Colombia (Lonely Planet, 5th Edition) - Jens Porup [81]
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Entertainment
La Cava de Don Fernando ( 732 0073; Carrera 10 No 12-03; beers COP$2500; 2pm-2am) If you just want to drink, this small bar on the corner of the plaza has blaring music and freely flowing alcohol.
La Tasca ( 732 0877; Calle 15 No 12A-25; cover charge varies; 8pm-late Fri & Sat) The only discoteca in town, La Tasca features live music, drinking, dancing and late-night dining.
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Shopping
Check out the colorful market held every Saturday on the square three blocks southeast of Plaza Mayor. It’s best and busiest early in the morning.
Villa de Leyva has a quite a number of handicraft shops noted for fine basketry and good-quality woven items such as sweaters and ruanas (ponchos). There are some artisan shops on Plaza Mayor and more in the side streets, particularly on Carrera 9. A number of weavers have settled in town; their work is of excellent quality and their prices are reasonable. Most craft shops open only on weekends.
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Getting There & Away
The bus terminal is three blocks southwest of the Plaza Mayor, on the road to Tunja. Minibuses run between Tunja and Villa de Leyva every 15 minutes from 5am to 6pm (COP$5000, 45 minutes, 39km). There are only two direct buses daily to Bogotá (COP$14,000, four hours); your best bet is to go to Tunja and change.
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AROUND VILLA DE LEYVA
Don’t leave Villa de Leyva without exploring some of the many nearby attractions, including archeological relics, colonial monuments, petroglyphs, caves, lakes and waterfalls.
The area is completely safe. You can walk to some of the nearest sights, or go by bicycle or on horseback (Click here). You can also use local buses, go by taxi or arrange a tour with Villa de Leyva’s tour operators Click here. If you choose to go by taxi, make sure you confirm with the driver all the sights you want to see and agree on a price before setting off.
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Ostrich Farm
About 5km southwest of Villa de Leyva, in the direction of El Fósil, is a slightly incongruous Ostrich Farm ( 315 854 9406; adult/child COP$4000/3000; 9am-4:30pm Tue-Sun), home to more than 120 ostriches and a handful of llamas, horses and sheep. There’s a small shop that sells ostrich leather shoes and enormous ostrich eggs. There’s also a restaurant where you can sample ostrich meat, but it’s only open on weekends.
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El Fósil
This impressive 120-million-year-old baby kronosaurus fossil ( 311 269 4067; admission COP$5000; 8am-6pm) is the world’s most complete specimen of this prehistoric marine reptile. The fossil is 7m long; the creature was about 12m in size but the tail did not survive. The fossil remains in place exactly where it was found in 1977.
The fossil is off the road to Santa Sofia, 6km west of Villa de Leyva. You can walk there in a bit more than an hour, or take the Santa Sofia bus, which will drop you off 80m from the fossil.
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Estación Astronómica Muisca (El Infiernito)
The Muisca observatory (admission COP$3000; 9am-noon & 2-5pm Tue-Sun) dates from the early centuries AD and was used by the Muiscas to determine the seasons.
This Stonehenge-like site contains 30-odd cylindrical stone monoliths sunk vertically into the ground about 1m from each other in two parallel lines 9m apart. By measuring the length of shadows cast by the stones, the indígenas were able to identify the planting seasons.
The observatory was also a ritual site, a fact that thwarted Spanish plans to Christianize the Muiscas. So the Spanish renamed it El Infiernito (The Little Hell) and promoted its association with the devil to keep the Muisca people away.
The site is 2km north of El Fósil. There’s no public transport, but you can walk there from the fossil in 25 minutes. Bicycle,