Boyacá Department

A historic department on the Andean plateau, with the colonial town of Villa de Leyva and independence-war sites as top highlights.

Boyacá Department lies in the Eastern Cordillera of central-eastern Colombia, next to Cundinamarca Department, with Tunja as its capital. It was a key stage in Colombia's independence history: the Bridge of Boyacá, the battlefield of the 1819 Battle of Boyacá, is near Tunja. Villa de Leyva is known for its whitewashed, red-tiled colonial buildings and enormous cobblestone plaza, with a fossil museum and desert landscapes nearby. The department also has Lake Tota, the alpine glaciers and highland páramo of El Cocuy National Park, and traditional craft towns such as Ráquira and Monguí. December to March is drier and good for travel. It takes a few hours by road from Bogotá.

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