Hotel del salto colombia. The forever closed Hotel del Salto, Colombia


One of the most mystical places The abandoned Hotel del Salto (El Hotel del Salto), located near the town of San Antonio del Tequendama, is considered to be abandoned. It was a luxurious hotel, which closed forever a few years after its pompous opening.

One of the most mystical places in the city is considered to be the abandoned Hotel del Salto, located near the town of San Antonio del Tequendama. It was a luxurious hotel, which closed forever a few years after its pompous opening. Behind for a long time the building is overgrown with bushes and moss, and today it resembles a scene from a horror film.

Historical information

In 1920, a local architect named Carl Arturo Tapia began building the villa on the orders of President Marco Fidel Suarez. He chose a place on picturesque area. On one side there was a cliff, and on the other there was the Tekendama waterfall, the name of which is translated from the Indian language as “open door.” The Aborigines believed that spirits lived here and helped them move to another world.

The building was built in 1923 in the Gothic style and resembled a French castle. Moreover, the official opening occurred 5 years later. In 1950, the building was converted into a 6-story hotel (4 above-ground and 2 underground levels). The design work was carried out by Gabriel Largacha.


Why was the Salto Hotel in Colombia abandoned?

In the middle of the 20th century, it gained great popularity; rich Colombians and tourists settled there. Guests were attracted by the royal apartments and the exquisite menu. They enjoyed admiring the local fauna, the surrounding area and the 137-meter waterfall.

In 1970, the flow of tourists decreased significantly. There are 2 versions why this happened:

  1. Visitors to the mansion began to die. They committed suicide in their rooms or jumped from the roof into a cliff. Hotel Salto in Colombia has acquired legends and began to attract lovers of mysticism. Locals They claim that they often hear voices here and see ghosts, which are the souls of suicides.
  2. The Tekendama waterfall began to dry up, as the rivers that fed it were heavily polluted with industrial waste and, in addition, emitted a terrible smell. Over time, a small stream remained from the powerful stream.
  3. In 1990, the Hotel del Salto, which closed forever, began to attract tourists not only from all over Colombia, but also from all over the world, only not as a hotel, but as a unique hotel.

Hotel Salto in Colombia today

No one lived in the mansion for a long time, so it was overgrown with wild plants and partially collapsed. Currently, it houses the Museum of Biodiversity and Culture of Tequendama Falls (Casa Museo del Salto del Tequendama). It was opened after a complete restoration, and environmentalists, together with local authorities, worked to clean up the river and its tributaries.

$410 thousand was spent on repair work and beautification of the territory. Significant financial assistance was provided by the European Union fund. After the work was completed, the structure was given the status cultural heritage countries. The museum has several exhibitions:

  • Cavernas, Ecosistemas del Mundo Subterráneo - talks about the diverse biological species that live in underground ecosystems;
  • La anatomía del cuerpo humano de Francesco Antommarchi – here you can see anatomical drawings created by the doctor François Antommarchi;
  • Un día en el Desierto de la Tatacoa – introduces visitors to biological diversity.

Features of the visit

If you want to plunge into the past, see ghosts or modern exhibitions, then come to the museum any day from 07:00 to 17:00. Price entrance ticket is approximately $3. Tourists can move freely throughout the mansion, but photography inside the hotel is prohibited.

How to get there?

Hotel del Salto is located 40 km from the capital of Colombia -. You can get here via highways such as Av. Boyacá, Cra 68 and Av. Cdad. de Quito.

The hotel building was built in 1923 in the tiny town of San Antonio del Tequendama, 30 kilometers southeast of the country's capital. This is one of most beautiful places on the Bogota River - here is the Tequendama Falls. The name of the 137-meter waterfall means “open door” - the Indians who inhabited the river valley believed that the waterfall appeared after a wizard cut the mountain. The customer for the construction of an unusual mansion in the style of a French castle was the then President of the Republic of Colombia, Pedro Nel Ospina - the windows of the palace, built on the very edge of the cliff, overlooked the waterfall. In addition to four above-ground floors, the building had two underground floors, which housed storage rooms and a laundry room. Ospina's powers expired in 1926, and the palace acquired new owner, who opened a hotel within these walls. The heyday of the El Hotel del Salto came in the middle of the last century, when it was again resold, reconstructed and opened to guests. At that time, El Hotel del Salto had 18 apartments with bathrooms and fireplaces, and a restaurant with a terrace, where wealthy residents of the capital gladly came to relax. The attractiveness of the hotel directly depended on the magnificent view of the waterfall, so when Tekendama began to become shallow and polluted by runoff in the 1970s, the flow of people wishing to relax at the hotel also dried up.

In the absence of vacationers, interest in the abandoned hotel arose among those who decided to commit suicide. In general, the local Indians began to use the waterfall as a means of transition to another world - pursued by the conquistadors, they threw entire families off the cliff, and according to legend turned into eagles. In the 20th century, the slopes near the hotel were similarly used by romantics suffering from unrequited love, bankrupt businessmen and others for overly balanced categories of citizens - however, without subsequent reincarnation. At one time, they even wanted to move the police station to the building of the abandoned hotel, and local residents spread rumors about the ghosts of the dead - it was necessary to somehow fight the flow of people wishing to say goodbye to their lives at the hotel.

Recently, the state drew attention to El Hotel del Salto. The building has received the status of a Colombian cultural heritage site, and after reconstruction it is planned to open within its walls National Museum biological diversity of fauna and flora. As for the smell that once scared away vacationers from the hotel, the Institute of Natural Sciences National University Colombia is doing a lot of work to clean up Bogota and its tributaries. The waterfall can be seen throughout the year, except December, when the river becomes almost completely shallow. The creators of the foundation, which is raising funds for the reconstruction of El Hotel del Salto, urge tourists not to be afraid of ghost stories and come to the palace for beautiful shots against the backdrop of a waterfall, because the only ghost that has long owned this picturesque place is human indifference and disregard for nature - left him forever.

Why is one of the most popular hotels built in unique place Colombia suddenly started scaring off visitors?

Built more than 90 years ago on an island of land between a steep hillside and a highway, Colombia's El Hotel del Salto looks like a haunted mansion straight out of a horror movie. Over the years, this abandoned house has become overgrown not only with moss and bushes, but also with a thick layer of frightening legends. It is no coincidence that a pompous hotel with all the amenities, several decades after its opening, closed its doors forever on its guests.

The hotel was built 30 kilometers from the capital Bogota near the 137-meter Tekendama waterfall, which means “open door.” The name of the waterfall was given by the Indians who inhabited the river valley. However, they were wary of this place: according to their beliefs, spirits from the other world lived here.

The customer of the unique mansion was the President of Colombia Pedro Nel Ospina. The building, in the style of a French castle, had six floors, two of which were hidden underground. Most of the hotel windows offered a picturesque view of the waterfall.

After Ospina's powers expired, the mansion had a new owner, who immediately decided to turn it into a hotel. Myths shrouded in mysticism did not frighten him at all; on the contrary, they could beneficially influence the flow of curious tourists. The peak of El Hotel del Salto's popularity came in the mid-20th century: the wealthiest Colombians and travelers from all over the world came here. Visitors were attracted by everything in the hotel: the “royal” apartments, the restaurant with an exquisite menu, the terrace with a luxurious view, and even the flair of mysterious legends.

Rich people visited the hotel in droves, and its owner only managed to count his money, dreaming of soon becoming the same moneybag. This continued until mysterious deaths began to occur in the expensive mansion. The guests, one after another, began to take their own lives, and after a few years the hotel turned into a place of pilgrimage for suicides. Local residents who encountered strange visions in the area of ​​the hotel spread rumors about it.

However, skeptics have another version associated with the decline in popularity of El Hotel del Salto. They claim that a good reason for this was the pollution of the river by sewage. The Takendama waterfall became shallow along with the river, and a foul smell appeared around the hotel.

The recently abandoned mansion attracted the attention of the state: the authorities, together with environmentalists, carried out labor-intensive work to clean up the river and its tributaries. The building received the status of a cultural heritage site in Colombia. Within the walls former hotel It is planned to open a museum of flora and fauna after reconstruction.

Legends have been circulating around this building, built at the beginning of the 20th century in a picturesque location in the town of San Antonio del Tequendama. Otherwise, how else can we explain that a luxury hotel, several decades after its pompous opening, closed its doors to its guests forever. Tourists hope that the hotel will become a museum. But local residents are sure: the hotel has new owners, and they are by no means one of the people.

In Colombia, the Hotel was built in 1923, 30 km southwest of Bogota near the Tequendama Falls.

The name of the 137-meter waterfall translates as “open door.” It was given by the Indians who then inhabited the river valley, but preferred to avoid this place. They believed that spirits lived in this place and helped them move to another world. However, for the hotel developers, mystical legends were only to their advantage. Flow curious tourists did not dry out. This continued until the 1970s.

In the 1970s, interest in the hotel waned. This place literally drove people crazy. The visitors, one after another, began to take their own lives. Over the course of several years, the hotel became a place of pilgrimage for suicides. Local residents believed that spirits guarding the waterfall took people to another world. After all, according to legend, it was a transition to another world.

Once upon a time, Indians, pursued by conquistadors, threw entire families off the cliff at this place. Their bodies were carried away by the river, and their souls were reincarnated into eagles. But the souls of modern suicides have never found their refuge; the city elders are sure that ghosts wander restlessly through the hotel rooms.

The hotel's heyday occurred in the middle of the last century. At that time, El Hotel del Salto had 18 apartments with bathrooms and fireplaces, a restaurant with a terrace, as well as numerous basements. The building resembled a French castle in the Gothic style. Wealthy tourists loved to spend time here. The symbiosis of the beauty of nature, the power of the waterfall and modern hotel comfort attracted travelers from all over the world. This continued until mysterious deaths began to occur at the hotel.Historians do not believe in legends and attribute the decline in the hotel’s popularity to sewage pollution at the mouth of the Bogota River. Because of this, a foul odor appeared around the hotel. The river began to shallow, which could not affect the Takendama waterfall. Man destroyed the power and beauty of nature with his own hands. Now the Institute of Natural Sciences of the National University of Colombia is doing a lot of work to clean up Bogota and its tributaries. Authorities hope that El Hotel del Salto will once again attract tourists and find a second life. But what do ghosts think about this?!

Perhaps the mystical hotel will find a second life

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The Hotel del Salto near Taquuendama Falls is one of the main attractions, which is located about 30 kilometers southwest of Bogota, the capital of Colombia. Thousands of tourists visit the area to admire the height of the 157-meter waterfall and the surrounding nature, stopping at one place where the abandoned Hotel De Salto stands. El Habara and Tequendams turned out to be the first settlements in Colombia. A river with riffles through a rocky gorge that narrows to 60 feet at the edge of the falls, the falls dry up completely in the month of December. The waterfall can be reached by car or bus along the road from Bogota.

According to Muisca legend, the waterfall was created by Bochica, who used his staff to break the stone and release the water, which spread from Bogota to the savannah.

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According to another legend, during the Spanish conquest in South America to avoid slavery indigenous people the regions turned into eagles and began to defend Salto Del Tequuendama just to achieve their freedom. In 1924, a luxury hotel overlooking the falls was opened, welcoming visiting wealthy tourists.

But in the early 90s the hotel was closed, believed to be due to pollution. river water. Later there were rumors that there were ghosts in the hotel, which began to attract more tourists. There was talk about reopening it and restoring it to its former glory, but that was just talk. There were stories about ghosts of different types, there were constant fights in the bar on the second floor and the sounds of fighting were heard, on the other hand, there are stories about those who sought to commit suicide by jumping from a cliff.

The last story seems more truthful to the population, since according to their beliefs, if you jump off a cliff, you will receive forgiveness from your entire sinful past. The haunted Del Salto Hotel has now been turned into a museum where you can listen to different stories and legends, as well as admire beautiful nature and a magnificent waterfall.