The Gold Museum of Colombia

The Gold Museum of Colombia

The Gold Museum of Colombia is located in a green area on the east side of Santander Park in Bogotá, the capital. It holds the world’s largest collection of gold artifacts, including over 26,000 invaluable ancient indigenous gold items, many jade works, and the world’s largest piece of jade. The museum recreates the early culture and struggle of Colombia’s indigenous peoples. These displays all carry extraordinary histories. Historically, Colombia was a prolific gold-producing country — the legendary Land of Gold — with rich gold resources dating back over 2,000 years.

According to statistics, from the early 16th century to the late 19th century, Colombia had an average annual gold output of about 3,500 kilograms, ranking first in the entire Western Hemisphere. The exhibits include a wide array of beautifully crafted ornaments — from gold hairpins worn in the hair to necklaces around the throat; from nose rings pierced through the nostrils to bracelets on the wrists; from square gold plates worn on the chest and abdomen to protective adornments for men’s midsections. The highlight of visiting the museum is the vast Treasury Room on the top floor, where only 20 people are allowed in at a time. It is a completely dark room, but when the lights come on, over 12,000 gold items suddenly shine brilliantly. Accompanied by indigenous music echoing in the background, this is when you can truly feel the mystery and reality of the ancient Golden Inca Empire.