Restaurants around Bogota’s Monserrate church, one of the Colombian capital’s main tourist attractions, will be closed permanently following a ruling by the Bogota Justice Council, local media reported Wednesday.
According to the ruling, there can be no commercial activity on the upper part of the hills leading to Monserrate, Bogota’s top tourist attraction and a Catholic pilgrimage destination, due to the area’s status as a protected forest reserve zone.
Only activities related to ecological issues, provision of public services and research will be allowed, reported Bogota newspaper El Tiempo.
The decision affects several restaurants, the Monserrate coffee shop, artisan kiosks, as well as the over 40 craftsmen working in the tourist zone, that will have to end their commercial activities in the area around the church.
