A Dream Come True: Villa de Leyva
This year, I made one of my travel dreams come true. I visited the small colonial town of Villa de Leyva, in Colombia.
Growing up on the Atlantic coast of Colombia, I was always very intrigued by the other areas of the country. So this trip was a dream come true for me.
Villa de Leyva is a Colombian National Heritage Town and it is known for its whitewashed colonial buildings, cobblestone streets, and delicious traditional food. It is one of the few remaining Colombian towns that has kept most of its original colonial houses. The climate is very volatile. During the day it is very warm, and the sun can burn your skin if you are not careful (trust me, I learned that the hard way!), but at any moment it can start raining. Since it is in a mountainous area, the rains are sporadic, sometimes they are strong and sometimes they are light. I would recommend bringing a good umbrella, some sunscreen, and a light sweater or a light coat, it does get quite chilly once the sun goes down.
It has a beautiful Plaza Mayor (main plaza) that hosts festivals and musical groups on the weekends. During the day, you can find tourists taking pictures there since it is the main attraction of the town. At night, people head to the plaza to listen to traditional music from the Boyacá region, the state where the town is located.
The town is not very big and it is very walkable. There are restaurants on every street, but if you’re planning to sit down somewhere and eat dinner, make sure that you get there early because most places fill up fast. I was there during a weekend, which is when the town is most popular, and I ran into that issue.
My favorite part was seeing how well kept the town was. It is small, but it is clean and well taken care of. I asked directions from locals several times and they were all extremely kind.
I had heard that the food in Villa de Leyva was amazing, and this was entirely true. I ate every meal at a different restaurant, and not a single one of those was a disappointment. Even snack foods, like pastries and ice cream, were out of this world too.
I only visited for a weekend, so for the most part I just walked around town and ate as much as I could, but I also got to do some cool things nearby. Some of the activities I did that are easily accessible are horseback riding, off-roading in quads, visit the famous Pozos Azules (blue ponds), visit Casa Terracota, visit museums, and the Museo del Chocolate, which is a restaurant where everything is made with chocolate and cocoa. This region is also known for its wineries. As you can tell, there is a variety of activities that can be enjoyed by different types of travelers, it all depends on your preferences.
I can not recommend this town enough. If you are around Bogota, it is only about 3 hours away. You probably do not need more than two or three days to see everything that Villa de Leyva has to offer, but again, that depends on the kind of traveler that you are.
I absolutely loved my weekend there and I already can not wait for the next time that I get to visit this gorgeous, historic site.
