| Guadalupe Hill | |
|---|---|
 Guadalupe Hill seen fromMonserrate | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 3,360 m (11,020 ft)[1] |
| Coordinates | 4°35′31″N74°03′15″W / 4.59194°N 74.05417°W /4.59194; -74.05417 |
| Naming | |
| Native name | Cerro de Guadalupe (Spanish) |
| Geography | |
  Guadalupe Hill | |
| City | Bogotá, Colombia |
| Parent range | |
| Geology | |
| Rock age(s) | Guadalupe Group (type locality) Campanian-Maastrichtian |
| Mountain type | Thrusted mountain |
| Climbing | |
| First ascent | Pre-Columbian era |
| Easiest route | Pilgrimage trail Avenida Circunvalar→Road to Choachí |
Guadalupe Hill is a 3,360-metre (11,020 ft) high hill located in theEastern Hills, uphill from the centre ofBogotá, Colombia. Together with its neighbouring hillMonserrate it is one of the landmarks of Bogotá. At the top of the hill a hermitage and a 15-metre (49 ft) high statue has been erected. The statue was elaborated by sculptor Gustavo Arcila Uribe in 1946 and is accompanied by a chapel dedicated toOur Lady of Guadalupe.
Guadalupe Hill is thetype locality of the Guadalupe Group, aLate Cretaceous sedimentary sequence of sandstones and shales of 750 metres (2,460 ft) thick. The formation is being thrust on top of younger strata by the reverseBogotá Fault as a result of the ongoingAndean orogeny. The hill is the source for the Manzanares and El Chuscal creeks that flow westwards onto theBogotá savanna.
Historically, Guadalupe Hill was an important sacred site for the indigenousMuisca, who inhabited the Bogotá savanna and surrounding regions before theSpanish conquest. During the colonial period, Guadalupe Hill contained a cross and the hermitage that was destroyed by variousearthquakes in the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries. On Sundays, Guadalupe Hill and its chapel and statue are visited by tourists and pilgrims from Bogotá, accessing the hill either by road and public transport or via a walking trail to the hilltop.
Guadalupe Hill is named afterOur Lady of Guadalupe of Badajoz, not -as is commonly believed- after the famousOur Lady of Guadalupe inMexico.[2]
The Guadalupe Hill is thetype locality for theCampanian-MaastrichtianGuadalupe Group, a sequence of three formations ofsandstones andshales; Arenisca Dura, Plaeners, Arenisca de Labor and Arenisca Tierna. The thickness of the Guadalupe Group, defined as formation by some authors, at Guadalupe Hill is 750 metres (2,460 ft).[3] Approximately 53% of the Eastern Hills consists of the Guadalupe Group.[4]
The Guadalupe Group is thrusted on top of the youngerGuaduas,Bogotá andCacho Formations by theBogotá Fault.[5] The NNW-SSE trending eastward dippingthrust fault forms a barrier foraquifers.[6] The creeks (quebradas) Manzanares and El Chuscal originate from Guadalupe Hill.[7]
Guadalupe Hill in the times before theSpanish conquest was one of the sacred hilltops in thereligion of theMuisca, the indigenous inhabitants of theBogotá savanna. They considered the hills sacred andburied their dead in the mountains. The people, organised in a loose confederation of leaders, theMuisca Confederation, had an advanced knowledge ofarchaeoastronomy and constructed various temples honouringSué, the god of the Sun, throughout their territories. Guadalupe Hill inpre-Columbian times was called in their languageMuysccubunquijicha guexica, "grandfather's foot".[8] Seen fromBolívar Square, at the wintersolstice of December, Sué rises exactly over Guadalupe Hill and at theequinoxes of March and September in the valley between Monserrate and Guadalupe.[9]
At the time of the conquest, the Eastern Hills were a forested natural boundary of the Bogotá savanna. During the early colonial period, the Spanish constructed a cross on Guadalupe Hill as a symbol to protect the capital of theNew Kingdom of Granada.[2] The wood of the trees of the Eastern Hills were used for construction and heating in the city that grew steadily until the 19th century. This led to deforestation and erosion in the Eastern Hills and whenAlexander von Humboldt visited Santa Fe de Bogotá in 1806, he noted "that there was not a single tree left until the open area of Choachí".[10] The first replanting of trees took place in 1855, and a second phase of reforestation happened in 1940.[11][12] In 1801,Francisco José de Caldas recalculated the height of Guadalupe Hill.[13]
The firsthermitage on Guadalupe Hill was built in 1656 and blessed during a pilgrimage on September 8 of that year.[2] The hermitage was destroyed by theearthquakes of1743,1785 and1827. During the presidency ofTomás Cipriano de Mosquera, the hermitage was reconstructed, but affected again by the1917 Bogotá earthquake.[14] The hermitage was rebuilt in 1945 by Jorge Murcia Riaño and blessed byarchbishop Ismael Perdomo. In 1946, the 15 metres (49 ft) high statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe, sculpted by Gustavo Arcila Uribe, was constructed on top of Guadalupe Hill.[2] In 1967, the chapel and road leading up to it were constructed.[2][15]
The Guadalupe Hill and the statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe are among the main touristic attractions of Bogotá. The top of the hill offers a viewpoint (mirador) for the Colombian capital. The hill can be accessed via a walking trail, used by pilgrims since colonial times, or by the road toChoachí via theAvenida Circunvalar.[2][14]
Public transport to Guadalupe Hill leaves on Sundays from Carrera 10 with Calle 6.[15] Since 1997, a running contest is held to ascend the Guadalupe Hill.[16]
Every Sunday, the chapel on the hill receives tourists between 7:00 in the morning and 4:00 in the afternoon.[15] On the first Sundays of the month, a mass is held from 8:00 to 10:00 AM and at noon.[2]
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