Villa de Leyva is one of Colombia's most beautiful and charming small colonial towns. Villa de Leiva's cobblestoned plaza is the largest in all of Colombia (some say the Americas), and the small town looks like it's straight out of a Clint Eastwood film. Villa de Leiva is a very special place to amble about the cobbled streets or shop in many of the interesting Colombian artesian shops. The town can get very busy during the weekends and festivals, so our advice would be to visit mid-week for a more tranquil travel experience.
Tours from Villa de Leyva
A couple of days is enough time to visit Villa de Leiva and it's surrounding travel attractions. "El Fossil", a huge preserved 7 metre fossil of a marine dinosaur and the Dominican Convent of Ecce homo are two highlights. The nearby town of Raquira is an excellent small town in which you can buy some fine Colombian pottery. There are also ancient monoliths at the archaeological site of "El infiernito", and excellent trekking and horseback riding possibilities in Colombia's Iguaque National Park - consider visiting the impressive Periquera waterfalls. Those travelling overland onwards to Bogota should definately take time out to visit the Salt Cathedral of Zipaquira, an amazing huge Cathedral carved into a salt mine.
Villa de Leyva Hotels
Villa de Leiva has numerous beautiful small colonial hotels. One of the best hotels is the very old converted monastery of Del Molino la Mesopotamia which ozzes character and charm. Second best is possibly There are a huge number of other delightful colonial hotels in Villa de Leiva including: Plaza Mayor (which is on the main plaza), Hotel El Eden; El Meson de los Virreyes; Hotel Getsemani; Estancia El Olivo; Sol de la Villa Hospedaje; Hotel Aceitunos; Hotel Abahunza; Casa Novo Arte; Hospederia Antonio Narino; La Espanola Boutique Hotel; La Posada San Antonio; Hospederia Villa Lina; Casa Hotel Villa Cristina; Posada Riachuelo; Hotel Vinicola; Posada Guanani; Hospederia La Fuente; Posada San Antonio; Hospedaje el Sol de la Villa; and Posada La Villa de Alcala. A more modern resort type hotel is the Hospederia Duruelo. An alternative is Posada San Junaito, which has rooms as well as offering camping.
Villa de Leyva's Festivals
August's Kite festival sees expert kite flyers gather in the main plaza for a quite unique spectacle, and there is also a well known firework festival in early December.
Paipa
Paipa is nearby, and many Colombia tour operators offer an overnight in a spa hotel in conjunction with a package to Villa de Leiva. There's some good trekking options near Paipa, but to visit just to see the hot springs is not really worthwile (the baths are nothing special).
