Bogotá meets its mountains again.
Minutes from the noise of the city, there is a place where forest, páramo, history and wellbeing come together again.
Las Moyas Sanctuary protects one of the richest ecosystems in Bogotá's Eastern Hills, and opens a safe way in, so that thousands of people can walk it, breathe it and feel part of it again.
Because people protect what they have come to love.
A new way to protect the Eastern Hills.
Las Moyas is the first public-private initiative to open safe, responsible access to Bogotá's Eastern Hills, so the city can walk them again.
It grew out of a shared conviction between the families who own this land, environmental non-profits, neighbouring communities and public institutions:
The best way to protect a mountain is to bring people close to it, and to do it responsibly.
Today we look after more than 133 hectares of Andean forest, sub-páramo and páramo, while running programmes in wellbeing, environmental education, sport, ecological restoration and community development.
Our work has shown that conservation and access are not at odds. Each one makes the other stronger.
Las Moyas is Bogotá's first private nature reserve authorised by the Regional Autonomous Corporation of Cundinamarca (CAR), with the support of the Bogotá City Hall.
133 hectares, three worlds
The trail climbs through all three. Almost half the reserve is planted forest that we are slowly returning to native species.
Sacred ground
Long before Bogotá existed, the Muisca people gathered here. The great rock basins that gave Las Moyas its name were held to be sacred: places where water, mountain and sky meet at a single point.
For over a hundred years, one family chose to keep this land intact while the city pushed up the hills and drained the wetlands below. That choice is why there is still something here to protect.
In 2022 the Sanctuary opened its gates, so that more people could know this place, and want to look after it.
Today these 133 hectares of Andean forest, sub-páramo and páramo hold up far more than a view: they shelter the region's biodiversity, steady its climate, and feed the water supply of millions of people.
What began as one family's decision is now an invitation to the whole city.
Las Moyas is a collective effort. Four organisations bring their own experience and purpose to protecting this land and opening it up.
Fundación Cerros de Bogotá
For more than fifteen years they have worked on ecological restoration, environmental education and the conservation of the Eastern Hills. Their knowledge of this land is what turned Las Moyas into a conservation model with measurable results.
Fundación Rafael Ucrós Durán · Las Moyas
For over a century the Ucrós Durán family kept this land from being developed, preserving one of Bogotá's most valuable ecosystems. That inheritance is now open to the city.
LiveHappy
A social enterprise that runs the Sanctuary day to day and turns conservation into something people can actually experience. They build the partnerships that keep this work going for the long haul.
EcoGuardianes
Young people from neighbouring communities who found a future in conservation. They are the ones who welcome visitors and look after the land, and they are proof that protecting nature can change lives too.
Look up. The mountains are still there.
The Eastern Hills hold Bogotá's water and a biodiversity found nowhere else. They also hold something the city tends to forget: that we need to stop, breathe, and come back to ourselves.
For decades most of this land stayed out of reach. Las Moyas shows there is another way to protect it: keep the land safe while people walk it, sit with it, and discover why it matters to them.
From 2,700 to 3,300 metres
The route climbs west to east, from the edge of the city up into the páramo, crossing all three of the reserve's ecosystems. A short loop circles the Refuge near the gate.
- 1Refugio Las Moyas2,705 m
- 2Vivero Biodiverso2,755 m
- 3El Nido2,763 m
- 4Aula Cátedra Cerros2,798 m
- 5Aula Rafael Ucrós Durán2,874 m
- 6Mirador El Sapo2,937 m
- 7Espacio de Silencio2,963 m
- 8Bosque Encantado2,981 m
- 9Alto Enrique3,035 m
- 10Mirador Las Moyitas3,098 m
- 11Piedra Filosofal3,113 m
- 12Puerto Moyas3,146 m
- 13Piedra Barbudito3,167 m
- 14Frailejandría3,209 m
- 15Miradores3,281 m
- 16Las Moyas3,309 m
The trail from above
- GATE
- Transversal 2 Este #78-93 · Rosales · Chapinero, Bogotá
- ACCESS
- Tuesday to Sunday, 6:00 – 9:00 a.m.
- Trailhead
- Las Moyas trail
- Marked stops
- Refuge loop · 0.46 km
LOADING THE MAP…
Walk. Breathe. Move. Share. Protect.
Las Moyas is a haven of wellness and deep reconnection. Through our shared experiences, we nurture a community that awakens its consciousness — both individually and collectively — deeply committed to the protection of our planet.
Every experience at Las Moyas comes from the same idea: finding a different way to be with nature, with each other, and with ourselves.
Whether you are walking through the forest, doing yoga at first light, sharing dinner under the stars or planting a native tree, every visit is meant to do two things at once: leave you better, and leave this place better.
Wellbeing
Breathe. Slow down. Come back to yourself.
Mountains have always been places to gather, to contemplate, to find your balance. Las Moyas brings that back with experiences built around stopping, breathing and reconnecting, surrounded by the páramo.
- YOGA
- MEDITATION
- SOUND HEALING
- 108 OM SOUND OFFERING
- FOREST THERAPY
- SUNSETS OVER BOGOTÁ
Food and nature
Sharing a table is its own kind of connection.
We make room for food, conversation and landscape to meet, so that being in nature becomes something you do together rather than something you look at.
- ORGANIC PICNICS
- BRUNCH OUTDOORS
- DINNER IN THE FOREST
- TALKS AND GATHERINGS
Sport
Move at the mountain's pace.
- TRAIL RUNNING
- GUIDED HIKES
- OUTDOOR TRAINING
Run and hike through Andean forest, sub-páramo and páramo on a route designed so that pushing yourself and looking after one of Bogotá's most important ecosystems are the same thing.
Conservation
You protect what you understand.
Every activity is built to close the distance between people and the land, and to invite you into the actual work of restoring and caring for the Eastern Hills.
- PLANTING NATIVE TREES
- ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION
- ENVIRONMENTAL TALKS
- PROGRAMMES FOR COMPANIES AND SCHOOLS
- BIRDWATCHING
Every visit helps protect this place
A visit to Las Moyas does more than take you up the mountain. What happens here reaches the land, the people who walk it, and the communities who look after it.
Las Moyas backs Fundación EcoGuardianes, which opens up training, work and leadership for young people from the communities closest to the Eastern Hills.
- +30young people from the area now working with us.
- Training in conservation and nature tourism.
- Support for starting their own ventures.
Thousands of people come up to walk the Eastern Hills every month.
Room for wellbeing, sport, learning and time outdoors.
What lives here
Species recorded inside the Sanctuary's 133 hectares. Each one is a reason to stay on the marked trail.
The land, in pictures
Frailejones, mist, Andean forest, and the sunrises that hold the rest of it up.
Join us
News from the Sanctuary, invitations to events, and the occasional surprise. Nothing else.
By signing up you accept our personal data policy.
Conservation is something we build together.
If your company, foundation or school wants to make a real difference in Bogotá, strengthen how it approaches sustainability, wellbeing or volunteering, or start something that helps protect the Eastern Hills, we would like to meet you.
Leave us your details and let's talk about what we could build together.
CAREight things we ask of you
The same list that greets you at the gate. None of them is arbitrary: each one answers something that has already happened up here.
- 01Leave your pets at home to protect the trail's ecosystem.
- 02Admire the plants and vegetation, but please do not touch them.
- 03Leave no trace — take all your waste back down with you.
- 04Use plastic-free products during your visit.
- 05No fires, anywhere along the route.
- 06Say hello to your fellow walkers.
- 07Stay on the marked routes so the trail holds up.
- 08Follow all instructions from the guides and park authorities.
Before you set off
What you need to know to plan your visit.
How do I get there?
The gate is at Transversal 2 Este #78-93, in Rosales, Chapinero — about 25 minutes from central Bogotá. You'll get directions and a meeting point when you book.
How hard is the trail?
The main trail is 3.4 km one way and climbs from 2,705 to 3,309 metres, a gain of just over 600 metres. It's rated moderate, 3 out of 5: you'll want to be reasonably fit, but no technical experience is needed. Remember you're starting above 2,700 metres, so take it slowly if you're not used to the altitude.
Do I need any experience?
No. Trails are graded by difficulty and every hike goes out with an EcoGuardián who knows the land.
When can I go up?
Trail access is Tuesday to Sunday, between 6:00 and 9:00 in the morning; the Sanctuary is closed to visitors on Mondays. The early start is deliberate — it is a long walk and the weather up here turns around midday. Wellbeing, food and sunset experiences run on their own schedules and are booked separately.
Can I bring my children? My dog?
Children are welcome with an adult. Dogs aren't, and it isn't about the dogs: this is one of the last refuges for native wildlife near the city, and their scent alone is enough to drive animals off.
What should I bring?
Layers, a rain jacket, walking shoes, water, sunscreen and no particular hurry. The weather up here turns quickly. Whatever you carry up, you carry back down.
How can my company or organisation get involved?
Fill in the partnership form on this page or message us on WhatsApp. We work with companies, schools and foundations that share the goal of protecting the Eastern Hills.
Walk. Breathe. Move. Share. Protect.
At this sanctuary we invite you to take a pause and connect with the immense beauty and richness of Bogotá's Eastern Hills.
Trail access runs Tuesday to Sunday, between 6:00 and 9:00 in the morning. Twenty-five minutes from central Bogotá.