Bogota Typical Colombian Stuff & Souvenirs and Other Shopping

Shopping in Bogota: Typical Colombian Stuff & Souvenirs

Bogota is both the largest city in the country of Colombia as well as its capital. Bogota is a large city that is often a destination for tourists, and there is much shopping for souvenirs to be done in the region.

Colombian Souvenirs

Centro Colombiano de Artesanias and Colombia Linda are shopping centers for souvenirs. These locations sell all sorts of handmade crafts. Their small shops and stalls are packed with all kinds of merchandise including clothing, hats, bags, jewelry, baskets, decorative articles, musical instruments, and more. The prices are typically quite good.

Pasaje Rivas is not a modern shopping center, but consist of many small shops along narrow passageways. At this market, you can find a lot of different things like souvenirs. You can also find many handicrafts, handmade furniture, and things for the home. It is a nice place to walk around for a while and do some window shopping.

For even more souvenirs, look for the shop El Zipa, in the shopping center Unicentro. The merchandise is very nice and not too expensive. One notable item you can find are the gold replicas of the raft from the legend of El Dorado. Hacienda Santa Barbara is also a nice shopping center that is built around an old hacienda. On Sundays, there is a nice outdoor craft market one block away from the shopping center, in Usaquen.

Precious Stones

Colombia produces first-grade precious stones and the emeralds are among the most perfect in the world. Bogotá is the main emerald trade center for the country. Due to their extraordinary quality, color, purity, size, and hardness, Colombian emeralds are considered unique in the world. Every large shopping center in the city contains at least a couple of joyerías (jewelry shops), although the main canter for emerald shopping is around Carrera 6 between Calles 12 and 13, in Centro International. This area houses at least 90 shops. You can find emeralds that cost from 50 dollars to thousands.

Editor’s note: The information contained on this page was compiled using real traveler reviews about typical Colombian stuff & souvenirs.