White houses
Green balconies.
Bernard Gagnon — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bernard Gagnon — CC BY-SA 4.0 · JuanGris (Lucía Estévez) — CC BY-SA 3.0
A vast square paved with large, uneven cobbles, one of the largest in South America, at the heart of colonial Villa de Leyva, founded in 1572, which has kept its old look so remarkably that it is among Colombia's prettiest towns. The square is ringed by bright white one- and two-storey houses with green wooden doors, windows and balconies and red-tiled roofs, with a small stone fountain in the middle. Behind the houses, dry brown hills give the place a golden light at sunset. Around the square and in the streets off it are craft shops, bakeries and restaurants in flowered courtyards of old houses, and house-museums of figures from Colombian history. Festivals fill the square, the best known being the kite festival in August and the festival of lights in December. The cobbles are uneven, so wear comfortable shoes. The town is crowded with Bogotá visitors at weekends; weekdays are calmer and lovelier.
Green balconies.
Old paving.
In August.
Centre of Villa de Leyva, Boyacá, about three to four hours' drive north of Bogotá
Two days is ideal: one for the town and its square, one for the countryside sights like the Pozos Azules and the fossil museum.