Thanks to trout farms in the lake, runoff of fertilizers and pesticides from countless onion farms, and now oil exploration this lake has been listed by an international wetlands protection organization as one of the top five polluted wetlands in the world...
an incredible lake in one of the most beatiful regions in Colombia, where you will not only enjoy the scenery, but other attractions such as hot springs, colonial towns and many other remarkable possibilities within the newly extreme sports selection.
One of the most beautiful landscapes you can find in Colombia.Arrive driving from bogota (4-5 hours), once you get there you'll be breathless. The view, the water, the beach, the mountains is like if you were in a dream.You can choose between walking in the beach or take a tour to navigate the lake.
They don't have guides in english but the walking trail is nice, great place.
Although most people visit this lake heading straight to the white sand beach, we visited this site from Paipa, going through the charming villages of Firavitoba, Iza (lovely plaza and good restaurant!) and Cuitiva (the plaza has a statue of Bochica, mythical hero of the Muiscas). After enjoying beautiful views of the lake, we ended up visiting the Pueblito Antiguo : the dream of a man, several years with his family and locals building the site and collecting colombian antiques, from posters, tools, movies and toys complete with taxi and train. They built a lovely replica of a old traditional village, with plaza principal, movie theater, church, general store, barber shop, old train station for the "Expreso del Lago"... all this with wonderful views of the lake. The site was just about to open to the public when we visited in february 2013.Although quite remote from the main roads of Boyaca, all this makes for a great day trip, probably easier for those who have their own mode of transportation.
We went for a relaxing drive around the entire lake. Enjoyed the smell of onions growing near the shores. Took great photos with the puffy blue rain clouds in the background. Playa Blanca is nice and we had it all to ourselves.
I had the opportunity to travel this weekend to this beautiful place, although it was cold and very little sun, I had a great time. I recommend checking the weather forecast before going just to make sure. If you go with a SUV or 4X4 I recommend driving around the lake (half of the trip around lake has dirt roads). Good idea to take a tent and just take in the view!
3hours drive from Bogota. Public transportation take you to "Sogamoso" (3hrs, u$9) and then you take another bus to "Aquitania" or Laguna de Tota (u$1.50). It's a beautiful place, with nice people and cheap public transportation and food. There are restaurants by the lake, many onion crops, much silence and the weather is 14-17celcius degrees approx. Might get a little bit cold at night but the hotel had wooden walls, very warm. The view is amazing. 3.000mts above the sea level. To go with your couple, friends or family if u're looking for a quiet weekend, not a place to party and meet people. It's very romantic, not much to do around so take your tablet, cards, chess. If you don't have a car donn't worry, public transortation from and to the lake and playa blanca is available.I went with my boyfriend, we stayed at Decameron's Hotel Camino Real, it was nice, but no wifi (they offer wifi now, but they charge you for it), only B&B (didn't like bfast very much), There's a SPA-we didnt use it. Actually, you can get there and get a cheaper accomodation. There's a place you MUST VISIT: PLAYA BLANCA. Its a small "beach" with clear blue water, really nice pictures. You can ride a horse there and visit isolated restaurants nearby (u$7 per dish approx) with delicious food and amazing view. You can go diving, fishing; also, rent boats.
Is a place with amazing landmarks. Really magical and romantic. You can fild peace everywhere and is really magnificent.
Lago de Tota (Tota lake) is the highest and largest lake in Colombia. It has an area of 55 km2 and a maximum depth of 60 meters. The lake was one of the most important and secret places for the Muisca culture and stands out for the astonishing landscape and the trout fishing. Lago de Tota also boasts a beautiful white sand beach called “Playa Blanca”. Playa Blanca beach can be easily mistaken for a beach of the seaside and is an ideal place to start a boat trip or practice several water or extreme sports like kayaking, sailing, abseiling, horse riding and kiting. An amazing experience!How to get there?Just outside Finca San Pedro, on the other side of the road going up, you can catch the bus to Aquitania (pass by every 20 minutes). Just before Aquitania you can stop anywhere to visit one of the hotels and enjoy the view of the lake. The hotels that we suggest are “Camino Real” and “Rocas Lindas”.To go to Playa Blanca there are two options. One is to take the bus from the other side of the road in front of Finca San Pedro to the main square of Aquitania, and from there walk about 3 blocks to the market square to catch another bus that goes to Playa Blanca (This one leaves every hour). But a better option is to take the bus at “Puente de pesca” just before the centre of Sogamoso in Kra 11 con Calle 8. Once you are in Puente de pesca ask which bus you can take to Playa Blanca. This will be the bus that is going to Iza and Cuitiva too and goes along a very scenic route. This bus also leaves every hour.How long does it take?To just enjoy the view of the lake it will take no more than 30 minutes, but the busride to Playa Blanca can take from 1 to 1,5 hours depending on which way you take and how lucky you are catching buses.How much does the bus cost?Approximately $ 4.000 per person to go to Lago de Tota. To Playa Blanca it will cost around $ 6.000 per person.