Bogotá is the capital city that lies high in the Andes of Colombia, at roughly 8,700 feet above sea level. The city’s commonly cited average elevation is about 2,640 meters, or approximately 8,660 feet; figures such as 8,727 feet reflect different reference points or measurements within the urban area.
Bogotá sits on the Bogotá savanna, a high plateau in the Eastern Cordillera of the Andes. Its altitude gives the city a cool subtropical highland climate despite its location near the Equator. Temperatures are generally mild year-round rather than tropical and hot.
The city was founded by Spanish conquistador Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada in 1538, after the conquest of the Muisca territory. It became the capital of the New Kingdom of Granada and later remained the capital of independent Colombia.
Visitors often confuse Bogotá with Quito or La Paz when thinking of high-altitude capitals. Quito is also in the Andes, while La Paz is higher, but Bogotá is Colombia’s elevated national capital and largest city.