Drink with caution. A city-specific assessment for Bogotá.
Can you…
Can you drink the tap water in Bogotá?
Last reviewed 2026 · Colombia
Bogotá scores 62/100 for tap-water safety — drink with caution. So if you’re asking whether the tap water is safe in Bogotá, the short answer is “drink with caution.” Scores above 70 mean tap water is generally safe to drink. 40–69 means treat it with caution — filtering or bottled water is wise. Below 40 means it’s best avoided straight from the tap.
Ice, brushing your teeth & cooking: what’s safe in Bogotá?
- Drinkable?
- With caution — locals and cautious travelers often filter or boil first, and short stays lean on bottled water.
- Brush teeth?
- Yes — brushing your teeth with tap water is perfectly fine.
- Ice?
- Ice is a gamble — fine in reputable hotels and restaurants, riskier from street vendors.
- Cooking?
- Yes — cooking and rinsing produce with tap water is safe.
Should you boil the tap water in Bogotá?
Boiling is a reliable fallback in Bogotá. A rolling boil for one minute kills bacteria, viruses, and parasites. It won't remove chemical contaminants or lead, though — for those you'd need a filter or bottled water. More on what boiling does and doesn’t remove.
Do you need bottled water or a filter in Bogotá?
Many visitors to Bogotá stick to bottled water to be safe, and it's widely available — just check the seal is intact. A reusable bottle with a built-in filter is a lower-cost, lower-waste alternative.
A good filter — ideally certified for microbiological removal, not just taste — makes the tap water in Bogotá safer to drink. For short stays, bottled water is still the simplest option.
How Bogotá compares to the rest of Colombia
Bogotá is rated 62/100, against 62/100 for Colombia as a whole.
Common questions about tap water in Bogotá
Can you drink tap water in Bogotá?+
Bogotá scores 62/100 on our water-safety index — drink with caution. With caution — locals and cautious travelers often filter or boil first, and short stays lean on bottled water.
Is it safe to brush your teeth with tap water in Bogotá?+
Yes — brushing your teeth with tap water is perfectly fine.
Is ice safe to use in drinks in Bogotá?+
Ice is a gamble — fine in reputable hotels and restaurants, riskier from street vendors.
Is tap water in Bogotá safe for cooking?+
Yes — cooking and rinsing produce with tap water is safe.
Data & sources
City-level tap-water safety isn’t published as a single official global dataset, so the Bogotá score is derived from Colombia’s national water-safety assessment and city-specific conditions together with CDC traveler guidance. For the full country picture and its official sources, see tap water in Colombia.
Read the full methodology — how the 0–100 score is built and what it does (and doesn’t) mean.