Food Market Paloquemao, Bogotá

One must do in South American countries is for sure to visit one of the food markets of the city you're in. The most popular one is Paloquemao.  It is easily reached by public transport and has a large variety of products. It is one of the most visited markets of foreigners and I'd definitly recommend to visit it with locals as the large variety of new fruits can be a bit overwhelming.

They were as yummy as they look like 

The market was super pretty and in the end of the tour, with many fruits, panela and quinoa in my bag we made our way to a juice stand right in the middle of the market. Juices are a big thing here in Colombia. Thanks to the tropical climate fruits like Maracuya, Mango, Guayava, Pineapple, Papaya, Banana and others all year long. Most of them are imported to Bogotá but especially when traveling to the hotter parts of Colombia or the cost one can fine fruits that are even more delicious.

It is actually impressive how Pitaya (alias dragon fruit but here it is yellow on the outside) or Papaya actually are really rich in taste compared to the imported fruits one can find in Europe.

love the decorations!!

Additionally to it all being extremely yummy a big cup of juice only costs 5000-6000COP (1,47-1,76€). In general prices for fruits here are insanely low – when I went to buy some mango I paid 1800COP (0,53€) for a big yellow super yummy mango. Sadly we had to figure that due to high visiting rates of tourists the sellers at Paloquemao had higher prices than our local supermarket around the corner. 

Mangostino - yellyish and a bit expensive but good -
they can be collected only once a year that's why it's a bit expensive

They were so nice to cut me the panela in small pieces
so I can use it in small portions

Therefore we decided to only try some fruits that are hard to get in the local stores like Mangostino (see above) and I stocked up on Quinoa that is actually very affordable here. Additionally I also got some Panela which here was sold in a solid block instead of the powder form. 

Panela is a very common supplement for sugar as it is believed to be healthier as it is sugar in its most unprocessed form. Panela is used to make a drink called agua panela, in coffee, to sweeten porridge and many other things. It is locally produced and has a nice caramel like taste to it. It is sold as crystals (looking almost like brown sugar) and as blocks. Panela is the juice of the sugarcane that is cooked for some time and then dried as blocks or further pulverised. It’s barely to be found in other countries but in Germany I found something called “Vollrohrzucker” from Alnatura which is Panela but of course it is not as nice as the one you can find here.  Those who know me better already know that I’m actually going to make a small export for own use of that stuff as I can’t live without it hahaha.

Flowers as far as the eye can see 

All kinds of decorations

Before we entered the marked we could experience all the richness of flowers that are grown here in Colombia. Further if you look for decoration for your home there was also a small collection of stands outside of the market with all kinds of different things to decorate your home (glasses, boxes etc).

Trying pastel de yuca - loved it!

Edible flowers, spices and aloe 

Besides fruits, veggies and grains like quinoa or rice they also sell tons of health enhancing plants like calendula or aloe vera, as well as meat and fish. Outside of the market one can find the typical street food like papa relleno, pastel de yuca, arepa, arepa de maiz, empanadas etc. 

some fruit I had to try due to Jorge - it was jellyish but yummy

love these fruit towers <3

And all over Bogotá you can notice the beautiful mountains

The market was continuing outside in a even in a more beautiful way

All in all I would really recommend to visit this rich place full of Colombian delicacies. If you can get there with a local that’s even better as they can help you finding the most absurd fruits to try. 

Muchos Besos,

Leonie