Situated in the middle of the Colombian mountains, you’ll find Villa de Leyva. A few hours north of Bogotá, this quiet cobblestone town is famous for its artisan products and handmade gifts.
Villa de Leyva was my first-day trip that I took from Tunja. I went on a weekday after wrapping up classes early in the morning. From Tunja, you can take a 1hr bus to Villa de Leyva from the new terminal. One-way tickets cost roughly 11000 COP or $3 USD and they are a straight shot there with no transfers.
To get back to Tunja, you’ll need to buy a ticket from the ticket office right inside Villa de Leyva after they drop you off. Remember, the buses stop running after 9pm so ask the driver or ticket clerk when the last bus is!
Don’t get stranded. Stranded is bad. Very bad.
Things to Do During Your Day Trip to Villa de Leyva
1) Buy souvenirs/gifts
Villa de Leyva is a city known for their unique artisan crafts. Alongside the cobblestone streets, you’ll find tons of small business stalls. These vendors sell anything from glass to premium custom leather goods.
If gift-giving is one of your love languages, you will lose hours here during your day trip to Villa de Leyva.
Real leather products are one of Colombia’s specialties. The first gift I ever gave Nik was a high-quality handmade wallet from Ox Mountain, a vendor that only handcrafts leather gifts. Ox Mountain makes bags and wallets stitched by hand.
Emeralds are a huge export in Colombia. Villa de Leyva offers multiple handmade jewelers where you can find authentic Emerald jewelry.
For the book nerd in your life, there’s a bookstore as well that sells used books. Don’t make the mistake of thinking a ‘librería’ is a library.
Librería- bookstore
Biblioteca-library
The bookstore clerk was quite shocked when I asked him if I could buy the bookstore books.
2) Explore the town, or go on an adventure through the Colombian countryside
Villa de Leyva has lots of adventure tours for the adrenaline junkie. Many tour companies will offer transportation outside the town to enjoy the adventure park. The adventure park offers ATV tours and zip lines.
I didn’t have time during my day trip to Villa de Leyva, but everyone that I spoke to that went on once absolutely loved it! So if you’re looking to spice up your day trip to Villa de Leyva and tap into your adventurous side, you’ll certainly have the opportunity to.
For those of you who don’t like nature activities (and aren’t willing to be persuaded), I’d suggest just wandering around the old town and seeing where you end up. One of my favorite things about Colombia is how beautiful the simple things are. Anytime you’re bored, just go for a walk. You won’t regret it.
3) Explore the deep history of Boyaca, Colombia during your day trip to Villa de Leyva
Villa de Leyva is located deep in a valley where aquatic dinosaurs used to exist. Villa de Leyva has multiple dinosaur museums including ‘el museo paleontológico’ or the ‘paleontology museum’. Behind this museum, you’ll also find a diverse botanical garden that shows all of Colombia’s native plants.
The botanical garden was one of the most beautiful things that I saw during my summer in Colombia. I would highly recommend this mini-excursion to any travelers taking a day trip to Villa de Leyva. Even those of you that claim to not be big nature people will love it, I promise you.
4) Enjoy some Colombian food at one of the most beautiful restaurants in Villa de Leyva
Villa de Leyva is full of upscale restaurants such as The Chocolate Factory known for its chocolate beer and variety of gourmet truffles. Don’t forget to make a stop at La Galleta Café for a delicious milhoja and cup of tinto. If you find yourself obsessed with milhojas during your time in Colombia like I did, be sure to check out my post about my quest to find the best one in the region.
Before leaving, grab an authentic Colombian churro, and no I’m not talking about the crispy thin churro from Mexico. Colombian churros are fried and filled with cheese and bocadillo (a jelly made from guava), consider it like a yummy warm-filled cheese and jelly breadstick.
All in all, one of the best things you can do in Tunja (or any part of Boyaca) is go on a day trip to Villa de Leyva. It’s a wonderful, artsy little town situated in middle of the Colombian countryside. Sure, it’s a little touristy, but for good reason. It’s a must visit on your trip to the country.
