Six stages from the sacred lake of El Dorado to the finish line of the Gran Fondo Boyacá Mundial — through the high páramos and colonial roads of Colombia's cycling heartland. Ten riders. One territory we know better than anyone alive.
"Where the Andes ride you back."
This began as an act of love — and of reclamation. After riding every one of Boyacá's 123 municipalities, we built Ride The Andes to give this territory back to the world the only way it deserves: from the saddle, at altitude, earned kilometre by kilometre. Not a tour. A homecoming to a place most riders have only dreamed about.
— The founding story · Ride The Andes
A ten-day journey that begins at Guatavita — the sacred lake behind the legend of El Dorado — and ends across the finish line of the Gran Fondo Boyacá Mundial, riding its tenth edition alongside 2,000 Colombians. Six stages across the roads that built a nation of climbers.
We present our routes the way the world's best operators do — with real, published route data you can explore yourself. Every stage lives on Ride with GPS: distance, ascent, elevation profile and cue sheet, so you know exactly what you're training for.
Where the Muisca offered gold to the gods — the journey opens at the sacred lake behind the legend.
From the bridge where Bolívar sealed a nation's independence in 1819 to the clay-pot town of Ráquira.
An ancient seabed of ochre badlands and fossils, looped around the continent's greatest colonial plaza.
Down from the lake to the thermal village of Iza, then the long, field-verified test of Alto del Crucero.
Colombia's highest lake traced in full by bike to Firavitoba — then a short van transfer to the lancers' monument at Pantano de Vargas.
The finale: an official start at the tenth edition of the event your guide directs, alongside 2,000 riders. Medio Fondo option: 103.2 km / +1,403 m.
// Live data from our published Ride with GPS routes. Full telemetry, surfaces and cue sheets ship in the Route Dossier.
One transparent price. Here's exactly what your journey covers — and, just as clearly, the few things it doesn't.
Hand-picked four-star hotels — colonial casonas in Villa de Leyva and Zipaquirá, a lakeside stay on Lago de Tota and a five-star thermal resort in Paipa. Nine nights, double occupancy, all breakfasts, pools and thermal wet areas included.
Two guides ride with you on every stage — your bilingual lead guide and a local rider-mechanic — plus a lead motorbike marking the route and a support van always at the back of the pack.
Rigoberto Urán's Finca de Rigo, Egan Bernal's Zipaquirá, Nairo Quintana's childhood roads in Arcabuco, the Salt Cathedral, Gondava dinosaur valley, a catamaran across Lago de Tota, Pantano de Vargas and Monguí — every entry included.
Nine lunches and seven dinners in harmony between authentic Boyacá flavours and international cuisine — plus daily regional snacks and hydration matched to the demands of each stage.
Your number plate for the tenth edition of the Gran Fondo Boyacá Mundial — riding the finale alongside more than 2,000 cyclists, with our crew on course.
More than a tour — a story you'll relive. A photographer and videographer accompany all ten days, and every climb, effort and triumph is delivered to you as a personal photo and film archive.
We receive you at Bogotá's airport, and a private van handles every transfer across all ten days — you never think about logistics once.
On-route mechanical assistance with daily bike wash and basic maintenance, travel insurance for the full tour, and a Ride The Andes welcome kit crafted in Boyacá.
International flights · Bike rental (premium carbon bikes available from our own fleet) · Spare parts · Two free-choice dinners in Villa de Leyva · Optional spa, water sports and horseback riding in Paipa
Founder · Lead Guide · Director, Gran Fondo Boyacá Mundial
There are guides who know a route, and there are guides who know a territory. Sergio has cycled every one of Boyacá's 123 municipalities, and directs the Gran Fondo Boyacá Mundial — the 2,000-rider event, now in its tenth edition, that puts these roads on the world map.
He'll read the weather off the páramo before it turns, point out where a national champion was born, and know which farmhouse pours the best aguapanela at kilometre 60. This is the difference between visiting Boyacá and being shown Boyacá.
Ride with SergioA layered route — gastronomy, history and cycling culture mapped onto every stage. The reasons you'll want to stop, even when your legs say go.
Colombia's largest lake at 3,015 m, ringed by onion fields and an improbable Andean beach.
The largest cobbled plaza on the continent — white stone, deep blue sky, no traffic.
Farmhouse cheese, clay pottery towns, and the almojábana that fuels every Boyacá rider.
The roads and villages that raised generations of Colombian Grand Tour champions.
Founding Departure · October 3–12, 2026
For partners and friends who'd rather explore than pedal. The full journey — hotels, gastronomy, cultural tours, the catamaran, every transfer and your own photo archive — minus the bike stages and the Gran Fondo entry. Travel together, meet at every finish line.
Ask about companionsPrices are per person in double occupancy. Prefer your own room? A single supplement of $700 USD applies for the whole tour. Traveling solo but happy to share? We'll pair you with another rider at no extra cost.
Request our editorial route dossier — an illustrated, stage-by-stage PDF with annotated elevation profiles, technical metrics, lodging, daily logistics and the story of each road. It's how we let the route sell itself.
Request the dossier"The hardest, most beautiful week I've spent on a bike — and I've ridden the Alps."
// Placeholder — replace with verified reviews after the pilot tour.
The traverse is sequenced to acclimatise you. We open with lower valley stages and build gradually toward the high country around Lago de Tota, so your body adapts before the queen stage. Our guide monitors the group closely, hydration and pacing are managed actively, and the support vehicle is always within reach.
This is a genuine cycling tour for riders comfortable with multi-hour days and sustained climbing — roughly the fitness to ride 3–4 hours back-to-back. You don't need to race; the full support convoy means you can take a lift on any stage and ride within yourself the rest.
Both. You're welcome to bring your own — we'll receive, build and maintain it at our workshop. Or rent a professionally fitted carbon road or all-road bike from our own fleet at La Ciclería Café Taller.
Boyacá rides year-round at altitude, with the most stable, sunniest weather typically December–March and a second clear window mid-year. Our Founding Riders departure runs October 3–12, 2026, culminating in the Gran Fondo Boyacá Mundial.
Yes — the traverse is timed so its final stage is an official entry to the Gran Fondo Boyacá Mundial, the 2,000-rider event our founder directs. Choose the full fondo (143.6 km, +2,120 m) or the Medio Fondo (103.2 km, +1,403 m), and ride it as a race or a rolling celebration — with our support crew on course either way.
Ten riders maximum, every time. It's a deliberate choice — small enough for a high support ratio, real conversation, and lodging in places that can't host a busload.
The four-year quest that became the foundation of every route we run.
Gradient, length and the story of the traverse's decisive climb.
How to arrive from sea level and ride strong above 3,000 m.
Tell us a little about you and we'll send the full route dossier, available dates and answer everything — directly, from Boyacá.
Prefer to write us directly? hello@ridetheandes.co · WhatsApp