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from about.com:

The Museo del Oro in SantaFé de Bogotá, Colombia, offers a splendid presentation of more than 33,000 items of gold and emeralds and other precious materials crafted in pre-Hispanic times.

The Gold Museum, part of the Bank of the Republic of Colombia, preserves and protects this fabulous cultural legacy. The most important museum of its kind anywhere, Museo del Oro showcases the work of ancient peoples who believed gold is the materialization of the life-giving energy from Father Sun.

The Tumaco, Calima, Malagana, Cauca, San Agustín, Tierradentro, Nari6no, Quimbaya and Tolima cultures worked in the southwestern regions of what is now Colombia. The Sinú, Urabá, Tairona and Muisca cultures existed in the northern regions and were part of the legend of El Dorado, a cacique, or chieftain, whose body was covered in gold dust for the ceremony of throwing gold into Lake Guatavita as an offering to the gods. Don't miss the display of the tiny boat showing this ceremony.

The collection includes bracelets, earrings, necklaces, breast plates, masks, figurines and rings created from 500 D.C. until the Spanish arrived in the sixteenth century and is displayed in a well-guarded fortress-like room on the top floor. Only twenty people are allowed in at a time.