Villa de Leyva and surroundings
Pre-historic, colonial, and contemporary at the same timeWhat so see and do in Villa de Leyva
This colonial town is the most touristic and renown town of Boyacá, it is characterized for its stone-paved streets, colonial white houses with wooden windows and balconies, high-quality dining and handcrafts, and picturesque landscapes.
Villa de Leyva is a must-see in Boyacá and has a modest, but diverse cultural and touristic offer for all sorts of tourists, ranging from the couple looking for a romantic weekend getaway, to big families with children.
We have visited this town several times over the last 10 years and there is always something new to see and do. The activities and places listed below are far from comprehensive, but they are our top picks for people planning to spend just a couple of days in this town.
Main square and stone-paved streets
We think the best way to explore Villa de Leyva is to walk through its narrow streets, enjoy the street artists and handicraft window displays, drink a hot beverage in one of its courtyards, and sit on the central square, which is the biggest square in Boyacá, to observe the dynamics of the town (which goes from buskers to kids playing and horse carriages passing by) taking place in front of your eyes. Let Villa de Leyva surprise you and discover the magic of this place with strolls both in the sunny days and the cold nights.
Dining and drinking
From international level dining and drinking (including several options for peruvian food and wine-tasting tours in european-style vineyards) to local delicacies (including all sorts of arepas and the hot alcoholic drink “canelazo”) passing through all sorts of combinations and fusion-experiments, Villa de Leyva will not disappoint you when it come to eating and drinking. Prices are a bit high for Colombian standards in most restaurants and bars, but it is definitely worth treating yourself at least one-night with a fancy dinner, most likely with live-music, and enjoy the charm of this town.
Pozos azules
Although for most European tourists who have seen blue lakes in the Alps since they are children this is not breathtaking, these small lakes are still a famous tourist attraction for most Colombians visiting Villa de Leyva. The attraction, owned and managed privately, is a group of 7 small lakes with a high mineral content that gives them an intense blue/green colour. There is pretty much nothing else to do beyond observing the lakes, it is forbidden to bathe or to eat in the area, so unless you want to take some nice pictures, it is not worth the fee to visit the blue lakes.
Casa de Terracota
This house is the biggest adobe-made sculpture of the world. While originally it was designed and built as a private residence, the owners decided to open it to the public for a modest entry fee. The most interesting of this house, is the name the locals have given to it: the flintstones’ house, which matches very well with the most interesting tourists attractions of Villa de Leyva, which showcase all sorts of fossils of millions year-old species that used to inhabit the region when it was covered by the oceans.
Rock paintings in Sáchica
This is our most recommended hidden jewel of the region: it doesn’t even appear in any tourist guide, and we only learned from it talking to locals. The exact origin, meaning and date of the paintings is not clear, but they most likely date from the period where the local indigenous groups were forced to move to the mountains after the colonizers took their lands. The coordinates can be found on google, but the way is not signalized and getting there feels like an Indiana Jones adventure, however, the prize is totally worth it: a full set of bright-red century-old rock paintings.
Handicrafts in Ráquira
This small town is just 15 mins away from Villa de Leya, but it stands in strong contrast to it and most other towns in Boyacá due to its colourful streets and houses. The local story says that while the town prepared for a contest, they decided to paint in multiple bright colours its white houses but since there was not enough money for painting them all in one single colour. The result is a beautiful town that matches perfectly to the hundreds of handicrafts and souvenirs shops that decorate the streets. This is the perfect place to buy typical Colombian souvenirs for your loved ones.
