One of the most widely used conservation mechanisms at the global level to counteract the loss of biodiversity is the protected areas (PAs). In Colombia 15.5% of the national territory is under one of the IUCN categories of PAs. Additionally, the management that is given to PAs points to concrete and effective conservation actions that meet their conservation objectives, which can sometimes be seen with land cover and management plans. The objective of this study is to analyze the land cover change in the Chingaza National Natural Park (CNNP) when the first management plan or MP (2005-2007) and the current plan (2016-2020) were taken, through a spatial and discourse analysis. Vector files of the Chingaza National Natural Park were used between the years 2002, 2007, 2012 and 2015 to obtain the transition matrix and the rates of change of the land cover, as well as the two MPs to explore the incidence that the proposals of the MPs have on the land cover and vice versa. It was determined that prior the establishment of the first MP the rates of change in land cover were higher than when it was implemented, and when the extension of the first MP term ended, they increased again. About the land cover of interest for the Chingaza National Natural Park, which are values subject to conservation, the dense forest was the one that had the highest rate change of 2002-2015 (-0.468%), followed by the shrubland (0.106%) and finally the grassland (-0.027%). From the two management plans it can be highlighted that the second management plan is more explicit than the first one that shows the elements that a MP must have and that there is a continuity in most of the items analyzed. The results indicate a great challenge for the PA is presented here, in order to effectively comply with the goals proposed on conservation percentages and that they are not only figures on paper.