Chiquinquirá is a city in the department of Boyacá, Colombia. Located just an hour from Villa de Leyva and three hours from Bogotá, it’s an important place for religious pilgrims going to see a famous painting called the Virgin of Chiquinquirá (Virgen de Chiquinquirá). There isn’t much else to see if you aren’t interested in churches.
The Iguaque Flora and Fauna Sanctuary (Santuario de Flora y Fauna Iguaque) is a great place to enjoy nature near Villa de Leyva.
On November 13, 1985, the people of Armero, a prosperous town in Colombia, were busy going about their daily lives. At 9:09pm, Nevado del Ruiz, a volcano located 48km away, erupted. Just over two hours later, deadly lahars (mud flows) wiped out Armero and killed almost 25,000 people. In an instant, lives were changed forever.
The El Castillo Museum (Museo El Castillo) is a mansion in Medellín’s El Poblado district. It’s now a museum.
Not too far outside of Bogotá is Tequendama Falls (Salto del Tequendama). It’s a popular tourist attraction and an important part of Muisca mythology.
Once you finish admiring the beautiful plaza, you can explore the rest of Monguí, one of Colombia’s Heritage Towns (Pueblos Patrimonio). The town isn’t very big so it doesn’t take very long to walk through the streets.
One of the fun things about Monguí are the handmade footballs that the town is famous for producing. A good place to learn about this industry is at the Football Museum (Museo del Balón). It’s located on the town plaza of this Colombian Heritage Town (Pueblo Patrimonio) and admission is free.