Boyacá is the neighbouring state of Cundinamarca and home to Colombia’s largest natural freshwater lake. The capital city is Tunja which has a population of just under 200,000. Since we only had the weekend, we headed straight towards Cuitiva which is a small town past Tunja. The drive took us 4-5 hours until we arrived at our campsite and the drive alone from Bogotá is worth the journey as the scenery is stunning.
We chose to stay at El Mirador del Lago as it was pet friendly and we wanted to take our dog along. El Mirador del Lago is a family run campsite. We were immediately greeted by their two sons who helped us carry our things and showed us around the site. The place seemed quite popular as they already had several tents up marking their territory but luckily we found a good spot right by the lake. We had to trek down a little to get to the place but it was perfect. Once our tent was up, we were finally able to relax with an amazing view of the lake and mountains.
We paid 15.000 pesos per person for one night. They served breakfast, lunch and dinner but all at an extra cost of around 12.000 pesos per person per meal. For lunch and dinner, you have a choice of either chicken or beef and it comes with fries, platanos, salad and rice. The food was simple but we enjoyed it.
It was around dinner time when we started seeing other guests around the campfire. The site sells marshmallows and some alcohol but don’t expect a huge variety. A great thing about this place (and we wish we knew in advance) is that you can bring your own alcohol and food to BBQ.
The next morning we woke up early and had caldo de Costilla with bread and scrambled eggs for breakfast. We thought about walking to Playa Blanca which by the way is a beach on the lake, 3000m above sea level. However, we became lazy and once we realized it would take us more than 2 hours by walking, we decided to drive. By car it was only 20 minutes. But before leaving, we just had to take a few more photos to capture the beauty and tranquility of this place!
If you visit Laguna de Tota, Playa Blanca is a must. How often do you come across a beach on a lake 3000m above sea level? At first, I thought it was going to be a small bit of land with some sand but actually, you’d be surprised! Playa Blanca is exactly what the name says. You will see a wide strip of white sand and crystal clear water. Just be careful when entering the sea, I mean lake because it is freshwater after all and is very cold.
Have you been to Laguna de Tota? Let me know what you thought.
Also, if you are planning to take a trip there, let me know if you have any questions and I’ll try to be as helpful as possible.
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