Cobbled streets
White houses.
Hilda Sulbaran — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Hilda Sulbaran — CC BY-SA 3.0 · LBM1948 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · LBM1948 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Christian Hummert (Ixitixel) — CC BY-SA 2.5
Jají is a small village in the Andean foothills west of the city of Mérida. White houses with red-tiled roofs and wooden balconies line cobbled streets that slope between the walls, a church faces the central square, and green mountains and cloud surround the village. The village stands at 1,781 m. Bartolomé Gil Naranjo founded it in 1580 as San Pedro de Jají, and it was refounded in 1610 as San Miguel de Jají. Restoration in Spanish colonial style began in 1968 and it reopened in 1971; the work kept the facades and the original doors, windows and iron bars, some more than 400 years old. You walk the old streets and around Plaza Bolívar, visit the church and the small museum, and sit in a café looking out at the mountains. The village is 34 km by road from the city of Mérida, about 19 km in a straight line. It is cooler than the city, so bring a light jacket. The UK advises against all but essential travel to Venezuela, so check current advice before you go.
White houses.
And the church.
And cloud.
Campo Elías municipality, Mérida State
One to two hours.
By car or bus from Mérida.