Colombia - The Rough Guide to South America on a Budget - page 502

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the entrance to the rocks, a fifteen-minute
walk from the town centre. Try Dealturas
(day climb COP$125,000; T 315 826
2051, W www.dealturas.com).
To get to Suesca from Bogotá, take the
TransMilenio to the northern terminus
at Portal del Norte and then jump on one
of the regular buses marked “Alianza” or
“Ayacucho” (40min).

is not the region's most exciting city,
though its historic centre is one of the
foremost preserves of the country's
colonial heritage, and is worth a quick
stop on the way to Villa de Leyva.

WHAT TO SEE AND DO
The mansions around the Plaza de
Bolívar are particularly splendid. The
Casa del Fundador Suárez Rendón
(Cra 9 No. 19-68; Wed-Sun 8am-noon
& 2-6pm; COP$2000), home of the
town's founder, was built in the Moorish
Mudéjar style in 1540 and features
interesting scenes on its ceiling, while the
Casa de Don Juan de Vargas (C 20 No.
8-52; Tues-Fri 9am-noon & 2-5pm,
Sat & Sun 10am-4pm; COP$2000) also
stands out for its eighteenth-century
ceiling frescoes. The motifs are a curious
mishmash of imagery - from Greek gods
to exotic animals and coats of arms,
combined in unusual settings.
The town's churches are no less
interesting, with Iglesia de Santo Domingo
(Cra 11 No. 19-55) known for its Rosario
Chapel, richly decorated with religious
paintings and magnificent gilded
woodcarving by Gregorio Vásquez de Arce
y Ceballos. Iglesia y Convento de Santa
Clara de Real (Cra 7 No. 19-58; daily
8am-noon & 2-6pm; COP$3000) was
the first convent in Nueva Granada, and
combines indigenous and Catholic imagery
in its elaborate decor; note the sun on the
ceiling - the main god of the Muisca.
About 16km south of Tunja on
the main road back to Bogotá is
a reconstructed colonial-era bridge,
El Puente de Boyacá , commemorating
the Battle of Boyacá of August 7, 1819,
which cleared the way for Bolívar and his
freedom fighters to march triumphantly
into Bogotá. Any Bogotá-Tunja bus will
drop you off/pick you up (provided
there's room).
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
By bus The bus terminal is on Av Oriental, several blocks
uphill from Plaza de Bolívar. Buses north to Bucaramanga
(hourly; 6-7hr), the main jumping-off point for the
Caribbean coast, travel via San Gil (4hr 30min). Small buses
- some direct, some not - to Villa de Leyva leave every 15min
(45min), while Bogotá departures are every 15min (3hr).

ACCOMMODATION
El Vivac Hostal Autopista Norte T 311 480 5034, W www
.elvivachostal.com. Fifteen minutes on from the rocks, this is
a cosy place to stay and recharge, with a communal kitchen,
fireplace, go od mat tresses and camping pitches. Ten ts
COP$20,000 , dorms COP$25,000 , doubles COP$65,000

North of Bogotá
Away from Bogotá, the smog and busy
streets give way to the bucolic
countryside of Colombia's central Andean
departments Boyacá, Cundimarca and
Santander, which mark the geographical
heart of the country. First inhabited
centuries ago by the gold-worshipping
Muisca Indians, these mountainous
highlands played a pivotal role in forging
Colombia's national identity. Tunja , one
of Colombia's oldest cities, is famous for
its architecture, while an hour further
northwest is one of Colombia's best-
preserved colonial towns, Villa de Leyva ,
its surrounding countryside studded with
archeological treasures.
Tiny Barichara , just a steep 22km from
the burgeoning adventure centre of San
Gil , is a compact colonial beauty. Further
north again, the modern city of
Bucaramanga or the colonial town of
Girón are both decent midway points if
you're heading to Venezuela or the coast.
Follow a different road from Bogotá,
and eight hours later you arrive at the
high-altitude splendours of Parque
Nacional El Cocuy , with its glacial lakes
and snowcapped peaks.

TUNJA
Founded in 1539 on the ruins of the
ancient Muisca capital of Hunza, TUNJA