El Dorado ('The Golden One') was a legend of a South American king who covered himself in gold dust and offered gold and emeralds to the gods in a lake. The legend, which drove Spanish conquistadors to search the continent, was inspired by the Muisca initiation ceremony depicted by the Muisca raft in the Gold Museum — a small gold figurine showing the ritual on a ceremonial raft.

Is the Gold Museum free?

Admission is very inexpensive (approximately €1.20) and free on Sundays. It is one of the most accessible major museums in South America.

Is it safe to visit central Bogotá?

The area around the Museo del Oro — the La Candelaria and Centro districts — is a major tourist area and generally safe during the day. The museum is a 5-minute walk from the Plaza de Bolívar (Bogotá's main square). Standard urban precautions apply.

Latin America Free Admission

Museo del Oro

Bogotá · Colombia · Founded 1939

The world's largest collection of pre-Columbian gold — over 55,000 gold and tumbaga pieces from ancient Colombian civilisations, housed in a landmark building in central Bogotá.

About Museo del Oro

The Museo del Oro (Gold Museum) in Bogotá is operated by the Banco de la República and holds the largest collection of pre-Columbian gold objects in the world — over 55,000 pieces of gold and tumbaga (a gold-copper alloy) from the Muisca, Zenú, Quimbaya, Calima, Tairona, and other ancient Colombian civilisations. The museum opened in 1939 and moved to its current purpose-built building in 1968.

The centrepiece is the Muisca raft — a masterpiece of pre-Columbian goldsmithing depicting the El Dorado ceremony, in which a new ruler covered in gold dust offered gold objects to the gods by floating on a raft. This piece gave rise to the legend of El Dorado. The museum also holds spectacular Zenú filigree work, Quimbaya gold alloy figurines, and thousands of objects documenting the ritual and spiritual significance of gold to ancient Colombian peoples.

Collections & Highlights

The Muisca raft — the masterpiece that inspired the legend of El Dorado

55,000+ pieces of pre-Columbian gold from ancient Colombian civilisations

The Zenú filigree collection — extraordinary goldworking technique from northern Colombia

Quimbaya gold figurines — some of the finest pre-Columbian metalwork in the Americas

Frequently Asked Questions

Bogotá, Colombia

Botero Museum

A small ask before you go

You've just explored one of humanity's greatest collections of beauty. Art has the power to move us, inspire us, and change how we see the world. But millions of people will never see beauty like this — not because the art isn't there, but because they can't see at all.

Preventable blindness, caused by conditions like cataracts and trachoma, affects people of all ages across the world's poorest communities. A small gift — for the cost of a museum ticket — can provide a simple surgery to restore someone's sight and transform their life.

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