10 Things To Do In Villa de Leyva, Colombia

1. Plaza Mayor

Plaza Mayor is one of the largest town squares in the Americas. It’s paved with massive cobblestones and surrounded by magnificent colonial structures and a charmingly simple parish church. Only a small Mudejar fountain in its middle, which provided water to the village inhabitants for almost four centuries, interrupts the vast plaza.

Plaza Mayor

Address: Cra. 10, Villa de Leyva, Boyacá, Colombia

Phone: +57 8 7320830

Website: Villa de Leyva (in Spanish)

2. Museo del Carmen

One of the finest museums of religious art in Colombia, Museo del Carmen is located and featured in the same premises as Iglesia del Carmen. Museo del Carmen comprises treasured paintings, carvings, altarpieces and other religious objects dating from the 16th century on.

Museo del Carmen

Address: 1 Cra. 10, Villa de Leyva, Boyaca

Hours: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Wednesday to Sunday)

Website: Duruelo (in Spanish)

3. Casa Museo de Antonio Ricaurte

The museum house of Captain Antonio Ricaurte is curated in honor of Captain Antonio Ricaurte, the patriot of the Independence of Colombia and Venezuela. He is honored as the martyr of the Battle of San Mateo, where, in a turn of events, he blasted an enemy stronghold by burning himself in the blast. The museum pays homage to stories, photographs, medals and other curios related and belonged to Captain Antonio Ricaurte. Also on display are the kitchen utensils of the time, water filter, vases, and furniture.

Casa Museo de Antonio Ricaurte

Address: #8-1 a, Cl. 15 #8115, Villa de Leyva, Boyacá, Colombia

Hours: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Wednesday to Sunday)

Website: Expovilla (in Spanish)

4. Casa Museo de Antonio Nariño

This is a small museum and the former home of Colombian patriot Antonio Narino, with historical artifacts and art. Here you can also see on display the oil paintings, acrylics, charcoals and sculptures of the famous Colombian painter, sculptor, and historian Luis Alberto Acuña. Furthermore, you can view copies of Greco, Rembrandt, and Michelangelo in an art form as well as tapestries and murals. Fossils and archaeological findings from the Cretaceous period also on display in this museum.

Casa Museo de Antonio Nariño

Address: Cra. 9 #10-25, Villa de Leyva, Boyacá, Colombia

Hours: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Thursday to Tuesday)

Phone: +57 8 7320342

Website: Villa de Levya (in Spanish)

5. Casa Museo de Luis Alberto Acuña

Presenting the works of Colombia’s most influential and prolific painter, sculptor, writer and historian, Luis Alberto Acuña. Acuña was inspired by sources ranging from Muisca mythology to contemporary art. This museum has been curated in the mansion where Acuña resided for the last 15 years of his life and is Colombia’s most exhaustive assembly of his work.

Casa Museo de Luis Alberto Acuña

Address: Cra. 10, Villa de Leyva, Boyacá, Colombia

Phone: +57 8 7320422

Website: Boyaca Cultural (in Spanish)

6. Visit the House of the First Congress of the United Provinces

You can visit the House of the First Congress, where the First Congress of the United Provinces of New Granada assembled to draft the first laws of Colombia, following the cry of independence. The meeting took place in October of 1812 in this very house where famous politicians figures of Colombia such as Antonio Nariño, Simon Bolívar, and Camilo Torres were present.

House of the First Congress of the United Provinces

Address: Cra. 9 #13, Villa de Leyva, Boyacá, Colombia

Website: Villa de Leyva (in Spanish)

7. Iglesia Parroquial

This parish church honoring The Lady of Rosary faces the main square Plaza Mayor, was constructed in 1608 under the orders of the Philip III, King of Spain and has barely transformed or aged ever since it was built. The church building is predominantly white like the rest of the buildings in the neighborhood.

Iglesia Parroquial

Address: Villa de Leyva, Boyaca, Colombia

8. Iglesia del Carmen

The church of Carmen is situated on a beautiful block near the Plaza Mayor, the central square of Villa de Leyva. As the name suggests the church honors Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as the patron saint of the parish. The location of the church and its surroundings are so gorgeous that it is hard to put it in words. Even at night with the beautiful illumination of the edifice gives this church an ethereal aura.

Iglesia del Carmen

Address: A 13-119, Cra. 10 #13-1, Villa de Leyva, Boyacá, Colombia

9. Inhabit the world's biggest pottery project

When you have a close encounter with Casa Terracotta or Casa de Borra you will instantly get attracted to it. Apart from being the biggest piece of pottery in the world, Casa Terracotta is a work of art that is simply unparalleled. The philosophy of Casa Terracotta is open source. Casa Terracotta is a place that assembles and brings together like-minded artists and enthusiasts to continually develop the house in a way keeping the process of teaching and learning active, thereby keeping the house relevant to the current times always.

Casa Terracota

Address: Villa de Leyva, Boyaca, Colombia

Hours: 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Phone: +57 316 3565273

Website: Casa Terracota

10. An oasis like none other

Los Pozos Azules meaning “The Blue Wells” are a sequence of five remarkable turquoise green artificial lakes that contrast with the scorched environs of the desert sand of Candelaria. Likewise, the blue wells are enclosed by the pine forest and acacias that are not just supporters of the climate and the soil but give the area a characteristic of only the species of trees that support the characteristics of the climate and the soil, making the area an oasis.

Pozos Azules

Address: Pozos Azules, Villa de Leyva, Colombia

Phone: +57 321 4203406

Website: Villa de Levya (in Spanish)

To be in one of the most charming places in Colombia

The city returns to its peaceful, pastoral village on weekdays, a time when you can really experience Villa de Leyva, one of the prettiest places in Colombia.