Price
- US$759.00
All our prices are per person in US Dollars and based on double accommodation
Destinations
- Villa de Leyva
- Salt Cathedral of Zipaquira
- Villa de Leyva
- Raquira
What’s Included
- Transfer out to the airport.
- 2 nights accommodation at chosen hotel
- All activities described in the itinerary
- All entrances described in the itinerary
- Meals as described in the itinerary
- English guides
- A percentage of your booking will go to Rio Urbano
- International or domestic flights
- Taxes and tips
- Personal expenses
- Meals not mentioned in the itinerary
- Optional Activities
- Casa de los Fundadores Hotel
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This tour gives you an opportunity to visit one of Colombia’s top colonial destinations: Villa de Leyva. In addition to this you’ll have time to explore the fascinating architecture at Zipaquira’s Salt Cathedral.
Day 1. Bogota- Zipaquira – Villa de Leyva
Departure towards Villa de Leyva. On the way we will visit the salt mines of Zipaquira, from where the monumental Salt Cathedral of Zipaquira was excavated. This unique structure is almost 400ft deep and it occupies an area of around 8000m², with four sections, each one 300ft long and 42ft wide. It presents 12, 30ft high impressive salt columns that support the structure. In the first tract of the underground journey, you will find the XIV Stations of the Via Cruxis, each designed by a local artist. Subsequently, a 175 meter long ramp descending to the last 13 meters towards the balconies on the cameras and the church choir. The final tract leads to the center of the Cathedral where we find the three monumental cameras and the 16m tall cross. We continue on our way to Villa De Leyva. Accommodation: Casa de los Fundadores, Meals: B.
Day 2. Villa de Leyva. Half day city tour
The visit begins through the Ricaurte Square, also known as San Agustin Square and continues to the house of Antonio Nariño, who was a journalist, politician, and militant. He played an important role in the independence of the country. The visit continues through the Main Square. Covering over 14000m², it is the biggest square in Colombia. There you will see the notorious Cathedral, and the facade of what used to be the house of Luis Alberto Acuña, a painter, sculptor, and Colombian historian who transformed it into a museum. The tour ends with a visit to the church of El Carmen and its surrounding park. Rest of the day is free to get lost in any of Villa de Leyva’s enchanted cobble stone streets or to join any of the optional activities available. Accommodation: Casa de los Fundadores, Meals: B.
Day 3. Villa de Leyva – Raquira – Bogota
After breakfast we start heading back to Bogota. On the way we cross the Candelaria Desert and Convento: the first Agustinian monastery in America, founded in 1604. In the first floor of the convent there is a small museum displaying a mixture of antiques and canvases dating back to 1600.
Leaving the monastery behind we make a short stop in Raquira. A colorful town, which in Chibcha means “the town of pots”, that is known as the handicrafts center of Colombia, and has also been named one of the prettiest towns in Boyaca thanks to the unique decorations of its many facades. After lunch we continue our journey back to Bogota. Meals: B.