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The small town of Silvia, nestled beautifully in the mountains, is an easy day trip from Popayán.
Introduction to Silvia
Silvia is a town surrounded by six indigenous reserves. It has a significant population Guambiano people, also known as the Misak, and is famous for the Tuesday market they run.
The town sits on land awarded to Francisco Belalcázar, son of Spanish conquistador Sebastián de Belalcázar (c. 1490-1551), on October 23, 1562. His descendants sold it to José Antonio Concha on July 31, 1581. The town was founded three kilometers away where Juan de Tuesta y Salazar, Governor of Popayán, built a military fort. It moved to its current location in 1798. The modern town was founded July 15, 1838, and the indigenous name changed to Silvia.
Personally, I would have enjoyed coming on a Tuesday to see the market, but it didn’t work out that way. In any case, our trip to Silvia was a nice getaway for a few hours.
Getting to Silvia
Buses and colectivos leave Popayán every 20 to 30 minutes and drop you off in the main plaza. The ride takes just over an hour.
Where to Eat in Silvia
Choices are fairly limited in the small town. We found a place for lunch but weren’t impressed.
El Balcón (Permanently Closed)
We ate at El Balcón on the north corner of the plaza. They serve traditional Colombian food. Our fixed menu meals were priced quite low but were somewhere between disgusting and horrible.
Parque Principal
The plaza is a pleasant open space with tall trees and plenty of spots to sit and relax. It’s lined by some shops, and restaurants, and the Silvia town hall.
Church of Our Lady of Chiquinquirá
On the southeast corner you’ll find the Church of Our Lady of Chiquinquirá (Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Chiquinquirá). It was built in the middle of the 20th century. Unfortunately, it was closed and we weren’t able to enter.
Colina de Belén
A 10-minute walk from the plaza is La Colina de Belén. It’s a small hill with a church on top. At the bottom of the hill, there’s a cobblestone path leading up to the top through a nicely manicured garden.
Once at the top, you’ll get breathtaking 360° views of the town and countryside with just about every shade of green imaginable.
Church of Bethlehem
At the top of the hill is the small picturesque Church of Bethlehem (Iglesia de Belén). It was closed when we walked up.
Lago El Chimán
Downhill from the town is a small river with a path next to it. If you follow the path to the right there’s a bridge with a road that leads to a small lake, Lago El Chimán. Locals were fishing and walking around the lake, some with horses. It wasn’t exactly clean when we visited but the backdrop is gorgeous.
Tour of Guambiano Villages
As we walked around the plaza, a man offering tours to nearby Guambiano villages stopped us and gave us a small slip of paper with the tour information. He said if we’re interested we can meet him at 2pm at the same spot. We showed up for the tour but he was nowhere in sight.
