La Calera is a municipality and town ofColombia in theGuavio Province, part of thedepartment ofCundinamarca.La Calera is a common weekend destination, mainly for the many restaurants, as it is approximately 18 kilometres (11 mi) over land fromBogotá, the capital city of Colombia. La Calera is located in theEastern Ranges of the ColombianAndes, east of the capital and overlooking part of it. La Calera bordersGuasca,Sopó andChía in the north, Guasca andJunín in the east, Bogotá in the west andChoachí andFómeque in the south.[2]
Situated between2,600 and 3,000 meters above sea level, the area encompasses bothcold climate zones andpáramo (high-altitude tundra). Its economy is diverse, including:
Traditional agriculture (potatoes, corn, cubios, carrots, etc.)
Within the municipality lies theSan Rafael Reservoir, a key water source for Bogotá's aqueduct system. It also provides access to theChuza Reservoir, which is fed by theChingaza Lagoon in the municipality ofFómeque—all part of the water supply subsystem for Bogotá and nearby municipalities.
Tourism plays a significant role thanks to access to theChingaza National Natural Park, various scenic viewpoints, clubs along the Bogotá–La Calera highway, and countryside vacation homes.
Meaning:Calera comes from the Latin rootcal- orkal-, derived from the wordsscal- orskal-, which convey meanings such as "to burn," "to blaze," "flames," "heat," or "sun’s intensity." The name of the town is derived from thelimestonemine, calledcalera.[2] In the Asturian language,calera refers to "a kiln where stone is burned to make lime," or "a lime quarry."
Latin terms likecla,claex, andcalcem refer to asedimentary rock composed ofcalcium carbonate, usually containing small amounts of clay, hematite, siderite, and quartz.
The nameLa Calera originates from thelimestone deposits in the area, which have been mined since the beginning of theSpanish conquest. The name originally referred to a historic estate calledLa Calera, which had kilns for producing lime. Indigenous people would bring limestone from the Teusacá mines to these kilns. Even today, lime is still extracted for cement production.
The place nameLa Calera comes from the term for a lime quarry or kiln. Theindigenous settlement was calledTeusacá, which some historians interpret as "prison," whileJoaquín Acosta Ortegón suggests it meant "borrowed enclosure."
La Calera lies within a beautiful valley along theTeusacá River. The municipality's territory is crossed from south to north by theEastern Andes Mountain Range, which forms numerous branches. One of these, theCruz Verde ridge, borders it on the east and west, creating a rugged landscape of valleys, hills, and elevations. This dramatictopography is one of its main tourist attractions.
Teusacá River: Originates in theLaguna del Verjón nearCerro de Monserrate and flows into theBogotá River inSopó. Important tributary streams includeEl Hato, Marmaja, Cara de Perro, Carrizal, Chocolatero, Cirujano, San Isidro, Siecha, Simayá, andAguas Claras.
Río Blanco: Begins atLaguna de Buitrago, on the border with Guasca, and is joined by significant streams such asLa Marmaja, La Ramada, Calostros, andJaboncillo (formed by the union of Chocolatero and Palacio streams). Eventually, it merges into theRío Negro atLa Unión. A small natural bridge crosses thePalacio stream. Local birds calledguacos nest in the depths of a large rock here, and indigenous people historically used their fat for medicinal purposes.
Keylagoons in the area includeBuitrago, La Brava, andLos Patos.
Thegeology of La Calera—specifically theSabana de Bogotá and surrounding areas—is made up of three main layers:
Upper layer: composed of reddish, bluish, greenish, and purplish clays. It contains thin, unworkable coal layers and unstable sandstone beds of varying grain sizes.
Southwest of La Calera: contains workable coal seams at the base of the upper layer.
Middle (productive) layer: this is where most of the coal is found. It is characterized bysandstone layers—calledlajosa (upper) andla guía (lower)—as well as dark gray clays, which are often compact or laminated and sometimes containcoal.
In the late 15th and 16th centuries,Hacienda La Calera belonged to theClavijo family, starting withCristóbal Ruiz Clavijo, aconquistador underGonzalo Jiménez de Quesada.
The hacienda passed through several generations before reachingFernando Clavijo, whose children likely sold it toJoseph Salvador Ricaurte.
By1765, the estate belonged toPedro de Tovar y Buendía, whose family helped establish the parish ofNuestra Señora del Rosario, around which the town formed. The town is considered to have been founded onDecember 16, 1772.
OnMarch 14, 1850, byDecree No. 73 from the Government of the Province of Bogotá, thedistrict of La Calera wasdissolved and its territory incorporated into the capital.
OnOctober 21, 1851,Ordinance No. 154 reinstated the parish district of La Calera, effectiveJanuary 1, 1852.
OnDecember 14, 1853,Ordinance No. 197 elevated La Calera to the status of avillage.
From Bogotá: ViaNational Route 50 from theChapinero locality, takeAvenida Circunvalar atCalle 85 heading north. You pass theLos Patios Toll and enter the road managed byPerimetral de Oriente de Bogotá S.A.S. until reaching La Calera. From there, the road continues toSopó, passing throughLa Cabaña Toll and connecting toNational Route 55 towardTunja viaBriceño.
From Usaquén: A variant route through neighborhoodsEl Codito andAltos de Serrezuela leads to the village ofSan Cayetano, connecting with Route 55.
From Bogotá: Intermunicipal buses depart fromCalle 72 with Carrera 11 (nearUniversidad Pedagógica and Iglesia de la Porciúncula). This route—viaVerjón Bajo—follows Carrera 7 to Calle 81, thenAvenida Circunvalar and on to La Calera. It passes neighborhoods likeSan Luis,Vereda El Hato,San Rafael Reservoir, and continues into the town.
From El Salitre: Buses from the intersection of the roads toSopó,Guasca, andLa Calera serve routes passing throughPotosí Shopping Center, thePOB Operations Center, and gated communities such asMacadamia, before reachingLa Calera.
For many years, La Calera's economy centered onmining, especially theSamper Cement Company, which provided direct and indirect employment to around3,000 residents.
When Samper shut down operations, the municipality was unprepared, resulting in long-termeconomic stagnation, exacerbated by the lack of strategic employment policies from local authorities.
Israel Corredor, former professional cyclist, Corredor represented Colombia in various international competitions.
Amadeo Rodríguez Vergara: Conservative general, former Bogotá congressman, and mayor of La Calera during theBogotazo (1948). He fought in the war againstPeru and is mentioned in Nobel laureateMario Vargas Llosa's novel "The Dream of the Celt". Served as Colombian Consul in Barcelona and the town library is named in his honor.
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Colombia
Cundinamarca
