After a long day on the road with the necessary stress and quarrels, I was in a bad mood when Thirsty Bella rolled into Villa de Leyva, located in the Colombian department of Boyacá. We pulled into a free parking lot, which in my mind would be level, covered in soft grass, and sprinkled with fellow overlanders. I looked forward to finally sitting outside in our camping chairs and having a chat with like-minded travelers, since this town is on the tourist map.
(Click on or hover over photos in galleries to read their captions.)
In reality, it took us a while to get relatively level on our wooden boards, nobody else was there, the green from the photos were poky weeds, and I got eaten alive by nasty no-see-ums in the process of getting settled. Tons of bumpy bites erupted; they would itch for weeks. Never have expectations!
Walking towards town along the tree-lined parking lot
Luckily, once we strolled over the cobblestones and towards the enormous square for the first time, despite wearing flipflops (note to self: sturdy shoes required), we fell in love with this clean, attractive, and historic town. We stayed the entire last week of January, catching up on internet work and exploring Villa and surroundings. The climate was perfect and hiking opportunities abound, but the following are the main reasons for our fondness of this pueblo patrimonio.
Our camping spot
Thanks to our free app iOverlander, we zoomed in on this free parking spot along the edge of town, moving once to get more sun on our solar panels. We had plenty of space around us and as long as we didn’t spend much time outside in this bug-populated field, all was good. We soon learned to constantly wear long clothes and socks and shoes. Against the biting insects and to avoid sprained ankles on the cobblestones.
Our location was perfect to experience this wonderful village and to make us feel like locals. It was a two-minute walk to a dumpster, mere seconds to visit a hairdresser ($6), the main square was situated about five minutes away, as well as a plethora of restaurants, our favorite bakery needed ten minutes to be reached, and we could fill our tanks with spring water for free a couple of blocks away. Donations are encouraged.
When we topped up again before leaving, a parked car caused us to round one corner a tad too wide. The ladder of our camper took some rooftiles down. We stopped, talked to the owners of the gate, and reimbursed them the $20 worth in damage.
The streets
Villa de Leyva is one of Colombia’s 17 pueblos patrimonios, which stand out for their cultural heritage. It is a joy to just stroll the streets and soak up the clean, white-washed, colonial buildings and daily life.
The only negative we found – and not just here – is the piles of dog poop everywhere. Strays and loose dogs in general are well taken care of (which warms our hearts), but of course they don’t clean up after themselves…
The square
The main square is aptly named Plaza Mayor. It is massive. It is impressive. It is empty of structures and greenery. As the day progresses, it fills up with tourists. The square is bordered by historic buildings that house restaurants and shops, and by a modest church.
When the sun sets, the plaza becomes vibrant and atmospheric. Locals and visitors alike gather on the steps, benches, and stools to chat, people watch, and have a beer or ice cream purchased from surrounding tiendas and vendors. The scene is a sight to behold and I recommend every visitor to at least soak up one evening at Plaza Mayor.
The parks
Now five months into our time in Colombia, Mark, Maya, and I have stayed in plenty of towns with our camper. Rarely have we found grass or parks for Maya to do her business. So, another positive about Villa de Leyva are the handful of parks we had easy access to. They provided peace, a pee pad, a small sense of nature, and trash cans.
The produce
If there is one thing that is easy to find in Colombia, it’s fruit and vegetables. And, at an affordable price too. We often fill a bag of healthy goodies for 25,000 pesos ($5). To top it off here, a massive produce market sets up in the outskirts on Saturdays. Needless to say, we cooked plenty of healthy meals in Villa de Leyva.
The doors
One day, Mark pointed out how the (double) doors or gates to houses, shops, schools, and churches in Villa have an entrance cut out inside the wood. I hadn’t noticed this yet. Talk about another fun and vintage subject to photograph!
The food
Here is the biggest advantage of spending time in a relatively affluent, touristy, and popular village: the restaurant and food choices are diverse and mouthwatering! From bakeries offering French bread and pastries, to local specialty shops, and international restaurants, you find it all in Villa. And with that comes a negative: we splurged more than usual. I had to try the best milhoja pastry in the country at café La Milhoja, have a Sunday breakfast with pastries from Pasteleria Francesa, pick up fresh baguettes every morning at the Astral bakery, and eat dinner out at the Happy Monkey. I could get used to this!
Around Villa de Leyva
El Infiernito
This archaeological park with a pre-Colombian astronomical observatory, fertility columns, and stone tomb is one of few surviving Muisca Indian sites. It is temporarily closed, but we managed to have a peek through the fence. The museum across the street invites tourists.
Museo El Fósil
This interesting museum is worth a visit. When a massive, mostly complete fossilized Kronosaurus was found in the area, the community decided to build a museum around it. Therefore, the skeleton fossil, which is over 100 million years old, is located in the exact spot where it was discovered.
This specimen received a unique name, Monquirasaurus, based on where it was found and because it differed somewhat from a Kronosaurus.
Besides El Fósil, as the remnants of this beast are called, the exhibition displays other fossils and information signs in English and Spanish.
Casa Terracota
A stop at the Terracota House came recommended to us by friends and other visitors to Villa de Leyva, but because its entrance fee is quite steep, we passed on it.
Raquira
After leaving our new favorite town in Colombia and before embarking on the next off-road adventure into the mountains, we made the short detour to Raquira, famous for its pottery.
The center of town was flooded with Colombian tourists, souvenir stores, and eateries but the buildings were colorful and charming. My camera had a hard time keeping up with my trigger-happy fingers!
We had hoped to spend the night by a relatively hidden and quiet monastery, but this was a case where our camper didn’t make it and we turned back to our parking lot on the edge of Raquira for a relatively peaceful night. Then, we needed an early start for the next leg: more gravel roads and waterfalls!
Curious about a previous ten-year chapter in our nomadic lives, which includes eight years aboard a 35-foot sailboat in the tropics with dogs, check out my compelling, inspiring, and refreshingly honest travel memoir:
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April 6, 2023 at 16:59
Wonderful and I so understood the stress and minor arguments when on a long roadtrip; as the roads are long and our patience in short supply 🙂 So pleased for you both that the trip is going well. Certainly interesting by your wonderful images, Liesbet. The place reminds me of Portugal.
April 6, 2023 at 20:25
Driving in Colombia is very taxing, Suzanne. To be honest, we think it’s the worst country we have ever driven in, between the crappy roads and the crazy, ignorant, and selfish drivers. And that while the people are most friendly off the roads. It’s an interesting juxtaposition! But we are having a really nice time and are fortunate – and pleased – we can travel this slowly and truly immerse ourselves.
April 6, 2023 at 18:59
That second town was colorful! So was the produce market.
Looked like someone got married and posed for photos in the square?
Beautiful place. I can see why you stayed so long.
April 6, 2023 at 20:28
A bit of color makes us smile, Alex! And Raquira is probably the most colorful town we have encountered on this trip. Yes, that was a wedding photo shoot on Plaza Mayor that evening. We have encountered wedding ceremonies quite frequently since being in Colombia. One reason is that we often “camp’ in towns as that’s pretty much the only place to park and sleep for free.
April 6, 2023 at 20:57
What a fun time. I love how you make everything work for you. I’m enjoying your trip.
April 7, 2023 at 20:54
I’m glad you’re virtually coming along and enjoying the ride, Jacqui. We are very happy to be exploring again and not just “living” while meandering in North America.
April 6, 2023 at 21:01
What a charming place! I imagine when you find locations like this, it affirms your decision to go to Colombia. I’ve never heard of a Kronosaurus. It’s a wonderful story to build a museum around a fossil rather than trying to unearth it to move it somewhere else.
April 7, 2023 at 20:57
Hi Pete,
You are right. We have seen so many cute, interesting, and amazing places in Colombia these last four months (I’m not counting the time we were stuck in Cartagena :)) that we are happy to have persevered and grateful to be exploring new territory.
I’d never heard of a Kronosaurus before visiting this museum. And technically, they actually gave this fossil a unique “aurus” name as well. It’s because of the community driven effort that we decided to visit and support the cause.
April 7, 2023 at 03:57
I noticed “necessary stress and quarrels,” which pretty much sums up the description of a married couple in close quarters. . . or, in larger quarters for that matter–ha!
The photos of doors caught my eye along with the yummy-looking produce. And, yes, the scenery, is spectacular. I’ll probably never make it to Villa-de-Leyva. Thanks for bringing it all within my reach here, Liesbet. 😀
April 7, 2023 at 21:00
Hi Marian,
I hope to bring a few more cute, historic towns to you this way. These charming places – and the fact that we’ve been parked prolonged within walking distance of them – will become one of my highlights of Colombia. Mark and I just pondered if we will find another country in South America with this many approachable colonial towns. Time will tell!
You are right about the stress and quarrels of living in close quarters, but it’s the terrible roads and drivers here in Colombia that heighten those moments. 🙂
April 7, 2023 at 12:02
Nice post Liesbet, covering one of our favorite areas of Colombia. The wedding photo on the square is brilliant! Stay safe! Cheers!
April 7, 2023 at 21:10
Boyaca has been one of our favorite departments so far. It’s difficult to pick a favorite region in Colombia. There are so many and for different reasons. But, man, this country is big and diverse! We will have to come back. 🙂
April 7, 2023 at 13:01
Love this town and that they built a museum around the dinosaur!
April 7, 2023 at 21:11
It’s a special town, Margie, and, surprisingly, we didn’t see that many gringos. Colombians love to travel and Villa de Leyva is located within three hours of Bogota, so during the weekends many people living in the capital come for a visit.
April 8, 2023 at 11:13
Where to begin. The wonderful Villa de Leyva has so much to offer: culture, delicious restaurants, fresh and plentiful produce, cobblestone streets, a great meeting square, architecture, delightful locals (and no-seeums ????) It is a place you have convinced me I would enjoy. And then there is Raquira with its pottery and colorful buildings. So much ‘eye-candy’ to take in. Thanks for sharing and stay safe out there. Jim
April 9, 2023 at 12:35
Hi Jim,
Eye-candy is the perfect word for some of the historic villages in Colombia. Villa de Leyva sure “has it all” and for people who enjoy living in a town and being able to walk everywhere, this is the place. And the climate is great, much less rain than elsewhere in the country. Plus, compared to other pueblos patrimonios, this one is relatively level, so no steep hills to climb or descend. 🙂
April 9, 2023 at 13:34
This is lovely town, Liesbet, love the clean lines and whitewashed buildings! Now that we’ve been on our road trip, keeping expectations lower is a good practice! Other than bad roads and bugs, the fresh fruit and veggies in Colombia sure look good! Happy Easter from the road in central Utah!
April 9, 2023 at 14:42
Thanks, Terri. Expectations lead to disappointments and we like to keep those to a minimum…
Happy Easter to you as well. I hope that the special celebrations were all you expected them to be. Cheers to the bride and groom – and to the proud mama. 🙂
April 9, 2023 at 17:28
Liesbet, Villa de Leyva looks lovely. Thank you for the virtual tour. When I was in Ecuador, the main highways were in excellent condition so hopefully you’ll enjoy driving there more than in Colombia. Safe travels!
April 9, 2023 at 21:41
Hi Natalie,
I’m glad you enjoyed the virtual tour of Villa de Leyva.
Thank you for the heads-up about the roads in Ecuador. Our Canadian friends immediately told us the same once they swapped Colombia for Ecuador a couple of months ago. We are looking forward to better roads. When we meet people who came from the south, without exception they all tell us the roads – and drivers – are the worst of this continent in Colombia!
April 11, 2023 at 17:59
That’s a mighty big plaza. And with nothing in it! No gazebo, no plants. It’s so different. I like the cobblestones but I do not like walking on them!
The fossil is so cool! And so cool that they left it in place and built a building around it.
I can see why you liked this town. I love it when a town get lively at night. It must have been fun people watching.
Dog poop! I saw someone cleaning up their dog’s poop the other day and wondered why. I mean there is poop everywhere. I guess he just didn’t want his dogs to contribute a few more piles. There are so many stray dogs here. We know many of them by sight or by where they like to hang out. But fortunately I’ve never seen a starving dog here. People leave fresh water and food for them. I wish they could all have homes.
April 18, 2023 at 15:55
Hi Duwan,
That’s so nice that people leave food and water out for the dogs there. That warms my heart. We saw so many strays in awful shape in Mexico! That’s certainly one of the wonderful things about Colombia – residents love dogs, their own and the strays. We haven’t see a starving dog here either, in over five months. Plus, Colombians travel with their dogs as well. It’s nice to see.
When we first saw the plaza of Villa de Leyva, we had the same thoughts – so big and so empty! The cobblestones are tough to walk on. We’ve been wearing shoes (and long clothes) pretty much everywhere in this country. The no-see-ups are bad everywhere as well.
As you know, we always clean up after Maya in urban areas. Despite the many piles of poop already present, we don’t want to add to it and need to set the right example. 🙂
April 11, 2023 at 19:21
Glad you are safe and doing well. We also love the town. Thanks for the memories.
April 18, 2023 at 16:02
Hi Steven!
How are you and Annie doing?? That’s so cool that you both visited Villa de Leyva as well. It’s a super nice town! Did you enjoy other parts of Colombia as well?
April 12, 2023 at 07:28
Love the colourful second village. I’d have been as ‘click-happy’ as you with the camera, Liesbet. And I love that they built a museum around that dinosaur. I’ve never heard of that before.
Such a shame that the columbians do not clean up after their dogs. After reading that and then seeing the wedding photo, I crossed my fingers that the dress stayed clean.
Lovely that you get so much fresh fruit at great prices. It looks so mouthwatering.
April 18, 2023 at 16:08
Haha. Great observation about the wedding dress and the dog poop, Hugh. I think there should be a flash fiction story about that in the making! 🙂
We love the availability of all the produce here. I’m still baffled that I can walk out the door of a produce shop with vegetables for a week for $5. We’ve also discovered a few new-to-us tasty fruits, like faijoa, pitaya, lulu, and, recently, the pink fruit on top of cacti.
I’ve seen Colombians clean up after their dog, when they’re walking him/her on leash. Thing is that many people let their dogs run loose through town, without supervision, and that’s when undesirable piles are left. From those owned dogs and strays.