Nate Guidry, Post-Gazette Visitors wind their way up the path leading to the Cerro de Monserrate peak as the Bogota skyline looms in the distance.

BOGOTA, Colombia -- On a mountain peak above the city, a group of locals, Chinese tourists and a black American wind their way up a path toward the Cerro de Monserrate.

Some of us arrived here by tramway, ascending roughly 1,500 feet through a tunnel cut from the belly of a mountain. Others made the journey by foot, hoofing for more than an hour up the winding and sometimes dangerous trail.

	Nate Guidry, Post-Gazette Tourists in Colombia are much more likely to encounter a street urchin than they are a rebel. Click photo for larger image.

The quickest way to the top is by funicular, the steep cable gondola ride that takes about three minutes.

As we walk, several in the crowd pause to take pictures. Others stop to observe the statues and exotic plants and flowers along the way.

For many, visiting this little sanctuary is akin to a religious experience -- not like Mecca, swarming with pilgrims; not like Haiti's Souvenance, with sacrifice and spell-binding drumming. Instead Monserrate is a place for reflection and contemplation. Catholics come here to pray and pay homage to Senor Caido (Fallen Christ), a statue sculpted in the 1600s by Pedro Lugo de Albarracin.

Inside the church, several visitors are lost in prayer. An elderly woman in a brown flowered dress kneels at the altar and then covers her face with the palms of her hands.

Near the front of the church is a telescope, and for a few pesos I am able to have a glimpse of the city and the region. From this view, I can see miles of rooftops and skyscrapers and looming volcanic ranges.

What I see is a far cry from the infamous drug cartels and violent civil conflict that have torn Colombia for decades. I see the beauty of a country that has lured me back again and again, until even chilly, snobby Bogota won me over this year.

In addition to its peaceful church and spectacular view, Monserrate has restaurants, gift shops and a replica of a small colonial town. The food at the two main restaurants, Casa San Isidro and Casa Santa Clara, is pricey but good.

At the base of the mountain is Bogota, a sprawling city of great wealth and enormous poverty and a population of close to 8 million, depending on the statistical source you cite.

The third-highest capital in South America, after La Paz in Bolivia and Quito in Ecuador, Bogota has its problems, like most major cities. Drugs, violence, poverty and population displacement have all contributed to the city's negative image.

Because of the possibilities of violence, the U.S. State Department warns Americans against traveling to this country. Left-wing rebels, who are responsible for many of the kidnappings, use the ransom paid for hostages to fund their four-decade war against the government.

	Nate Guidry, Post-Gazette A Chinese tourist stands outside the little sanctuary at Cerro de Monserrate, in Bogota, Colombia. Click photo for larger image.

Colombia is also a source of much of the world's cocaine and is a leading supplier of heroin sold in the United States. The drug trade and civil unrest have ravaged the country.

Unemployment has reached unprecedented heights, and the fighting has displaced nearly 3 million people throughout the country.

Despite these realities, most Colombian cities are relatively safe and have a strong military presence.

Tourists are more likely to encounter a two-bit hustler or street urchin than they are a rebel.

Approach Colombia as you would when visiting any unfamiliar place. Never walk around alone at night; take only authorized (yellow) cabs; don't carry a wad of money.

Then you'll find the colorful, engaging Colombia, the one that keeps pulling me back. It's a nation full of people who invite me to celebrate their heritage, their culture and their music -- sweeping, occasionally breathtaking music.

There also are the friendly relationships I've developed over the years with people in Medellin, Cali and Bogota.

There are the small coffee growers in Huila struggling to earn a decent living and the few Afro-Colombian musicians I met from Choco who are developing their skills in relative obscurity. They're always happy to see me. Never once was I treated any different from family.

There also are the daily thoughts of the children in the Holy Mother of God Orphanage in Cali and Santander De Quilichao, where Father Tam and Sister Elsa Maria Ayala are caring for more than 100 girls.

Many of these children were abandoned by their parents. Others were eking an existence in Aqua Blanco, a sprawling barrio of nearly a half million desperately poor people. The orphanage took them in and gives them housing, food, clothing and education expenses.

Despite my love for the country, I had not cared for Bogota during my previous visits. It had always been cold and raining, and most of the people I encountered were either snobbish or uptight, or both. I also never felt the rhythm or soul of the place as I had Medellin.

But in January, things were different. The weather was perfect, and folks were nicer. This time around, I stayed with friends in an area of the city called Fontibon.

I discovered that Bogota offers an eclectic and sometimes chaotic mixture of old and new. The city bristles with history, Spanish colonial architecture, museums, music and exquisite cuisine, even though the arepas (corn-flour flatbread) from Medellin are better.

On Tenth Street a mule-drawn wagon crammed with empty crates negotiates its way around a Mercedes-Benz.

Smartly dressed men and women sidestep a panhandler who decides to lie down in the middle of the sidewalk. He screams out obscenities when someone accidentally touches him.

Just beyond, street vendors are hawking everything from empty Coca-Cola bottles and AAA batteries to bootleg CDs.

Whenever I am in the area, I stop by a small record store to purchase a few old vinyls. The store owner's face lights up when he sees me. He knows the kind of records I enjoy, so he provides me full run of some of the classic vallenata and salsa recordings. An hour or so later, I settle on a couple of Grupo Niche recordings and music from Leandro Diaz and Emiliano Zuleta.

After a quick sandwich, my friend and I walk over to the Plaza de Bolivar. This a great place to relax and people-watch and absorb the history and architectural variation of the city. You might want to take some bread crumbs along to feed the pigeons. They are as much a part of the landscape as the old cathedral and Palacio de Justice, or Supreme Court, which anchors the northern corridor of the square.

The Palace of Justice has had a difficult past. The first building was erected in the early 1920s, but it was burned down during the 1948 uprising, locally known as El Bogotazo, the wave of violence that followed the assassination of popular opposition leader Jorge Eliecer Gaitan.

A new building was constructed, but in 1985 it was torched when government troops stormed in after it had been taken by rebels. Renovations of the new building are ongoing, and one day it will be home to the Supreme Court, Constitutional Court, State Council and Judiciary and the Judiciary Higher Council.

In the center of the plaza is a monument of Simon Bolivar. It is the city's first public monument. The western side of the plaza is the mayor's (Alcaldia) office.

The Greek-style building on the southern end of the plaza is the home of the Capitolio Nacional, or Congress. The palace of President Alvaro Uribe is beyond the congressional building.

From here we head east through the plaza to the barrio La Candelaria, the oldest part of town. This is a must-see area for any tourists interested in narrow streets, neighborhood preservation and colorful colonial buildings.

Museum lovers also have plenty to see. Bogota has about 40 to choose from, including the Gold Museum (Museo del Oro), located downtown. It holds a collection of emeralds and more than 10,000 gold pieces. The collection traces its beginning back to the Quimbay and Chibcha Indian tribes.

On a small city bus, locally known as a collectivos, I head north toward the Fontibon neighborhood. The hour-plus bus ride through paralyzing rush-hour traffic allows me time to reflect over the places I've just been and friendships I developed along the way.

It's so easy to think of Colombia as a frontier zone for lawlessness -- a place where only tourists with a death wish would dare go.

But when I visit its cities and their neighborhoods and get to know the people, I discover they're no different from me. They're just trying to take care of themselves and their families.

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If you go: Bogota, Colombia

GETTING THERE:
No visas are necessary for tourism travel to Colombia for visits of up to 60 days, but every traveler must have a valid passport and proof of onward/return travel.

America, Continental, Delta and Avianca all offer service to Colombia from New York, Miami and Houston. Bogota's El Dorado airport handles all domestic and international flights.

The official Web site of the city of Bogota is http://english. bogotaturismo.gov.co/. To view the U.S. State Department's assessments and advice for traveling to Colombia, visit travel.state.gov.

WHERE TO STAY:
Hotel Tequendama, Carrera 10; single $150.

Hotel Charleston, Carrera 13; double $150.

Casa Medina, Carrera 7; suites $200.

La Candelaria, Calle 14; $10 to $20 with hot water.

WHERE TO EAT:
Las 7 Sopas, Calle 30, great sancocho (stew); $2.

La Orilla, Carrera 5; $4 to $6.

El Zaguan de las Aguas, Calle 19; $7 to $10.

Casa Vieja, Avenida Jimenez; high-end.

Nate Guidry, Post-Gazette The Plaza de Bolivar is a great place to relax, watch people and feed pigeons.