Bogota, cosmopolitan, dynamic and diverse, is one of the most populated cities in Latin America, with close to 11 million inhabitants, if its metropolitan area is taken into account. What are the best equipped places in Bogota to exercise? Although the most common among residents is to play sports in the neighborhood parks closest to their homes, and even though the city has 5340 public parks (IDRD) distributed in 19 of its 20 localities, we have identified the seven best-equipped spaces in Bogota to play sports.
Seven places to do sports in Bogota
- Atahualpa Park. Zonal Park located in Atahualpa, a neighborhood in the district of Fontibón, where athletes can enjoy a multi-sport coliseum and a soccer stadium. It also has a skating rink, multiple basketball and volleyball courts and outdoor fitness machines.
- Cayetano Cañizares Park. Metropolitan park in the locality of Kennedy, with an area of approximately 9 hectares. It has an area with indoor and outdoor facilities, as well as several pedestrian paths that allow communication between the areas of sports use. Among its main attractions are: a sports coliseum; a speed skating and figure skating rink; a bicycle cross track; an asphalt basketball, micro-soccer and volleyball court; and a soccer field with synthetic turf.
- El Salitre Recreation and Sports Park. This park is part of the Simón Bolívar Metropolitan Park in Barrios Unidos. It has facilities for the practice of various sports, in addition to large green areas. It is a regular venue for sports festivals and activities organized by the Mayor’s Office of Bogota. Some of its most popular attractions among the people of Bogota are: soccer stadium on grass; 3 soccer fields; indoor sports coliseum; 4 concrete and asphalt basketball courts; 4 concrete and asphalt micro-soccer courts; 3 tennis courts and a tennis wall; skating rink; field hockey court; 3 beach volleyball courts; 1 volleyball court; training wall for archers; putting area; 4 asphalt mini-basketball courts; and 4 asphalt mini-micro-soccer courts.
- Enrique Olaya Herrera National Park. Founded in 1934, it is the second oldest park in Bogota. With 65 hectares, it is one of the most emblematic parks in Bogota. Its location allows easy access to users from the surrounding community of La Merced, Perseverancia, and El Paraíso neighborhoods, and it is surrounded by students from the Javeriana, Distrital, and La Piloto universities, and several institutes. It has a field hockey rink; a recreational and artistic skating rink; 2 asphalt basketball, indoor soccer, micro soccer and volleyball courts; a soccer field with natural grass; 8 tennis courts and an asphalt tennis wall; 3 fountains for children’s entertainment; 2 small plazas; 10 barbecue grills; 16 food and beverage stands; and 2 restaurants.
- San Cristóbal Metropolitan Park. Located in the district of San Cristóbal, adjacent to Primero de Mayo Park, it is one of the most important sports facilities in the southeast of Bogota. Its main attraction is the velodrome, whose cycling track is home to the new hotbeds of cycling in the capital. It has volleyball, futsal, basketball, field hockey, recreational skating rink, athletics and a small skatepark.
- El Tunal Metropolitan Park. Located in the district of Tunjuelito, it offers a wide range of sports and recreational activities. During weekends, this venue simultaneously hosts more than 50,000 people of all ages, mostly from the neighborhoods of Ciudad Bolivar, Cazuca, Restrepo, 20 de Julio, San Carlos, San Benito, Meissen and Santa Lucia, among others. Among its attractions are: soccer stadium and natural grass soccer field; sports coliseum; multiple asphalt basketball, micro soccer and volleyball courts; tennis stadium and tennis court; bicycle cross track; field hockey rink; figure skating rink; athletic tracks; concrete skate park.
- Timiza Park. Located in the locality of Kennedy, with an extension of approximately 29.8 hectares, in which extensive meadows, large trees and a large lake that gives great attraction to the scenery stand out. It has: large arborized areas; soccer stadium with natural grass and athletic track; figure skating rink; asphalt basketball and micro-soccer courts; asphalt tennis court; physical activity modules open to the public; 2 playgrounds; lake; and bicycle parking.
Bogota’s public parks offer
The District System of Parks Bogotá (administered by the IDRD) has a network of 5340 spaces, among which are: metropolitan parks (open areas covering an area of more than 10 hectares, intended for the development of active and/or passive recreational uses and the generation of landscape and environmental values, whose area of influence covers the entire territory of the city); zonal parks (areas with a dimension between 1 and 10 hectares that are intended to meet the active recreational needs of all citizens of a group of neighborhoods. They may include specialized facilities such as sports centers, swimming pools, courts, skating rinks, etc.); neighborhood parks (free areas for recreation, meetings and community integration); pocket parks (areas of less than 1,000 square meters, which are usually intended for the recreation of children and senior citizens); and sports, recreational and cultural venues. https://www.idrd.gov.co/parques/escenarios-idrd/escenarios-idrd
