Soacha

Soacha lies immediately to the southwest of Bogotá, on the Bogotá Savanna, at an altitude of 2,663 metres. With 634,660 inhabitants recorded in the 2018 census — and an adjusted estimate of 660,179 — it is the most populous municipality in Cundinamarca and one of the fastest-growing in Colombia, driven both by internal displacement from the armed conflict and by Venezuelan migration. Its urban area is fully contiguous with the capital.

The name Soacha comes from the Chibcha words sua (sun) and cha (man), meaning "man of the sun" or "city of the sun god," a reflection of the pre-Columbian Muisca occupation. The Tequendama Falls, a 157-metre waterfall on the Bogotá River located near the municipality, is both a geographical and mythological landmark: Muisca legend holds that Bochica struck a rock with his staff to drain the flooded savanna, giving rise to the waterfall. The Boquemonte Archaeological and Ecotourism Park is home to more than 1,500 species of flora and fauna, as well as an exhibition hall featuring 304 pre-Columbian artefacts documenting 3,800 years of human presence.

The Municipal Institute for Recreation and Sport of Soacha (IMRDS) manages sports schools with 4,183 children and young people enrolled in disciplines ranging from swimming to mountain cycling, alongside 787 adults in similar programmes. The municipality has invested more than 50 billion Colombian pesos in sports infrastructure, including the Luis Carlos Galán Sarmiento Stadium and tennis courts certified to ATP standards. Among the athletes who have put Soacha on the map are Cristian Moreno, Pan American champion in the 5,000 metres in 2015, and Jeisson Mora, Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion in 2015.

Soacha is part of the ACES Activa network as a participating Colombian municipality. Its sustained investment in infrastructure and youth sports development programmes positions it as an emerging reference point on the Bogotá Savanna.