contributes to the management and control of one gorse plant for a year. Shown as an annual contribution; it is not converted to m².
COP 20,000 / plant / year
See voucher
Go to the conservation shop
Already bought a georeferenced voucher? Check the map and find your contribution.
Join
Join the territory
Corporate groups
Wellbeing, corporate hikes, workshops and team-building events for companies, schools and universities. They can also buy Conservation Vouchers.
I represent a company, school or universityPartner Agencies
Agreements to sell hikes, experiences and events.
I represent an agency or operatorFrequently asked questions
Where can you go hiking near Bogotá?
At the Santuario Chiquito Nature Reserve, in the Páramo de Guerrero (Cundinamarca). It is 70 km from Bogotá, along the San Cayetano road (30 km past Zipaquirá). There are 31 routes — 3 self-guided trails and 28 guided routes — and 4 themed experiences.
How do you get here from Bogotá by public transport?
There are buses from Bogotá/Zipaquirá at 6:00 a.m. (the recommended time) and 9:30 a.m.; the return buses leave at 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. (the latter requires a transfer to Bogotá). We recommend arranging local transport to the base camp.
Do I need a guide for the hikes?
Every guided hike always goes with a professional tour guide; when the group is larger than 8 people, one local ("baquiano") guide is added for every 8 more people. The 3 self-guided trails (La Mina, La Hacienda and El Tablón) do not require a guide.
What is an eco hike at Santuario Chiquito?
It is a nature-tourism hike whose contribution funds the conservation of the reserve: restoration, surveillance, monitoring, environmental education and control of gorse (retamo espinoso). Each route has a defined carrying capacity so the páramo stays healthy.
Is there high-mountain trekking?
Yes. The traverses are the most demanding routes: for example, the Travesía Santuario Chiquito climbs more than 2,000 meters. High-mountain traverses have a different guide rate; the details are on each route's page.
Can schools, companies or large groups come?
Yes. Some trails use historic dirt roads that are already built, so they can take large groups — such as school groups — without cutting a new trail. For corporate and educational outings, write to us from the Corporate groups section.