3 Days In Villa De Leyva Itinerary: What To Expect

Heading to Colombia but not sure where to go? We made a 3-day stop in Villa de Leyva on a whim. We were told it was a charming location, but having never heard of the place, we were curious to see how it would be.

It was somewhere we had heard many good things about from the locals in El Cocuy – a scenic town high in the mountains of Colombia, which we had just come from, so we were looking forward to our visit.

Spending 3 days in Villa de Leyva was, hands down, one of the nicest experiences we’ve had in Colombia. It’s also full of marine fossils! That said, Colombia as a whole is also a fantastic country and well worth a visit if you love outdoor adventure. The landscape is breathtaking.

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Three days in Villa De Leyva in Colombia. It’s one of the prettiest towns north of Bogota; discover why we loved it so much!

In this post, I’m sharing our experience of spending 3 days in Villa de Leyva and providing an itinerary for you to use. I’m also covering topics including:

• I will share reasons for visiting.
• Where to explore and how much it should cost.
• I’ve also mentioned a few of our favourite places to eat so you have some great ideas for your trip!

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Is Villa de Leyva worth visiting?

We heard that Villa de Leyva was a beautiful town full of colonial buildings, sweeping mountain views and some prehistoric dinosaur bones, not to mention a picturesque old town and square. It’s also said to be one of the prettiest towns in Colombia! 

It didn’t disappoint. Villa de Leyva ticked all the boxes and is certainly worth a visit! It’s somewhere I would recommend to any traveller who is interested in history, colonial charm, and beautiful scenery.

It’s perfect for families and couples! Another great place to visit with more colonial charm is Cartagena, on the north Caribbean Coast.

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First impressions

The first impressions were great. We arrived at the Villa de Leyva bus terminal after a quick stop in Tunja (not somewhere we personally recommend visiting) to change buses. The terminal is just on the edge of the old town where we were staying. 

We had no problems finding our hotel, which was luckily only a short walk from the terminal. We walked straight into the old town, recognisable by the cobblestone streets and beautiful wooden framed buildings lining narrow roads.

Within 5 minutes, we were checked in at Casa Naturhola – it’s so nice when things just go smoothly! 

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Where to stay in Villa de Leyva?

During our 3 days in Villa de Leyva, we stayed at Casa Naturhola, and it was lovely. It had a courtyard with a few tables and a beautiful pink and purple flowering vine wrapping around the bannisters.

Our room, although basic, had a large, comfortable bed and was super clean! The location was perfect, just inside the old town but a couple of blocks away from the main streets, which meant it was quiet. 

The price was fantastic, too. We were able to get a double room with a private bathroom for 80,000 Colombian Pesos (CP) – £15.00/$18.00. I would definitely recommend this place! 

⭐ Pro tip >> If you can, try and stay in the old town as it’s very pretty, it’s slightly more expensive, but the area outside the old town isn’t that nice. 

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Reasons for spending 3 days in Villa de Leyva

Due to the size of Villa de Leyva, it’s quite small, we decided that 3 days was enough time to spend there and in truth, it was. Since we were not doing all the hiking as we had just come from El Cocuy, where we did a massive 11-hour hike to the glaciers, we were fine with missing the ones in Villa de Leyva.

For us, 3 days was enough time to see all the major sites in Villa de Leyva.

However, if you are planning on doing some hikes as well as seeing the sites then 4-days could be a better time frame. This will give you a little more time to organise trips and not feel rushed.

Jack and I love slow travel and hate feeling rushed. So, just be mindful if you plan on doing more activities than what we listed below.

⭐ Pro tip >> Villa de Leyva gets really busy on the weekends as people usually visit Bogota for weekend trips. If you want to avoid the crowds, plan a visit during the week.

What is Villa de Leyva known for?

There are tons of activities and sites to visit for everyone while spending 3 days in Villa de Leyva. As we walked around, we saw multiple signs for extreme sports activities such as paragliding, rafting and quad biking.

There are also a lot of museums to visit in the town centre and on the outskirts of Villa de Leyva, (although their information is mostly only in Spanish). 

We didn’t do all the popular activities available such as a visit to the popular Pozos Azules – Blue Wells, there are red ones too (as we’d just seen the lakes in El Cocuy). Another seemingly interesting thing to do was to visit a terracotta house museum.

The old town itself is definitely worth a day to explore. There are lots of ammonite fossils to be found in the foundations of houses, little gardens full of beautiful flowers and old colourful buildings with quaint balconies. 

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Day 1 Itinerary: The Main Attraction

One of the main attractions is a huge Kronosaurus skeleton, which remains in its original location after being found in 1977.  While the area is becoming well known for its vineyards and wine-tasting tours, which can be visited just outside the town, the Fossil Museum was the highlight of our trip! 

Interesting Fact: Did you know it’s possible to drink water in Villa de Leyva? Well, it is; it comes from the mountains and is safe to drink!

Palaeontology & Fossil Museum  

This was definitely a deciding factor for visiting Villa de Leyva! The area has a rich archaeological presence and is particularly abundant in marine fossils from the Cretaceous period, having been underwater some hundred million years ago.

About half an hour outside the town, there is a palaeontology museum and The Fossil Museum. They are opposite each other within walking distance and are both worth a visit.

Although very similar, the fossil museum holds the Kronosaurus skeleton, while the palaeontology museum has a large collection of fossils and good, easy-to-read information. 

⭐ Pro tip >> It’s worth noting that at the time of writing, only half of the information in the fossil museum was in English. We also thought the fossil museum was overpriced; however, it holds the Kronosauras skeleton, which is a must-see!

Getting to the museums 

There are two ways to reach the fossil museum:

By Bus: buses leave from the main bus terminal and pass the museum hourly. At the terminal, there are many people who will be able to direct you to the correct bus if you say ‘fossil museum’. (It was very easy as the terminal is quite small).

By Taxi: another option is to catch a taxi. We found the taxis to be rather affordable in Colombia, so to save time (as we had just missed a bus), we caught a taxi to the museums. You can catch these from the bus terminal too! 

Costs: transport & museums (2022)

All prices below are indicative only and subject to change. Be sure to check before you travel.

Conversion Rate: 10,000 CP = £1.87/$2.25

• Palaeontology Museum – 15,000 CP / £2.88
• The fossil museum – 20,000 CP / £3.84
• Taxi – 12,000 CP / £2.30
• Bus back – 3,000 CP / £0.58

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Day 2 Itinerary: Vineyards & Wine Tasting

The Tour

We also visited a vineyard about 8km on the outskirts of the town during our 3 days in Villa de Leyva. Umana Dajud is a relatively small and new vineyard being only 15 years old.

The area is high in the Colombian mountains, which provides excellent conditions to grow the vines; the clay soil gives body and intensity to the wines.

We chose the introductory package, which included a vineyard tour, the plant area and a glass of wine paired with cheeses.

The Tasting

During the wine tasting, our host went through the different pairings, explaining the flavours while we filled out the first few pages of a small booklet we were given. There are other package options too.

⭐ Pro tip >>I had to translate everything for Jack as the tour and tasting was in Spanish. With some minor confusion along the way, we managed by the end. If you don’t speak Spanish, this will not be a worthwhile experience. 

However, for us, it was a fun few hours and worth the visit. The vineyard and plant area was small and so it didn’t take long to be shown around. There was a short video also explaining the process, but again, this was in Spanish.

The restaurant is mostly outside with little shelter so if it’s raining do not visit otherwise it’s set in a charming valley surrounded by mountains.

⭐ Pro tip >> There is another vineyard which is larger and more established and might offer tours in English Ain Karim .

Costs: Transport & Package

All prices below are indicative only and subject to change. Be sure to check before you travel.

Conversion Rate: 10,000 CP = £1.87/$2.25

• Introductory package – 57,000 per adult/45,000 per minor 45-minute guided tour.
• Taxi – 25,000 CP (one way)

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Day 3 Itinerary: Exploring the Old Town 

During our 3 days in Villa de Leyva, we spent a lot of time wandering around the old town and exploring the little side streets, plazas, churches and gardens. The place was buzzing with life and had a great vibe. 

There are countless shops selling souvenirs and local handmade products, lots of accessories such as jewellery and bags, art and clothes. Even though most places are selling similar products, it’s still fun to browse; this is a good place to buy a poncho! 

There are a few museums in the old town which we walked around, although the information was in Spanish. Casa Museo Antonio Nariño was the former house of independence figure Antonio Nariño and is now a quaint museum. 

We also visited the Museo del Carmen, which is a religious art museum. It was free, and we wandered in. If you’re interested in religious art, it’s great, although I don’t think it’s free every day, only Wednesdays; they have a leaflet in English explaining the art.

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Places To Eat & Drink In Villa De Leyva

We spend a lot of time eating and love trying weird and wonderful dishes. While we were in Colombia, we became empanada lovers and really enjoyed their traditional dishes, which generally consist of a soup and a plate of rice, plantains, meat, salad and beans served with a natural lemonade/juice.

For On-The-Go

The smaller convenience shops/cafes are great for buying coffee and empanadas on the go. These are the places we tend to grab breakfast – it’s easy, quick and cheap! 

For Traditional Meals

During the day we headed to the restaurants around the old town in search of a more substantial meal. This brought us to a few note-worthy places such as Tierra de Fuego.

Tierra de Fuego serves homemade dishes (they do actually have a great breakfast menu too) where you can try some traditional recipes. 

For Rooftop/Alfresco

Look up to spot the rooftop bars, of which there are plenty. It’s easier to find them in the evening as they are lit with fairy lights. Most of the restaurants around the plaza also have seating outside their restaurant.

For Empanadas

There’s a fantastic, freshly fried empanada place, Empanadas Tipica De Valle, which you have to try. 

For The Novelty

Another interesting place was the Museo de Chocolate shop, which was totally unexpected! It had a restaurant and outdoor seating but the shop front sells a selection of hand-made chocolates. The place is popular and has a large menu (not all things chocolate!) but they do have a signature chocolate beer and traditional chocolate cake. 

We tried both. The beer was good to start, although it became sickly towards the end, I wasn’t actually able to finish it, while the cake was nice but a little dry. I think this place is best visited at the weekend when the cakes are made fresh – not end of the week as we did!

Even so, the place is worth visiting if only to get a few snaps of the interior which was lined with flowers and fairy lights. It’s a bit of a novelty and a bit of fun, but keep in mind it isn’t a budget-friendly place!

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Last Impressions Of Our 3 Days In Villa De Leyva 

We found our 3 days in Villa de Leyva to be full of relaxed vibes and welcoming locals – it’s a friendly town full of character. It’s set up for tourism, especially inside the old town and gets busiest during the weekends – it is a place many locals will visit.

I have nothing but good things to say about the town. It is small, so far us, a few days was enough. If you plan on doing more hikes and outdoor sports (which I wish we had now done) then you might look to spend around 5 days there.

The fossils were exceptional. We really weren’t expecting to see so many, especially just walking around the town. It’s fun and interesting and a great place to go as a family.

It’s easy to get money out there, too, as there are plenty of ATMs; however, you will be able to pay with a card in most places. Transportation from Bogota and, in fact, the surrounding towns are great, with buses leaving daily.

⭐ Pro tip >>There are lots of dogs running around, maybe strays or maybe not. They all looked well fed and happy nevertheless but be mindful of them!

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Villa de Leyva Map

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Resources For Colombia

Is it your first time visiting Colombia? We’ve written lots of useful posts to help you plan your trip. You can check them all out on our Colombia Page here, but below are some of our most popular articles:

• One of the most famous landmarks in Colombia is the Salt Cathedral; discover why.
• If you’re heading to Bogota, check out the best restaurants to visit.
• Read this post to find out the best time to visit Colombia.
• Colombia is a big city filled with famous landmarks; these are the best!
• Discover what it was like to sail from Colombia to Panama.
• Talking about beautiful towns, read this post for the prettiest towns in Alsace.
• Another great location to spend three days in is Paris, France!

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In Summary3-Days In Villa De Leyva

Should you spend 3 days in Villa de Leyva? Certainly! It was one of those places we’d never heard of, but by listening to local people and their recommendations, we ended up somewhere fantastic. We enjoyed every second of our time there and think it should be added to your Colombia itinerary, too!

Taking advice from locals is actually a great tip to find some wonderful places off-the-beaten-track. Remember, the whole point of travelling is to explore, discover and live! Make sure to read my travelling tips on how to make the most of your trip, too.