My van ride from Zipaquira to Villa de Leyva was probably one of the scariest of my life. Drivers speed beyond recklessness and accidents are frequent, but I was lucky enough not to participate in any despite numerous scares. Riding shotgun might have been more comfortable than sitting in the back, but under these circumstances I would have preferred taking a safer position in any of the back seats. Eventually I made it to my destination, a small village in Eastern Colombia with just a few things to do: Villa de Leyva.
After the three hours of stressed out traveling it was about time I reached a town as quiet and peaceful as Villa de Leyva. This modest village has found itself in the path of many travelers who pursue a few days of relaxation and getting away from it all. Sure, there are other travelers as well, quite a few in fact, but there is enough space for all as the common purpose is to chill out and relax (just look at the 180 degree view of the Plaza Central two pictures below and you’ll see that there are no crowds to be seen anywhere).
What is there to do? Not much, frankly. You come here to sleep in, walk along its’ few cobbled streets, speak with the locals, spend time in the main plaza, watch people or gaze at unreal sunsets. There are those who hike into the nearby mountains for excellent views, camp in the nearby lakes, or spend time chilling out in their hostels or pensions, catching up on email or making progress in that long forgotten book.
There is no lack of places where to sleep- I spent the night I was there in Alojamiento Maria in Calle 14 # 7-51, a small but comfortable enough place at a good price (around 5usd). Mauricio is the manager and will do everything he can to make sure you are comfortable- you can reach him at his mobile 314-3492004.
Should you visit this small yet charming town? I would say so. I would not plan on spending more than a day and night if you don’t have too much time but if you do it might just be the place you were looking for, where time appears to be irrelevant. To get here from Bogota you need to find your way to Tunja on a bus and then hop on another bus (van) to Villa de Leyva. Chill out and relax in this lovely and charming little village!
Have you been in Villa de Leyva? How much time did you spend or plant to spend here? What did you think about it or expect to find? Leave a comment below, I’d love to hear your thoughts as not many people come here.
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Try checking your spelling. Is Villa de Leyva, not Leyba.
Whoa, thanks for pointing it out. It was well spelled in the title but not the first paragraph, will fix it right now. Are you heading there? BTW, you also misspelled 😉