Villa de Leyva: Historical and colonial jewel

Declared a national historic monument in the 1950s, the town is a popular attraction and home to artisans and many famous Colombians.

It is considered by most local and foreign tourists an incredibly beautiful colonial town, with decent tourist infrastructure but not overrun by tourism yet.
You easily can see the entire village in a few hours, but you'll want to hang out longer. The cobblestoned streets are difficult to ride on, but lend themselves to strolling to see the colonial architecture of white-washed houses with their wooden shutters, doors and balconies.

Leyva ( as most locals name the town ) has been preserved almost perfectly: Cobblestoned streets, red-tiled roofs, houses are whitewashed, balconies and private courtyards retain the heritage. The town is small, but the surrounding area will make you want to stay and hike and perhaps camp out.

The weather is nice (fresh at night, 18 degrees C average).

Most tourists here are Colombians, people from Bogota (during the weekend, the streets, restaurants, places to stay and shops are crowded). During the week you'll find the town nice and quiet.

You can find also a lot of foreigners ( germans, french and Americans among other nationalities) who have choosen Villa de Leyva as their retirement home. Elvis Presley's drummer Bill Lynn was one of the famous residents of the town, where he passed his latets days.

It has been used also as a location for the filming of different TV and motion pictures. Klaus Kinski was one of the famoust directors who chose the town as location for his film "Cobra Verde" in 1986.

Things to do in surrounding areas:

• Horseback-riding (with a guide) for a couple of hours in the nearby Candelaria desert which also has some crystal blue lagoons (Pozos Azules) where you can take a dip in.
• There is a beautiful area some 40 mins away from Villa de Leyva with cascading waterfalls called "La Periquera".
• Hiking in the surroundings is great, and you can go camping too.
• The whole area is one of the safest in Colombia.

It is also an area of paleontological richness. There is a famous tourist attraction called "El Fosil", a reasonably complete kronosaurus fossil, a 120-million-year-old prehistoric marine reptile resembling an overgrown crocodile.

The fossil is 7m long (the animal was about 12m long but its tail hasn't survived). It's a baby kronosaurus (the adult animals were far larger) and it remains in the place where it was found.

Villa de Leyva's most distinct feature is the huge cobblestoned plaza in front of the parish church. The Plaza Mayor is the largest of its kind in latinamerica.

Visit our Villa de Leyva real estate listings for sale

If you can't find your dream property in Villa de Leyva Click here to give us more details about the property you're looking for .

Return from Villa de leyva to Colombia hot spots