Season guide · Bogotá · Colombia
Bogotá in the first rainy season
April–May: weather, crowds, prices and the best things to do this time of year.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Frank Ballesteros, CC BY 2.5
Quick answer
Frequent showers and grey skies; FILBo book fair and theatre and music festivals in some years. Expect highs up to 20°C (68°F) and lows around 10°C (50°F), with about 36 rainy days across April–May.
Key facts
- Months
- April–May
- Temperatures
- 10°C (50°F) to 20°C (68°F)
- Rainy days in the season
- About 36
- Crowds
- Moderate
- Hotel prices
- Average
Weather in the first rainy season
| Month | High | Low | Rainy days | Daylight | Crowds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April | 20°C (68°F) | 10°C (50°F) | 18 | 12.2 h | 3/5 |
| May | 19°C (66°F) | 10°C (50°F) | 18 | 12.3 h | 2/5 |
Compared with the rest of the year: average highs of 20°C (68°F) against a yearly 19°C (66°F), and 36 of the year's roughly 169 rainy days fall in these 2 months. Crowds rate 3/5 and hotel prices 3/5 on average.
What's on in the first rainy season
Recurring events; dates move from year to year, so confirm with the organiser.
- April: FILBo — Bogotá International Book Fair (usually late April to early May)
- April: Semana Santa (March or April)
Good choices for the first rainy season
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Museum · La Macarena
Museo Nacional de Colombia
Look out for the old prison cells that now serve as small exhibition rooms.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Art
- Rainy day
- Architecture
Architecture · La Candelaria
Teatro Colón
Colombia's national theatre, opened in 1892, has an ornate horseshoe-shaped auditorium with gilded balconies and a painted ceiling.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- Architecture
- History
- After dark
- Rainy day
Museum · Ciudad Salitre
Maloka
Visit on a weekday morning to avoid school groups at weekends.
- Time needed
- 3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Rainy day
Museum · La Candelaria
Museo del Oro
The Banco de la República's Gold Museum on Parque Santander displays tens of thousands of gold objects and thousands more in ceramic, stone and textiles from Colombia's pre-Hispanic cultures.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Iconic
- History
- Art
- Rainy day
- Kids
Gallery · La Candelaria
Museo Botero
Continue through the connecting buildings to the Casa de Moneda and the Miguel Urrutia Art Museum, also free.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Art
- Free
- Rainy day
- Iconic
Day trips in the first rainy season
- Lake Guatavita (About 2 hours by bus or car) — This round mountain lake was a sacred site of the Muisca people, whose gold-offering rituals inspired the El Dorado legend.
- Villa de Leyva (About 3.5–4 hours by bus) — One of Colombia's best-preserved colonial towns, with whitewashed houses and one of the largest cobbled main squares in the Americas.
What to pack
- Light layers for the day and a light jacket for the evening
- A compact umbrella and waterproof shoes — rain is frequent
- Comfortable walking shoes
Other times of year
Questions travellers ask
+Is the first rainy season a good time to visit Bogotá?
It is a trade-off: Frequent showers and grey skies; FILBo book fair and theatre and music festivals in some years. The best months overall are July–August and December–March.
+What is the weather like in Bogotá in the first rainy season?
Highs of up to 20°C (68°F) and lows around 10°C (50°F), with about 36 rainy days over the season.