Villa de Leyva

城市概覽

History Villa de Leyva was founded on June 12th 1572, by Captain Hernan Suárez de Villalobos, as instructed by the first president of the New Kingdom of Granada Sr. Andres Díaz Venero de Leyva. Initially Villa de Leyva was established close to the Indian Astronomic Observatory in a place called Zaquencipá Valley, and then twelve years later was moved to its actual location. During the colonisation, Villa de Leyva was a principal producer of oil olive and some cereals, especially wheat and barley. It was chosen as a favorite place for Spanish families and especially as place to rest for viceroys. Villa de Leyva was home of the Captain Antonio Ricaurte, a hero in the San Mateo battle during the war of independence. The General and President of the New Republic Antonio Nariño spent his last days in this town. In 1812 there was the meeting of the first congress of the United Provinces. In 1830 the construction of the road to connect Villa de Leyva with Tunja which passed by Arcabuco began. The construction of this road started the development of this beautiful village. In 1954 Villa de Leyva was declared a National Monument. The architecture of Villa de Leyva has a Spanish style. You can see in the construction of most of the houses in the village, their wonderful balconies, arcs and main doors (it is possible to appreciate this in the old buildings such as Casa del Primer Congreso, Casa de Don Antonio Narioño, Casa de La Real Fabrica de Licores, Claustro de San Agustín). Villa de Leyva is a place of inspiration to poets and writers. They can find peace in its stone paved streets or just contemplating the majestic main square, unique in Latin-America. Villa de Leyva is at 2.143 meters above sea level, with a lovely temperature of 18 °C and a population of 12,000 inhabitants. Its size is 128 km². Villa de Leyva’s borders are: Arcabuco and Gachantiva in the north, Sachica and Chíquiza to the south, Chíquiza and San Pedro de Iguaque to the east and Santa Sofia, Sutamarch

如何抵達

From Tunja: minibuses leave every fifteen minutes. (1 hour, COP$11000, 39 km, as of Mar 2023) From Bogotá: minibuses leave hourly in the morning and mid-afternoon. Los Libertadores bus line has luxury buses that leave twice a day (4:40AM and 2:40PM). The travel time is about 4 hours and it costs COP$24,000 (180 km). From Chiquinquira: Vans leave hourly. Approximately a one-hour trip. To reach the main plaza, take a right when you exit the terminal and head on that street (Cra.9) for a couple blocks.

To combine a trip to the Salt Cathedral on the way to Villa de Leyva, take a bus to Zipaquira and then take a taxi to the Cathedral. Then take a taxi to Plaza de la Riena for a minibus to Chiquinquira. The minibus is operated by Transportes Reina Agencia and the departure location is at Carrera 36, 8-532.

當地交通

Villa de Leyva is small enough to be covered on foot.

必看景點

1 Casa Terracota. Daily 8:30AM-5:30PM. 64-year-old architect Octavio Mendoza literally baked the house he lives in. He named the 5,400 ft² (500 m2) house "the biggest piece of pottery in the world". Casa Terracota was built exclusively by hand using clay and baked in the sun. The architecture, reminiscent of Gaudi's style, is interesting and it's fun to get "lost" inside. Weekdays COP37,000, Weekends COP43,000. (updated Mar 2025) There are a handful of museums in town. Not all of them are impressive.

Museo Paleontológico. Tu-Sa 9AM-noon & 2-5PM, Su and holidays 9AM-3PM. A collection of fossils. COP$2,000. (updated Sep 2018) Luis Alberto Acuña, Carrera 10 No. 12-83 (Located in a corner of the central square), ☏ +57 732 0422. Daily 9AM-6PM. Pictures and sculptures collected by this painter. Entrance : COP$4000. Prehistorical garden, ☏ +57 732 0214. Daily 9AM-6PM. Museo del Carmen, Plazuela del Carmen. Sa Su and holidays 10AM-1PM & 2-5PM. Impressive collection of religious art. Antonio Ricaurte, Calle 15 No. 8-17, ☏ +57 732 0252. W-F 9AM-noon & 2-5PM, Sa Su and holidays 9AM-noon & 2-6PM. Military museum in the former house of Antonio Ricaurte Casa Museo Antonio Nariño, Carrera 9 No. 10-39, ☏ +57 732 0342. Th-Tu 9AM-noon & 2-4PM. Last house of this independence hero. Displays some of his possessions. Adult COP$1,000, student COP$700, child COP$500.

體驗活動

Climb up to the mirador named "Sagrado Corazón". It's east of the town on the hillside. To find the path, first head towards the mountain on Calle 12 until you reach the white gateway. Go around it and cross the football pitch. Start climbing through the forest and follow the white arrows. The climb to the top is steep with some portions on rocks and lasts around one hour. Taxis offer trips to some of the surrounding attractions. Tourism agencies offer day trips to the surrounding attractions, bike and horses rentals as well as extreme sports activities (canyoning, paragliding, speleology, rappeling). Most are on Carrera 9 between the terminal and the main plaza: Guias & Travesias, Cra 9 11-02, ☏ +57 732 0742, +57 311 461 1298, [email protected]. Natural Sports, ☏ +57 311 850 8324, +57 310 275 1368, [email protected]. Zona Tours, Cra 9 9-27, ☏ +57 311 207 3600, +57 316 412 2070, +57 312 538 7863, [email protected].

購物

Supermarkets SCOOMEXAOC and Don Manuel are located on Cra 9 between Calle 9 and 10.

美食

Gallina criolla is a typical local dish.

Panaderia Francesa, Calle 10 No 9-41. Th-M. Tasty French bread and postres. Portales, Northwest Corner of the Plaza. Italian food with Wi-Fi hotspot. Tartas y Tortas de la Villa, Cr 10 #11-39 (two blocks from the main plaza, walking along the street opposite to the church). Th-Tu. Offers coffee and desserts. Some almuerzo place, Calle 10, 9-41 (3 blocks from the Plaza Mayor). daily. Daily set meals for lunch and dinner (soup, main dish and juice), with choice of chicken and meat. They supposedly do breakfasts too. COP$7000. La Galleta, Carrera 9, between calle 12 & 13 (one block from the main square). 11AM-8PM. They have good tea and coffee and great cakes.

飲品與夜生活

Villa de Leyva has potable tap water, feel free to drink it!

Café de la Barra, Plaza Mayor, Cra 9 No. 12- 52, ☏ +57 3142217226. All of their coffee is 100% Colombian and prepared with a smile; the owners are a charming Colombian couple who love to chat with their customers. The location is ideal (right on the main plaza next to the bell tower), so you can sit inside the cute little coffee shop and watch people pass by on the plaza, or you can sit out back on their patio and enjoy a great view of the bell tower. They also serve tasty desserts and little sandwiches.

住宿

Prices rise on weekends and holidays.

Dino's restaurant & pizzeria, Plaza Mayor (Next to the Parish church), ☏ +57 8-732-0803. Rents out double rooms for COP$15,000 per person. Hospederia La Villa, Calle 12 No 10-11 (SW corner of the Plaza Mayor), ☏ +57 732-0848. Great location at a cheap price. No Internet. Single without bath COP$20,000, with bath COP$30,000. Double with shower COP$30,000. Du