Underground Ciclovía: Pedaling Through the Water Channels and Forgotten Tunnels of Bogotá

The Bogotá that flows beneath the asphalt

Did you know that a river still runs beneath Avenida Jiménez? It's not an urban myth or an old wives' tale. It's a reality you can explore by bicycle if you know where to look. While most of the city battles traffic on Caracas or 7th Avenue, there's a network of channels, tunnels, and old riverbeds that tell the story of how Bogotá won its battle against water. By August 2026, this underground route has become the favorite plan for cyclists seeking more than just riding through a park. Here's how to put it together without getting lost (or too wet).

Available options

Before heading out, be clear that this is not an official bike path. It's an urban exploration route that combines paved sections, dirt trails, and pedestrian passages. There are three main segments you can do entirely or separately, depending on your experience level and your tolerance for mud.

Segment 1: The San Francisco channel – liquid history towards the west

The route starts downtown, specifically at Carrera 7 with Calle 13. There, beneath the concrete slab, flows the San Francisco channel, the same one that supplied water to the city in the 19th century and is now a monumental sewer. To see it up close, go down the pedestrian staircase on the side of the Palacio de San Francisco (Carrera 7 # 12-65) and you'll find a stone lookout with grates that let you see the water running. From there, pedal west along Calle 13 to Carrera 30. The stretch is flat, about 4 kilometers, and although the channel is covered, there are vents on the corners where you can smell the dampness and history. Bring front and rear lights: the pedestrian tunnels under 30th are dark even during the day.

Segment 2: The Avenida Jiménez tunnel – from river to street

This is the most famous segment and the one with visible remains of urban transformation. In 1918, the San Francisco river was channeled and Avenida Jiménez was built over it. Today, at the corner of Jiménez with Carrera 5, there's a pedestrian entrance that goes down to an underground passage where you can still see the original arches of the bridge and the dry riverbed. It's a perfect photo spot, but be careful: it's not suitable for bicycles. Leave your bike outside with a lock and go down on foot. Then, pick up the Jiménez bike path heading east, passing by the Chorro de Quevedo (Carrera 2 # 12-58) and continuing to Carrera 7. This stretch has a marked bike path, but it's narrow with lots of pedestrians, so slow down.

Segment 3: The old riverbed of the Arzobispo river – parallel to 7th Avenue

The Arzobispo river is born in the eastern hills and now runs piped beneath Carrera 7. The parallel cycling route goes along Calle 34 to Calle 45, bordering the eastern side of 7th Avenue. It's a stretch of about 3 kilometers with gentle climbs and fun descents. The key spot is at the Plaza de Lourdes (Carrera 7 # 60-45), where there's a giant ventilation grate that lets you hear the water running below. If you're lucky, some Sundays the Bogotá Oculta collective organizes authorized descents into the dry riverbed with guides and helmets. It's the only legal way to pedal inside the channel, and they usually do it once a month. To find out, ask them directly on their social media, as there's no fixed official page.

Updated costs

The good news: this route is practically free. There are no tolls or paid entries. All you need is a bicycle in good condition, preferably mountain or hybrid, because the dirt and stone sections can be demanding. If you don't have a bike, the public bicycle system BiciBogotá has stations near the center (Carrera 7 with Calle 13 and at Plaza de Lourdes). The cost of a daily pass is around $2,500 COP, but check availability because they run out during peak hours.

If you want to do the route with a guide, the Bogotá Oculta collective charges between $30,000 and $50,000 COP per person, depending on the route and whether it includes stops at workshops. These prices are as of August 2026 and may vary. Bring water and some cash for the neighborhood stores you'll find along the way; there are no ATMs inside the tunnels.

Estimated times

The full route, all three segments, takes between 4 and 5 hours if you go at a relaxed pace, stopping to take photos and listen to the stories the guides tell. If you only do segments 1 and 2, you can complete it in 2 and a half hours. Segment 3 is the shortest: 1 and a half hours is enough. Keep in mind that Bogotá's weather changes quickly; if it rains, the tunnels become slippery and the water level rises. In that case, it's better to wait for it to clear up or just do the Jiménez segment, which is the most sheltered.

Practical tips

• Bring lights and a reflective vest: even during the day, the tunnels and underground passages are dark. A front light of at least 200 lumens is ideal.
• Use tires with good grip: wet pavement and loose stones on segment 3 are treacherous. If your bike is a road bike, be careful or walk on the dirt sections.
• Download offline maps: GPS signal is lost inside the tunnels. Use the OsmAnd app with the Bogotá map downloaded, or bring a printed copy of the 1910 historical map you can find at the Biblioteca Luis Ángel Arango (Carrera 5 # 15-82).
• Don't go alone if it's your first time: it's easy to get disoriented in the pedestrian passages downtown. Join a community ride or go with someone who already knows the route.
• Bring a U-lock: at the on-foot stops (like the Jiménez tunnel) you'll leave your bike locked up. Don't use cable locks, which are easily cut in that area.
• Hydration and snacks: there are stores on Calle 13 and at Plaza de Lourdes, but between segments there's nothing. Bring at least a liter of water.

Frequently asked questions

Is it legal to pedal inside the water channels?

It's only legal when there's an activity organized by collectives like Bogotá Oculta or the Mayor's Office, with prior permits. On your own, don't try to go down into the riverbeds: besides being dangerous, it's an infraction and you can receive a fine. The safe thing is to pedal along the parallel stretches and the enabled pedestrian passages.

What happens if it rains during the route?

The route becomes slippery and the water level in the channels rises quickly. Local guides recommend suspending the activity if there's a rain alert from IDIGER. If you're already mid-route, seek shelter at the TransMilenio stations on Jiménez or in the shopping centers on Calle 45 until it clears up.

Do I need a special bicycle for this route?

You don't need a high-end bike, but you do need one with good brakes and tires with tread. Mountain or hybrid bikes are the most comfortable. If you only have a city bike, avoid segment 3 and stick to segments 1 and 2, which are 100% paved.

The next time someone tells you Bogotá has no rivers, remind them they're there, under your tires, waiting to be discovered. Join the next community ride of the Bogotá Oculta collective and see the city from below: it's another Bogotá, the one that flows in silence while the one above makes noise.

History of water infrastructure in Bogotá: when the city turned its back on its rivers

To understand why today you can pedal over rivers you no longer see, you have to go back to the Bogotá of the early 20th century. At that time, the city had a population that barely exceeded 100,000 inhabitants, and its rivers —San Francisco, San Agustín, Arzobispo— were the main source of water for human consumption and laundry. The washerwomen of the Las Cruces neighborhood, for example, would go down to the San Francisco River with their baskets of clothes and stone soap, and that everyday scene continued well into the 1920s.

But the city grew quickly, and with it, sanitation problems. Sewage began to mix with the rivers, and typhoid and cholera epidemics ravaged the urban center. The authorities' response was pragmatic and, in hindsight, brutal: instead of cleaning up the rivers, they decided to hide them. Between 1918 and 1935, the district administration channeled and piped the main waterways, building avenues over them that are now fundamental road arteries. Avenida Jiménez is the most emblematic case: what was once a river crossing the city became a street with a tram, and then the road you know today.

This process was not unique to Bogotá. Cities like Paris (with the Seine) and London (with the Thames) also hid their waters in tunnels during the industrial revolution. But in Bogotá, the difference is that the rivers were neither diverted nor dried up: they continue to flow beneath the asphalt, sometimes less than two meters deep. This duality —the visible city and the underground city— is what makes the bike path we propose today possible. Every ventilation grate you see on the pavement is a window to a world that is still alive, moving water, nourishing aquifers and, during rainy seasons, reminding us that it came before the concrete.

Environmental and social impact: how pedaling beneath the asphalt builds a different relationship with the city

The underground bike path is not just a recreational adventure; it has tangible effects on the way Bogotá residents relate to their surroundings. In environmental terms, every person who travels these stretches by bicycle instead of using a motorized vehicle contributes to reducing CO2 emissions in a city that, according to the latest report from the Bogotá Environmental Observatory, records more than 2,500 hours of vehicular congestion per year. But the impact goes beyond climate: by making underground channels and rivers visible, awareness is raised about the importance of protecting urban water sources, a critical issue in a city that depends on the Chingaza páramo for its water supply.

On the social level, community rides organized by collectives such as Bogotá Oculta and BiciRed have created a network of urban cyclists who share knowledge and take ownership of spaces that were historically abandoned. These initiatives have achieved, for example, that the Local Mayor's Office of La Candelaria installs LED lighting in the underground passage of Jiménez with Carrera 5ª, a space that was once a hotspot for insecurity and today receives visitors from Monday to Sunday. The bike path has also fostered local commerce: shops on Calle 13 and bicycle workshops in the San Victorino neighborhood report a 15% increase in weekend sales since the route became popular on social media.

There is an educational component that cannot be ignored. The guides from Bogotá Oculta not only tell stories of architecture; they explain how the storm drainage system works, why channels overflow during rainy seasons, and what role wetlands play in water regulation. This knowledge turns every cyclist into an ambassador of the hidden city, someone who understands that urban infrastructure is not just concrete and steel, but a complex network of living systems that require care and respect.

In terms of mobility, the popularity of this route has pressured the district administration to evaluate the creation of an official bike path connecting downtown with Calle 45 following the route of the old Arzobispo River. Although the project is in the study phase, cycling collectives see it as a symbolic victory: what was once a secret known by few is now a citizen demand. The underground bike path, then, is not just a Sunday ride: it is an exercise in active citizenship that demonstrates that another kind of mobility is possible, one that does not fear darkness or water, but rather integrates them as part of Bogotá's identity.