The crevice of Icononzo is in the centre of the valley of Pandi, and appears to have been formed by some convulsion of nature, which has rent asunder the mountain; at the height of near 300 feet above the torrent (which forms beautiful cascades, on entering and quitting the crevice) are seated these extraordinary bridges, one under the other, the breadth of the upper one being about forty feet, and its length upwards of fifty, composed of solid rock in the form of an arch, seven or eight feet thick at its centre. Below this and rather advanced on one side of it, at the depth of sixty feet, is another bridge formed still more singularly, for as the mountain appears to have been rent away or drawn from the upper, the inferior one seems to have fallen from the mountain, and three enormous masses of rock have descended from the opposite sides of the chasm in such a manner that the upper mass forms the key of the other two. This lower bridge cannot be visited without much risk, as a narrow path alone leads to it along the brink of the precipice. In the centre is a hole, through which the abyss below can be seen, and numberless flights of nocturnal birds are observed hovering over the water, which flows through so dark a cavern that the sides cannot be distinguished.
The rivers of Santa Fé are very numerous, but most of them are innavigable on account of the great declivity of the land towards the Magdalena.
The Suarez, the Galinazo or Sogamozo, the Rio Negro, and the Bogota, or Funza, are the chief streams, which, rising in the eastern Cordillera, descend into, and swell the Magdalena.
Lake Guatavita may be considered as one of the curiosities of this province, it is situated on the ridge of the Zipaquira mountains, north of the capital, in a wild and solitary spot, at the height of more than 8700 feet above the sea. It is a small oval piece of water, in a deep hollow of the same form, round which are cut ranges of steps, reaching to the brink of the lake, having served, most probably for some religious ceremonies in use among the ancient possessors of this country.
As it was supposed that a great quantity of treasure had been thrown into this lake, when Quesada conquered the kingdom of Cundinamarca, the Spaniards attempted to cut a canal through the mountain of which its banks are composed, in order to drain off the waters, but their design does not appear to have succeeded, for after considerable excavations, it has been left off at little more than half the requisite depth.
This province was conquered, as has been already mentioned, by Gonzalo Ximenes de Quesada, who was sent in 1536, by Fernando de Lugo, Admiral of the Canaries, from Santa Marta, to discover the countries along the banks of the great river Magdalena. Ximenes travelled along the left bank of this river, meeting with great difficulties on account of the thickness of the forests, and the number of torrents and rivers he had to cross, which were frequently bordered with marshes and swamps nearly impassable.
He was also constantly attacked by the numerous tribes of Indians, who wandered about these deserts; but overcame all these difficulties by perseverance and ardour, and by shewing a good example of personal fortitude, and disregard of danger to his followers. He at last came to a place called Tora, which he immediately called Puebla de los Brazos, on account of four rivers meeting there. At this place he raised huts, and passed the winter with his men, having travelled by his own computation 150 leagues from the sea coast.
In the spring, Quesada pursued his march, when the floods had abated by going up the banks of another river, until he arrived at the foot of the lofty mountains of Opon, which were fifty leagues in breadth, steep and desert; passing these heights, they arrived in a plain country, well cultivated, and where they procured a great deal of salt from some springs. From these springs, they advanced into the province or kingdom of a powerful chief, named Bogota, whom they defeated after some actions. The towns and villages belonging to this chief contained many articles of value, among which, gold and emeralds were procured in abundance; and after plundering these people, the troops of Quesada marched into the country of the Panchos, separated from Bogota by little hills, and entering a deep vale, fifteen leagues distant from a very high mountain, which was destitute of vegetation, and, on which they were informed the natives found their emeralds. Here Quesada procured an immense booty of gold and precious stones. In three days subsequent marching, they overthrew two other chiefs; and returning through Panchos to Bogota, forced the natives to submit, and to make overtures for peace. The conqueror imagining that the adjacent country was sufficiently subdued, commenced the foundation of a city, which he named Santa Fé, (the present capital,) and because he was a native of the kingdom of Granada in Old Spain, he gave the name of New Kingdom of Granada to the districts which he had passed through. This title was, however, restricted for a long time to the country immediately in the neighbourhood of the capital, and New Granada embraced little more than the present province of Santa Fé.
The state of the natives at the period of their subjugation, their civil and religious government, &c., has been already treated of; the province is noted at present for the production of a small quantity of gold, silver, gems, salt and coal, and for the fertility of the plain near the capital. The woods abound with game, wild beasts and birds; the rivers with fish and alligators, and the plains breed numbers of horses and mules, which are exported to Peru.
The towns of most note after the capital are, Honda, San Gil, Socorro, Velez, Muzo, Leiva, Tuna, Mariquita, and Villa de la Purificacion; which all lie in the different jurisdictions into which the province is divided.