Villa de Leyva

Main plaza of Villa de Leyva

Villa de Leyva is a typical colonial village established a few hundred years ago by the early Spanish settlers. It is located some three hours drive from Bogotá. The climate is good and it has a quiet atmosphere. We went there for a couple of days rest and relaxation. Villa de Leyva has the largest cobble-stoned plaza in Colombia.

Typical street in Villa de Leyva

Nearly all the houses in Villa de Leyva have the balcony on the second floor and many of the balconies have flower boxes and geraniums do very well. It is hard walking on the cobble-stones. You have to watch where you plant your foot! The cobble-stones are also bad on the springs and shock absorbers on vehicles.

Inner courtyard of house in Villa de Leyva

Standing stones of the Muisca Indians

In recent years a lot of archeological finds have been made of the Muisca Indians, a subgroup of the Chibcha Indians. These standing stones related to the worship of the sun along with burial grounds have been unearthed in recent years.

The fossil

This fossil was unearthed by campesinos (country farmers) in 1977 just a short distance from Villa de Leyva, and is simply known as The Fossil. It is a plesiosaurios and one of only two in the world. The other is in Australia. A plesiosaurios in a predatory marine reptile much like a crocodile. This one is about 7 metres long and is in the same position as where it was found. Nothing has been moved, but a leg and part of the tail was lost. All sorts of fossils, mainly shells and mollusks can be found in the area. This is some 8,000 or more feet above sea level and further evidence of the flood in Noah´s day.