Villa de Leyva was founded in 1572 and has barely changed since. At 2,140 metres, on a dry plateau in the Boyacá highlands, the town is a grid of whitewashed houses with red roofs, set around one of the largest cobbled plazas in the Americas, a great open square of rounded stones with a simple stone fountain in the middle and a church at one end. On a clear day, with the sun on the white walls and the mountains behind, the effect is almost theatrical.
The town was named for Andrés Díaz Venero de Leyva, the first president of the Royal Audience of New Granada, and it served as a retreat for colonial officials and later for independence-era families. Colombia has protected it as a national monument since the 1950s, which is why the streets are cobbled, wires are discreet and new building is strictly controlled. Nearby, the landscape tells older stories. The dry hills were once seabed, and fossils of marine reptiles, including a huge Kronosaurus, have been found in the area, while El Infiernito, a site of standing stones, was used by the Muisca people to observe the sun.
For riders, the road to Villa de Leyva climbs from the main highway through dry, scrubby hills with views over green valleys, a fun and flowing route with gentle curves and mixed surface quality. The cobbles in town are rough and slippery after rain, and the old streets are narrow, so go slowly, park and walk. The climate is mild and dry compared with much of the Colombian Andes, with sunny days and cool nights, and the best time to visit is between December and March or July and August.
Fuel is available in town, and larger towns like Tunja, about an hour away, have more services. The streets around the plaza are lined with cafés, bakeries and restaurants offering local dishes, from stews to arepas and fresh juices. Weekends bring crowds of visitors from Bogotá, so a weekday is calmer. Take time to walk the lanes at dusk, when the light turns gold and the town looks as though it were painted.