Gold Museum
Museo del Oro
The world's largest collection of pre-Columbian gold, with more than 30,000 gold objects, and its star piece, the Muisca Raft, which tells the legend of El Dorado.
The Museo del Oro was founded in 1939 by the Banco de la República (Bank of the Republic of Colombia). Its current building stands beside Santander Park. The museum holds about 34,000 gold objects along with more than 20,000 ceramics, stone tools and textiles, from over ten pre-Columbian cultures including the Muisca, Tairona, Sinú, Calima and Tolima. It is considered the largest collection of its kind in the world. The exhibits are spread across four floors. The second floor, 'Metalworking', explains lost-wax casting and tumbaga, a gold-copper alloy. The third floor, 'People and Gold' and 'Cosmology and Symbolism', displays nose rings, chest plates and ceremonial figures. The fourth floor, the 'Offerings' hall, houses the museum's star piece, the Balsa Muisca (Muisca Raft). It depicts a new chief throwing gold objects into Lake Guatavita as an offering. This ritual is the origin of the European legend of El Dorado. The final room, the 'House of Offerings', is a circular room painted entirely black. When the lights and music come on suddenly, gold objects on all four walls shine at once, which is quite striking. Opening hours are Tuesday to Saturday 09:00–19:00 and Sunday 10:00–17:00. The museum is closed on Mondays, and entry stops one hour before closing. Tickets cost about 5,000 pesos. Entry is free on Sundays and public holidays, but you must book in advance through the Banco de la República cultural website. Multilingual audio guides can be rented, and you should allow about 2 hours.
Opening hours
Tue–Sat 09:00–19:00, Sun 10:00–17:00, closed Mondays
Nearby sights
- International Emerald Museum
- Church of San Francisco
- Luis Ángel Arango Library
- Chorro de Quevedo
- Primatial Cathedral of Bogotá
- La Candelaria
- Botero Museum
- Bolívar Square