A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING BOGOTA´S STREETS

A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING BOGOTA´S STREETS ⃰  

By Carolina Toca

Getting around Bogotá can be a little adventure of its own. There are several competing modes of transport so the streets can be a little chaotic and finding the right address can take a little practice. But aside from the occasional traffic jam and some death-defying drivers, it's actually quite a treat to cross Bogota. So, in order to do not get lost, take in consideration some key tips about our beautiful City.

QUICK FACTS:

Unlike other cities in the world, you never have the feeling of being lost as a newcomer. The reason is quite evident by everyone. By all means and without a doubt, The East Hills “Cerros Orientales” is one of the greatest prides of the city.

•  As its name says, The East Hills are located in the eastern side of the city. This means that if you are looking for them on your left is North to South, on right hand and behind the West. Got it?
•  Located in one of their peaks is The Sanctuary of Monserrate, that´s how you will know downtown is located just right down. Piece of cake, right?
•  Roads run North to South or South to North. The main ones are The Seventh “La Séptima”, The Caracas, The 30 or NQS (North, Quito, South), The 68, The Cali and The Boyacá.
•  On the other hand, streets run East to West or West to East. The main ones are The First of May “Primera de Mayo”, which is located in the southbound, The 13, The 26 (going to the airport), The 72 which is like our Wall Street, The 80, The Pepe Sierra, The 134 and The 170.
• Carreras are often abbreviated "K or CR", are numerically named and generally run perpendicular to “Calles” (Cl) that are also numerically named. 
• A building address number is noted as meters from the cross street.  Therefore a building with an address of "CR 7 #73 -15" is located on “Carrera 7”, 15 meters from the intersection with “Calle 73”.
•  Large highways change their name from time to time while you are driving or walking, The Caracas becomes the North Freeway, The 100 becomes The 68, The 127 becomes The Boyacá and The Jimenez becomes The 13.
• Downtown can be tougher, if you are in The Seventh you will think the street before will be The Sixth, but not, remember you are in Bogota, here, the next one will be The Fifth. Even, in some cases The Sixth is closer to the Ninth.  
•  Most houses or buildings have two or three different addresses. This situation arises from reforms carried out, but in practice all of them still functioning depending on its purpose.
•  Neighborhoods in Southbound have addresses using much of the alphabet from A to Z, such as “Calle 48 a Sur # 72 L -21” what does it mean?  To be honest, we have no idea either. In these specific cases we highly suggest you ask for directions with locals.
• Do not be afraid or ashamed to feel disoriented when leaving the subway. At this point we guess you found out in Bogota there is no subway. And try to avoid using the Postal Code as a reference to settle. We are still in the process to implement it. In practice, in Bogota nobody has any idea what your ZIP is.

In conclusion, a good map would help a lot, even though the Colombian people are really nice and will help you at the moment you need, streets addresses are not as easy to understand even for natives, so, honestly, the best way is asking for directions, as locals would say “preguntando se llega a Roma”, and last but not least, an additional tip to settle down and do not get lost in Bogota is not trying to understand many things, do not complain and just enjoy the city the way it is. 

⃰ This article originally appeared on GO GUIA DEL OCIO magazine.