Villa de Leyva

One of Colombia's most beautiful colonial towns, with a vast cobblestone main square, dinosaur fossils, a terracotta house and a Muisca astronomical site, plus nearby pottery villages and a sacred high-mountain lake.

Villa de Leyva lies in a valley at about 2,150 m in the Andes of Colombia's Boyacá Department, about 170 km from Bogotá. Founded in 1572, the town still preserves whole streets of whitewashed, red-tiled colonial buildings and cobblestone lanes; it was declared a National Monument in 1954 and is the most popular member of Colombia's network of heritage towns (Pueblos Patrimonio).

The climate is dry and mild, around 20°C during the day and cool in the mornings and evenings; Dec–Mar and Jul–Aug are the dry seasons and the best time to visit, and the August Kite Festival and December Festival of Lights are the liveliest times. There are three main ways to explore: strolling the old town (the main square, churches, museums and the Casa Terracota); the western loop (the fossil museum, the Muisca observatory known as El Infiernito, the Pozos Azules blue ponds, a convent and wineries), by bike, on horseback or by hired tuk-tuk; and hiking in the mountains to the north and the Iguaque Sanctuary to the northeast. You can also take a day trip south to the pottery town of Ráquira, or east to the departmental capital of Tunja and the Boyacá Bridge.

Getting there: buses from Bogotá's Terminal del Norte take about 3.5–4 hours, often with a change in Tunja. Plan on 2–3 days; weekends and festivals draw crowds from Bogotá, so book accommodation in advance. The Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá is usually visited as a day trip from Bogotá and is listed under Bogotá.

Top sights

• Plaza Mayor de Villa de Leyva – One of the largest stone-paved squares in South America, surrounded by white-walled colonial buildings. It is the heart and landmark of the…
• Casa Terracota – A giant clay house, hand-shaped by an architect and fired in a kiln. Billed as the world's largest pottery, it has a fairytale quality
• Museo El Fósil – An in-situ display of a roughly 115-million-year-old Kronosaurus boyacensis fossil, the best-known attraction around the old town
• Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Rosario – A white colonial church on the east side of the central plaza, built in 1608. It is the most classic backdrop in the old town.
• Museo del Carmen – A religious art museum beside a Carmelite monastery, housing colonial-era icons and sculptures and considered one of Colombia's finest muse…
• El Infiernito (Parque Arqueológico de Monquirá) – A pre-Hispanic astronomical site of the Muisca people, with two rows of stone pillars used to read sunlight and set planting times, plus se…
• Pozos Azules – Turquoise man-made ponds scattered across red-earth hills in a desert-like landscape, with striking color contrasts that make them great fo…
• Iguaque Flora and Fauna Sanctuary – A high-altitude moorland and sacred lake above 3,400 m, the setting of the Muisca creation myth, and a classic one-day hike
• Convento del Santo Ecce Homo – A Dominican monastery completed in 1620, with fossil-studded stone flooring and a tranquil cloister and valley setting
• Ráquira – Colombia's pottery capital, a small town of brightly painted facades lined with ceramics shops, with a handicraft market on Sundays
• Convento del Desierto de La Candelaria – An Augustinian monastery founded in 1604 in a barren canyon, with well-preserved cloister murals and hermit caves
• Paso del Ángel – A ridge path only one or two meters wide between cliffs, overlooking deep valleys; the most thrilling viewpoint in the area
• Cascadas La Periquera – A series of tiered waterfalls in a valley north of the old town, with forest trails and outdoor activities such as rappelling and canyoning
• Gondava – A dinosaur-themed outdoor park with life-size dinosaur models and mazes, well suited to families
• Viñedo Ain Karim – A highland winery in the tropics where you can tour the vineyards and cellars and taste wine; a popular half-day outing
• Plaza de Bolívar, Tunja – The colonial plaza of the capital of Boyacá Department, surrounded by a cathedral and the Founder's House, with exquisite painted ceilings…
• Puente de Boyacá – The site of the 1819 Battle of Boyacá, where Bolívar decisively defeated Spanish forces; a symbol of Colombian independence

Where to eat

• Mercado Municipal Restaurant – A slow-food restaurant in the garden of a 19th-century house, cooking modern Colombian country dishes on a wood-fired o…
• Chez Rémy French Restaurant – A garden bistro run by French chef Rémy, known for its house-made bread, red wine slow-roasted lamb leg and onion soup.
• Happy Monkey Restaurant – An affordable creative restaurant built around plantains. Plantain lasagna and plantain boats are popular, and the rest…
• El Solar de la Guaca – The town's largest courtyard restaurant, with six dining areas and six kitchens. Serves traditional Boyacá mountain dis…

Itineraries

• Boyacá & Santander Colonial Towns Road Trip – Drive north from Bogotá through Villa de Leyva and Barichara to San Gil, exploring colonial towns, stone paths, and whi…