Colombia (Lonely Planet, 5th Edition) - Jens Porup [82]
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Convento del Santo Ecce Homo
Founded by the Dominican fathers in 1620, the convent (admission COP$2500; 9am-5pm) is a large stone-and-adobe construction with a lovely courtyard. The floors are paved with stones quarried in the region, so they contain ammonites and fossils, including petrified corn and flowers. There are also fossils in the base of a statue in the chapel.
The chapel boasts a magnificent gilded main retable with a small image of Ecce Homo and the original wooden ceiling. Look out for the drawing of Christ in the west cloister – from different angles it appears that the eyes open and close.
Part of the convent has been turned into an ethnography museum, with displays of agricultural tools and traditional dress worn by the Muiscas and the convent members.
The convent is 13km from Villa de Leyva. The morning bus to Santa Sofía will drop you off from where it’s a 15-minute walk to the convent.
A return taxi trip (for up to four people) from Villa de Leyva to El Fósil, El Infiernito and Ecce Homo will cost about COP$35,000, including waiting time allowing for visiting the three sights.
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SANTUARIO DE IGUAQUE
High above the surrounding valley and shrouded in mist is a pristine wilderness that Muiscas consider to be the birthplace of mankind. According to Muisca legend, the beautiful goddess Bachué emerged from Laguna de Iguaque with a baby boy in her arms. When the boy became an adult they married, bore children and populated the earth. In old age, the pair transformed into serpents and dove back into the sacred lake.
Today, this Muisca Garden of Eden is a 67.5-sq-km national park called Santuario de Flora y Fauna de Iguaque (admission Colombians/foreigners COP$8000/25,000). There are eight small mountain lakes in the northern reserve including Laguna de Iguaque, all sitting at an altitude of between 3550m and 3700m. This unique páramo (high-mountain plains), neotropical ecosystem contains hundreds of species of flora and fauna but is most noted for the frailejón, a shrub typical of the highlands.
It can get pretty cold here, with temperatures ranging between 4°C and 13°C. It’s also very wet, receiving an average of 1648mm of rain per year. The best months to visit are January, February, July and August. Come prepared.
The visitors center (dm/campsite per person COP$18,000/5000) has a restaurant and offers simple accommodations in a grubby-looking dorm, or you can pitch a tent outside. Lodging reservations are required and can be made at Bogotá’s Parques Nacionales Naturales de Colombia office Click here.
To get to the park from Villa de Leyva, take the Arcabuco-bound bus (departs 6am, 7am, 8am and 10am and returns 1pm, 2pm and 4pm) and tell the driver to drop you off at Casa de Piedra (also known as Los Naranjos) at Km12. From here, walk up the rough road to the visitors center (3km). The hike from the visitors center to Laguna de Iguaque takes about three hours. A leisurely return trip takes five to six hours, or longer if you plan to visit some of the other lakes.
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RÁQUIRA
8 / pop 1600 / elev 2150m
Brightly painted facades, a jumble of craft shops and stacks of freshly fired mud and clay pots make a welcoming sight along the main street of this one-horse town. Ráquira, 25km southwest of Villa de Leyva, is the pottery capital of Colombia where you’ll find everything from ceramic bowls, jars and plates to toys and Christmas decorations. There are many workshops in and around the village where you can watch pottery being made. There are also dozens of craft shops around the main square, all selling pretty much the same stuff including pottery, hammocks, baskets, bags, ponchos, jewelry and woodcarvings. Ráquira is a pleasant place to spend an afternoon shopping, but unless you’re really into handicrafts, you’ll probably get bored very quickly.
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Sleeping & Eating
If you must stay overnight, there are a few simple hotels in town.