Lake Guatavita

There are moments when a mysterious glow begins to emanate from the depths of the lake, which warms the faith in 50 million gold things resting at the bottom.

It was here, near this lake, that the legend of El Dorado was born – the city of the Golden Man, a symbol of great wealth.

The Golden Man is every new Muisco ruler who rises to power. His inauguration was very peculiar. The future leader was rubbed with gold dust until his whole body became like a statuette of precious metal. He was then seated on a raft laden with gold products. The raft stopped at the center of the lake, then the golden man and his assistants dropped the treasure from the raft into the lake.

Those who were on the slopes of the lake and could not throw their gold figurines into the lake, buried them in the ground under their feet.

Recently, in 2006, several such statuettes were found during the repair of the tracks.