This story is a fictional piece inspired by the experience of walking without plans through Bogotá—a journey you could live yourself on a food tour that connects culture and flavor.
You don’t know it yet… but the best way to truly get to know a city when you only have a few days—is happening here and now.
During your first hours in Bogotá, an improvised schedule leaves this morning free and planless. You’re standing in front of the receptionist at a hostel you found online just after landing. The hotel you had booked canceled without warning due to overbooking. But thanks to technology, you’re here—and you’re listening closely to the options for the day.
The one that grabs your attention is this: the one that promises to show you the best way to know a city.
Just as Camila, the receptionist at Cranky Croc Hostel, says—you head out with a group of five travelers from different countries and your guide, who confidently claims that Bogotá is like a living, ever-changing book, full of stories rewritten in the streets and by the people who never stop coming and going.
“The mountains set the rhythm,” says the guide, pointing toward Monserrate, “and street art appears on nearly every block before we reach the local market.”
There, in a small food stall, you encounter a dish unknown to you and the other tourists. A curious name sparks intrigue: lechona, says the guide.
“It has indigenous roots—from the fathers and mothers of these lands,” says Cristian, your guide. He’s from the neighboring region of Tolima. “It’s from the center of the country, close to here.”
He then explains how Spanish colonial culture adopted it and added its own touch. Today, that dish represents modern Colombia. Though typical of Tolima or Huila, it’s eaten in Bogotá on weekends. “And for me,” says Cristian, “as a true Colombian and football lover, it’s the iconic stadium dish. I enjoy it every time I go to El Campín to watch my beloved team.”
As you savor the dish, you imagine yourself in that stadium, jumping with a small container full of pork skin, peas, rice, and meat. Picturesque, yes. But now, stunned by the sight of a giant pig—stuffed with its own meat and ready to feed dozens of visitors—you return to the market.
Looking at it, you’re reminded of those European castle recipes—the pig with the apple in its mouth. And you begin to taste, in this food tour through Bogotá, the seasoned blend that defines Colombia.
You start to understand that Bogotá is that thick liquid containing a bit of every flavor, released by the ingredients that are each Colombian city and subculture converging in the capital.
And standing there, you realize: you’re in the right place. And how easily—though not always—you’ve collided head-on with the culture and magic of Colombia… in the fridge, as Colombians call their capital.
You begin to taste, in this food tour through Bogotá, the seasoned blend that defines Colombia. This culinary journey invites you to explore authentic flavors while walking through local markets, discovering ingredients that tell stories.
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By Fredy Calderón
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