Tequendama Falls

Tequendama Falls

The Tequendama Falls (Spanish: Salto del Tequendama) is a 132m high waterfall on the Bogotá River, located about 30 km southwest of Bogotá in the municipality- (people living in a town or city having local self-government) of San Antonio del Tequendama. Circa 10000 BC, El Abra and Tequendama were found to be the first permanent settlements in Colombia. One of the country’s major tourist attractions, the falls are located in a forested area 20 miles (32 km) west of Bogotá. The river surges through a rocky gorge that narrows to about 60 feet (18 m) at the brink of the 515-foot- (157-metre-) high falls. During the month of December the falls become completely dry. The falls, once a common site for suicides, may be reached by road from Bogotá.

According to Muisca legend, the waterfall was created by Bochica, who used his staff to break the rock and release the water that covered the Bogotá Savannah. According to another legend, during the Spanish conquest in South America, in order to escape slavery the indigenous people of the area would jump off the Salto Del Tequendama and become eagles to fly to their freedom.

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