20 Sep 2024
We took the private Villa de Leyva Tour in early September on a beautiful day. Our driver and tour guide Camillo picked us up on time from our hotel. The drive to Villa de Leyva takes about 3.5 hours through different types of scenery so we stopped for a typical Colombian breakfast on the way. Our first tour stop was the bridge of Boyaca, place of the final battle for Colombias independence with monuments for Simon Bolivar and General Santander. Villa de Leyva is a beautiful colonial town with cobblestone streets and typical Spanish colonial architecture. It has the largest central Plaza in the Latin Americas. We also found an outstanding shop for all kinds of exotic chocolates. We skipped the Pozoles Azules and instead visited the Convento Santo Ecce Homo, a Dominican Monastery from the 16th century. Our last stop on the way back to Bogota was the artisan town of Raquira. If you are into Pottery this is the place to shop. Camillo made the long day and drive very informative and entertaining ,so time went by fast. An excellent guide. If you are looking for a tour of the Colombian countryside with history and a variety of scenery - this is the one.