Bogota - City of Colombia

Bogotá is the capital city of Colombia, as well as the most populous city in the country, with 7,033,914 inhabitants. Bogotá and its metropolitan area, which includes municipalities such as Chía, Cota, Soacha, Cajicá and La Calera, had an estimated population of 8,244,980. In terms of land area, Bogotá is also the largest in Colombia, and its altitude makes it the third-highest major city in the world, after La Paz and Quito.

With its many universities and libraries, Bogotá has become known as "the Athens of South America".

Bogotá was originally called "Bacatá" by the Muiscas. It was the center of their civilization before the Spanish explorers colonized the area, and it sustained a large population. The European settlement was founded in August 6, 1538 by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada and was named "Santa Fé de Bacatá" after his birthplace Santa Fé and the local name. "Bacatá" had become the modern "Bogotá" by the time it was made the capital of the New Kingdom of Granada, which was then part of the Viceroyalty of Peru, and later of the Viceroyalty of New Granada. The city soon became one of the centers of Spanish colonial power and civilization in South America.

The lyrics to the anthem of Bogotá were written by Pedro Medina Avendaño, the melody was composed by Roberto Pineda Duque. The song was officially declared the anthem by decree 1000 of July 31, 1974, by then Mayor of Bogotá, Aníbal Fernandez de Soto.

The average temperature on the 'sabana' is 14.0°C, varying from -8°C to 28ºC. Dry and rainy seasons alternate throughout the year. The driest months are December, January, February and March; the rainiest are April, May, September, October and November. June and July are usually rainy periods and August is sunny with high winds. Hailstorms are common during the rainy season, and can be very strong, especially in October.

Climatic conditions are irregular and quite variable due to the El Niño and La Niña climatic phenomena, which occur in and around the Pacific basin and are responsible for very pronounced climatic changes.

On weekends a sightseeing train, popular with Bogotá residents, runs to outlying towns Zipaquirá, Cajicá and Nemocón along the lines of the former Ferrocarril de la Sabana. The route to Zipaquirá is 53 km long. Another line goes towards the north for 47 km and ends at Briceño. Trains are operated by Turistrén S.A.

Known as the Athens of South America, Bogotá has more schools, colleges, and universities than any other city in Colombia and a scholarly tradition that dates back to July 13 1580, when the first university, Saint Thomas Aquinas University, was founded by the Dominicans. On July 9, 1623 the Pontifical Xavierian University was founded by the Jesuits and on December 31, 1651 the Our Lady of the Rosary University by Cristóbal de Torres.

The largest university in Colombia, the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. A study by Universia found it to be the Colombian university producing the largest number of scientific papers published in peer-refereed publications in 2005, and the 142nd most prolific in Latin America.

Other notable universities include the Universidad Externado de Colombia, founded in 1886, and the University of the Andes, founded in 1948.