Monserrate

This guide to Monserrate in Bogotá traces the funicular's construction between 1926 and 1929, when laborers blasted a tunnel through the mountain and hauled up imported Swiss cable. It follows the opening morning in 1929, when the whole city turned out along the Paseo de la República to watch the cabin climb, and the divide inside it between wealthy bogotanos riding first class and workers crammed at the ends. Some pilgrims skipped the ride entirely, walking the old three-hour route up the mountainside on foot.