Day 8 - Guatavita Lake and Villa de Leyva

February 29, 2020

We left Bogota early but headed into very heavy traffic and it took ages to get out of the city. It is Saturday and everyone wants to get out of Bogota. We are heading to Villa de Leyva, via Guatavita Lake.

Our first stop today was at Lake Guatavita. It took about 3 hours due to the traffic in Bogota and to the insanely small narrow country lanes leading to the lake that our 52 seater bus had to negotiate along with cars, lorries and minibuses coming the other way. Colombia really is not geared up to mass tourism yet but they are working on it.

Lake Guatavita is a small circular lake in a scenic, forest lined crater and it was a sacred site of the Muisca indigenous tribe. When the Spanish invaded they thought that they had found El Dorado – the city of gold and forced entry by blowing up one side of the mountain. This reduced the water level in the lake to what it is today.

To get to the crater above the lake we had a long, steep climb up steps and paths in hot sunshine which was exhausting and we were all getting very breathless due to the altitude as it is situated at 3200 m above sea level. We were even accompanied by two paramedics carrying a stretcher and wheelchair in case of problems - apparently this is common practise. However we all made it, including an 83 year old lady who just took her time.

The lake was very pretty and we spent some time enjoying the scenery.

Lake Guatavita

Scenery around Lake Guatavita

Lake Guatavita

Scenery around Lake Guatavita

Lake Guatavita

We then drove to a restaurant on a nearby reservoir where we had lunch. Sisga reservoir was created in the 80’s and supplies Bogota with its water. It is also used for water sports. There were some Llamas in a field next to the reservoir but these animals are not native to Colombia but have been introduced from nearby Peru.

Sisga Reservoir

Llamas at Sisga Reservoir

After lunch we drove on to the colonial town of Villa de Leyva. On the way we past the monument to the Colombian independence which is situated at Puente de Boyaca. This is the place where the battle between the army of Simon Bolivar and the Spanish took place and the Spanish were defeated and which paved the way for independence of many Latin American countries. We didn’t stop but could see the monument from the coach.

Villa de Leyva is the second most well preserved colonial town in Colombia (the first being one that is off the tourist trail and near the Venezuelan Border).

It was inhabited by the Muisca tribe at the time of the Spanish invasion. Located away from major trade routes in a high altitude valley of semi-desert terrain, and with no mineral deposits nearby to exploit, the town has undergone little development in the last 400 years. As a consequence, it is one of the few towns in Colombia to have preserved much of its original colonial style and architecture. The streets and large central plaza are still paved with cobblestones, and many buildings date from the sixteenth century.

We arrived at 4.30 and were to meet our tour guide at 5 for a walking tour. We checked into our hotel which is very old, very unusual and very atmospheric.

However at almost exactly 5.00 as we met our guide, the heavens opened and soon the streets were rivers. He gave up with the tour and took us to a pub instead where we tried some of the local wine. This is the only area in Colombia that produces wine and it is not exported so it was quite an honour to sample it. The rain eventually stopped and we continued our tour around some of the main streets. It is a very picturesque town with cobbled streets and some beautifully buildings, many of which lead into courtyards with shops and restaurants hidden away.