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Time in Colombia — regions, cities and time zones

Colombia keeps a single time zone, UTC−5, for the whole country including its Caribbean and Pacific islands. Bogotá, the capital high in the Andes, shares that clock with Medellín, Cali, Cartagena and San Andrés. There is no daylight saving.

Flag of Colombia Colombia

Capital Bogotá · South America · ISO CO / COL

Bogotá, Colombia

Friday, 4 September 2026

UTC−5 · America/Bogota

Time and sun data for Bogotá, Colombia

The sun in Bogotá

Sunrise 05:56 Solar noon 12:01 Sunset 18:06 Daylight 12 h 10 min Night 11 h 50 min Civil twilight 05:35 – 18:27

States and regions (33)

Current time in Bogotá

Colombia keeps a single time zone, UTC−5, for the whole country including its Caribbean and Pacific islands. Bogotá, the capital high in the Andes, shares that clock with Medellín, Cali, Cartagena and San Andrés. There is no daylight saving.

One clock, three mountain ranges and two oceans

Colombia is the only South American country with coastline on both the Caribbean and the Pacific, and its interior is split by three branches of the Andes. Getting between cities can mean crossing a mountain range. None of that touches the clock — the country runs on one offset from the Amazon in the south to the Guajira desert in the north.

What does change is altitude, and with it the entire feel of the day. Bogotá sits high enough to be cool year-round; Cartagena at sea level is hot and humid. Same hour on the clock, very different advice about what to wear.

In Colombia the clock is identical across the country and the weather is not. Ask about the altitude before you pack, not about the time.

Fixed offset, moving neighbours

Because Colombia does not observe daylight saving, it is the stable side of most comparisons. The offsets that matter: Against UTC — always −5, in every season. Against New York — identical during the northern winter, then an hour apart once the US moves to daylight time.

Against Ecuador and Peru — the same offset, so no adjustment on those borders. Against Europe — a large gap that widens or narrows by an hour twice a year, driven entirely by Europe's clock changes.

Regions on a shared clock

Colombia's regions differ enormously in rhythm even though they never differ in time: The Andean centre. Bogotá, Medellín and Cali hold most of the country's business and government; the working day is an office day.

The Caribbean coast. Barranquilla, Cartagena and Santa Marta run hotter, and social life leans later into the evening. The Pacific coast and Chocó. Wet, forested and less urbanised, with a day shaped by rain and rivers.

The Llanos and Amazon. Vast, sparsely settled, and organised more by daylight than by any timetable. San Andrés and Providencia. Caribbean islands hundreds of kilometres from the mainland — and still on Bogotá's clock.

Why the clocks stay put

Colombia sits close to the equator, so day length is remarkably steady through the year: sunrise and sunset barely wander. Daylight saving is a tool for redistributing summer evening light, and there is no seasonal surplus here to redistribute. The country tried a seasonal change in the past and does not use one now, which leaves visitors with one fewer thing to check.

Questions and answers
What time zone is Colombia in?
UTC−5, one zone for the entire country.
Does Colombia change its clocks for daylight saving?
No. The offset stays at UTC−5 all year.
Is San Andrés on a different time from Bogotá?
No. The island territories keep the same time as the mainland.

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