Jardín Botánico de Bogotá José Celestino Mutis

The Jardín Botánico de Bogotá, named after the 18th-century botanist José Celestino Mutis, is the city's great green escape and a serious scientific institution. It was founded in 1955 by the priest and botanist Enrique Pérez Arbeláez and is run as a public body of the city. Its 19.5 hectares focus on the ecosystems of the high Andes, especially Andean forest and páramo, the moorland found from about 2,800 metres upwards, and most of the species grown here are native to Colombia.

The highlight for most visitors is the Tropicario, a circuit of greenhouses with five rooms covering superpáramo, tropical wet forest, tropical dry forest, useful plants and specialised conservation collections. It is included in the standard ticket. Outdoors, look for the rose garden, the waterfall, the páramo area, the woodland named after Luis Eduardo Mora Osejo and the main lake. The garden also cares for the city's emblems, the nogal tree and the orchid chosen as Bogotá's flower. Its herbarium was modernised in 2017, and in May 2022 the national government recognised the garden as a research centre, the first botanical garden in Colombia to receive that status.

Opening hours are Tuesday to Friday from 8:00 to 17:00 and Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from 9:00 to 17:00. The garden closes for maintenance on Mondays that are working days. Visitors over 60 enter the garden free, and children under five are free, including the Tropicario. Guided tours can be booked, and the garden holds public events through the year.

Allow two to three hours to walk the main paths and visit the greenhouses at an easy pace. The garden is a good choice for families with young children, older visitors and anyone needing a break from the traffic of the centre. Bring a waterproof, as Bogotá's afternoons are often showery, and a hat for the strong high-altitude sun.

The garden is on Avenida Calle 63 in the west of the city, beside the Parque Metropolitano Simón Bolívar. The nearest TransMilenio stations are Calle 63 and Avenida Chile. Combine the visit with a walk in Parque Simón Bolívar, whose park system includes the Parque de los Novios and its lakes.