This small town lies quite close to Tunja, only a 45 minute drive. We took a collectivo minibus which, remarkably, set off while only half full (they usually wait intil every seat is occupied and one or two people are standing or hanging off the back). We had read that Tunja is significantly higher than Villa de Leyva so we were a bit surprised to find the journey taking us up steep hills. However, we later descended into the valley and into the very picturesque town, which was declared a national monument as long ago as 1954.

The entire city centre has been preserved including the original 'cobbled' streets (actually very large and irregular stones that were quite difficult to walk on). There has been virtually no modern building in the centre and even on the outskirts, most new houses are built in a kind of ‘colonial’ style that harmonises well with the real thing.It is a popular place for the wealthier citizens of Bogotá to spend weekends as it is only a 4 hour drive. As a result there is a wide range of upmarket hotels and the streets are full of cafes and gift shops.

We arrived on Friday and found a stream of big 4x4s arriving and making their way to hotels and second homes that continued through into Saturday. Our bijou hostel is not catering for these people and is considerably more modest. The charming house is a typical one, with small rooms surrounding the patio and at the back is a largish garden with a few exotic (to us) plants but also a lot that grow happily in Britain.

The owner, Martha, is effusively welcoming and keen to offer help, guidance, coffee and a relaxing space. From the moment we arrived we felt completely at home and as though we were actually long-lost members of the family! It is no wonder that so many people return to her hostel.

The hostel had confused us at first because it was called Hostel El Solar Camping, which we took to be a mistranslation of campesino (of the countryside). However, it does actually mean camping; during Saturday lots of young people, mainly from Bogotá, arrived and pitched their tents in the garden. They are here for the Saturday night shindig as crowds fill the main square, sitting on the steps outside the church passing around bottles. The music plays loud and upstairs in Mr Coqui’s Beer Factory there is much dancing. Not quite what you expect in a heritage setting but very enjoyable!

We had been told about a particular bar in town, which was owned by Bill Lynn, one time drummer for Elvis Presley. Bill reputedly played regularly there but sadly played his last concert in January 2006, three days before he died, so we were a bit too late to catch him in performance.

Apart from the delights of wandering around the old town, the area is also famous for having an abundance of fossils. These have been left here because about 130 million years ago most of Colombia was under the sea. You can see lots of fossils amongst the stones in the streets and within lots of the walls.

The local university has a small museum housed in a lovely old water mill just outside of the town. There is an attractive display of fossils with rather too much information (in Spanish of course) about the different periods and how fossils are formed. At least we managed to avoid having a guide talking too quickly at us!

Further out from the town there are a couple of interesting spots that we had hoped to visit on a single hike but were told that the total journey would be too great for a one day walk. With only a very basic map of the area we weren't able to make even an educated guess, there certainly was no road marked between the two places.




So we walked the few miles to the first, simply known as El Fósil (The Fossil), where the almost complete skeleton of a Kronosaurus is preserved. These were large and ferocious marine reptiles of the cretaceous period looking a bit like a fattened up crocodile. This is one of a several large fossils that have been found near here. However, the others have all been taken to museums and we’re unsure why this one has been left in situ but it is now a tourist attraction (of sorts). A building has been constructed around it and this also houses the almost obligatory display of other fossils, including a second Kronosaurus, slightly smaller and less complete.






While there, we asked again if it was possible to get to the other site of interest, an archeological park called El Infiernito (The Little Hell - we have no idea why). We were assured that it was not too far and given instructions which we only vaguely understood, but knew which direction to take. When we arrived we were quite prepared to not find it open because it was the early afternoon and indeed the sign outside said that it would be closed between 12 and 2. However, in a real first for Latin America, the gates were open and the attendant made his way down to us to take our 4000 pesos.

The first part of the site consists of two double rows of standing stones which were originally used as a kind of observatory, matching to the direction of the sun and able to identify the dates of the equinoxes. A bit like Stonehenge but not as elaborate. The stones were quite close together and although most are now broken, it is clear from the remains that they were originally quiite substantial.

Following the path we came to the area which is known as the temple of fertility. Although it was a surprise, it fairly logically is full of standing stones that are supposed to signify phalluses of different sizes and shapes. Although clearly deliberately carved, they lack the level of detail of some we have seen earlier in Peru. Although they have been placed in a generally circular pattern, many have fallen or been removed so it is not clear if there was a grand design or if you just came along and planted your willy wherever you wanted it.

The third area also surprised us because it was, rather strangely, a dolmen burial chamber. We have seen these before but in places like Northern France and Eire where they appear to be associated with a sort of Celtic culture. This structure had many of the same attributes as its European cousins, formed from massive flat stones and angled towards the rising sun etc. Although it has been known of for some time, excavation has been continuing and as recently as 2006 the remains of a child were found in a funery urn on the eastern side of the tomb.

As we made our way by a different route back towards the town we encountered the first stages of a new tourist attraction which appears to be hoping to represent life in 1900. At this stage it is a long way from being convincing and as everything is new, is not exactly a heritage site. We can only assume that it will be some sort of children's wonderland with a toy 'steam train' etc for their delight and amusement.









A more basic amusement area we met later, by the road but in the wilds of nowhere, was a rustic but illuminated boule run in someone's garden. It was accompanied by a small shack with a video karaoke machine and a large supply of beer in crates. The ground around was thickly covered with beer bottle tops, attesting to the place's popularity with local people. We stopped for a quick beer but were not invited to play.

On our route we found the landscape littered with huge boulders (no doubt some of the raw material for El Infiernito). As we got closer to town and there were more houses amongst them, it was quite strange to see people's gardens formed around these huge rocks, obviously too massive to move easily.


But even stranger was the sight of a terracotta house, seemingly formed by moulding clay into organic shapes, forming patterns and decoration and letting it dry in the sun.