Tequendama Falls, Waterfall in Soacha, Colombia.
Tequendama Falls is a waterfall in the Cundinamarca Department that drops 132 meters through a narrow rocky gorge, with the Bogotá River measuring 23 meters in width at the edge. The water crashes onto boulders below, creating mist and spray that drift across the surrounding valley.
The waterfall gained international attention in the 19th century when American landscape painter Frederic Edwin Church depicted it in a painting completed in 1854. The old hotel built in 1928 above the gorge was later chosen for restoration work supported by French collaboration.
The name Tequendama comes from the Muisca language and translates as he who fell downward, a term that reflects the connection between the natural spectacle and the stories told by indigenous communities. Visitors today can sense the spiritual importance this site held in precolonial times, when people associated the waterfall with sacred powers and local legends.
Buses leave regularly from San Mateo station in Bogotá and reach the site in about an hour, covering 32 kilometers toward the southwest. The observation points are a short walk from the parking area, offering direct views of the falling water.
The former hotel building stands on a cliff right next to the gorge, offering a rare view of the entire drop from its upper floors. The restoration work has made it possible to visit the rooms and terraces where guests once watched the waterfall.
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