The Gold Museum of Bogota is much more than a museum full of gold. It was considered one of the best museums to visit in South America by Tripadvisor in 2024 and has become a symbol of Colombia’s cultural heritage and rich diversity! It is, without a doubt, a must during your trip to the city and in this Zebra Fisgona Blog you will find all the information you need to plan your visit.
What You will find in the Gold Museum
The Gold Museum of Bogota, holds one of the most important collections of pre-Hispanic metallurgy in the world (made before the arrival of the Spanish to the country in the late XV century).
The exhibition features over 55.000 prehispanic pieces , including 35.000 pieces made with gold and other metals alongside with over 20.000 pieces made with other materials like textiles, bones and ceramics.
The permanent exhibition is organized in four major rooms that allows visitors to explore Colombia’s pre-hispanic history in depth.
First room: The Working of Metals (second floor)
This room shows the deep understanding of metallurgy by Colombian indigenous communities. It highlights the process of mining, manufacturing and finishing of metallic objects done with gold, copper, platinum and silver.
Second room: The People and Gold in pre-Hispanic Colombia (second floor)
Explore the work done with gold and other materials by 12 different ancient communities and the relationship each one of them had with these objects.
Third room: The Cosmology and Symbolism (third floor)
How these communities perceived and understood the world, the myths and symbolism behind these objects, for example the masks of immortality
Fourth room: The Offering (third floor)
This exhibition ends with the ceremonies and offerings room. It showcases the most important piece in the museum, the ‘Balsa Muisca’ , a pre-hispanic representation of a sacred ritual that gave rise to the famous Dorado Legend.
Where is the Gold Museum Located
The Gold Museum is located in the city center of Bogota, with easy access by taxi or public transportation. It is near to other major tourist attractions, such as Monserrate, the Botero Museum, and La Candelaria, making it possible to visit all of them in a single day during a trip to Bogota.
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Opening hours and fees
These are the opening hours for the Gold Museum:
Mondays: Closed
Tuesday to Saturday: 9:00 – 19:00 last entrance 18:00.
Sundays and Holidays: 10:00 – 17:00 last entrance 16:00.
Please note that the museum is also closed during major holidays or special dates including:
Good Friday, May 1 (Labor Day), December 24 and 25 (Christmas), December 31 and January 1 (New Year’s).
Entrance Fee to the Gold Museum
Tuesday to Saturday: COP $5,000 (2024)
Admission is free for children under 12 and adults over 60.
Sunday’s admission is free for everyone.
To buy the tickets you must approach the counter at the museum, there are no online tickets or skip the line. The best days to visit are the weekdays, since locals tend to visit it during the weekends, especially Sundays.
To check updates and more information visit the official site https://www.banrepcultural.org/bogota/museo-del-oro
