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Boyaca Colombia beautiful land of freedom

“Good land! Good land! Land that puts end to our pain!”, that wrote the great chronicler of Indies, Juan of Castellano, in his work literary ‘Elegias', in words of Gonzalo Jimenez of Quesada when spaniards to arrive to the highland central colombian andean area (Cundinamarca and Boyaca provinces).

After so many sufferings the conquerors that had deviated for the river Opon and crossing the valleys and mountains of santander region (eastern), they overcame the river Sarabita (Suarez) and they arrived to the savanna, to more than 2 thousand 600 meters high. Today, in spite of having changed, the land continues being similar of beautiful.

Tunja was founded in 1539 by Gonzalo Sudare Rendon, in the headquarters of an important center of muisca culture and county capital from a beginning, Tunja keeps rich testimonies of its colonial splendor: In 1812 headquarters of the congress of the united counties of the New Granada, liberal expression that would be worth him to be occupied by Spanish general Pablo Morillo in 1816, was and today stands out for its active cultural life.

Tunja - Boyaca
Tunja city

The entrance

Entering throught Santander province, in Barbosa county takes the highway that it goes to National Bridge and you climbs to the highland, for an excellent highway that skirts the river Suarez.

When arriving to the immense plain all the tonalities of the green they are come in this agricultural region and cattleman of small properties, blue and gray skies loaded with rain or it thickens fog.

Saboya

By hand left appears this small town, where it stands out its church and its park. It is also known by the por la cucharita de hueso del carranguero (teaspoon of bone of the carranguero).

Not far from there is located the religious capital of Colombia.

Chiquinquira

boyaca colombia catedral To this city people will pay promises to the Virgin, in the Basilica of Our Mrs. of the Rosario, located in a side of the great main plaza. The virgin was crowned "Queen and patron saint of Colombia" in July 9, 1919.

Very close is located the Church of the Renovation, where in 1586 the miracle of the renovation of the colors of the Virgin's square was made, painted by Alonso of Narvaez, today prepared in the altar of the Basilica.

In The Renovation there is a natural spring of blessed water that people take for her houses.

They also highlight the beautiful Station of the Railroad, the Park John Paul II, the Bridge of the Raft, the park and the poet's house Julio Florez and Santa Bárbara's Church, among others.

To their inhabitants are called them "reinosos" (royalty synonym), not only to begin the New Kingdom of Granada there, but also for the "Queen of Colombia".

Tinjaca

Famous for the tagua. It is a palm whose seed in artisans' hands becomes the most beautiful ornamental objects, famous outside of Colombia too. There can find the smallest chess in the world, of 1,6 X 1,6 mm., for about 27 USD (50 thousand pesos)

Raquira

Recognized by their crafts of cooked mud, hammocks, fabrics, wooden objects and many others. The Candlemas's desert is in their surroundings. You can visit the Museum of Arts and Traditions and the Augustinian Convent Recoleto, place of cultural interest of Colombia.

Sutamar-chan

Their hung sausages of lasso (cabuyas) in the houses and ranches to beside the of the highway have fame. As their fritangas (Food combining several types of meats, baked potato or wheat round maize) that are gotten delicious in 'La fogata' (The Bonfire) and the wheat round maize loaves and cheese where the Mrs Oliva. In this town have cultivations of vines for the elaboration of wines and also of olive trees with those that it is being to manufacture oil. In their surroundings they can be beautiful rent cabins.

Sachica

It is famous to be one of the first towns where you began to represent live the Holy Week (Semana Santa) in their processions.

Of there it is continued toward one of the tourist places par excellence.

Villa of Leiva

Villa de Leyva Boyaca Colombia In this peaceful and beautiful town colombian history heroes have lived, as the precursory Antonio Nariño. Or more modern, as the Elvis Presley's drummer Bill Lynn whose epitaph says that he died in this village in January of 2006.

Many of their houses are today property of personalities of other cities. Their central plaza is one of the biggest and at this time the facades, traditionally white, have put on makeup temporarily of colors ocher for the filming of the tv drama serie El Zorro (The Fox).

It is good to see that the traveling salespersons have been organized for the visitors' comfort.

There the camping site is so in, as the careers of horses in the race track. And to few minutes is located a hatchery of ostriches, where they sell eggs and also prickles and hamburgers of ostrich meat, similar to the veal meat.

You can to visit the Restaurant Don Quijote that won gastronomy prize, El Tomate and several other typical and international restaurants. There are great quantity Accommodations bed & breakfast, hotels and stores of crafts.

There are many places to visit, as: the Museum of Colonial Art, the Convent of the Barefoot Carmelite, the Carmen's Museum, the Garden of the Proceres (Eminent persons), the fossils (this place contains big locations of dinosaurs fossils) and the houses of characters of the colombian history.

Of there goes by Tunja and the route continues.

Paipa

Boyaca Colombia It is a broadly developed tourist center, thanks to their thermal waters. it has attractions like the Sochagota lake, the Center of Conventions and the Monument to the Lanceros in the Swamp of Vargas (Important place of the colombian emancipation from Spain).

You can follow Duitama and Sogamoso, bigger cities, of great commercial movement. Of there you to strays right by hand and to arrives at the lagoon of Tota, with a spectacular view, hotels, beach and boats to go to the island. It is the place for a delicious trout.

The circuit can to take you to Firavitoba that was also declared the most beautiful town in Boyaca; Iza, a town with more cheapest hotels, spas and thermal waters; Mongui, qualified some years ago like the prettiest town in Boyaca, with their historical center, San Antonio's Chapel, the Franciscan Convent, the Basilica and the Colonial Bridge Calicanto.

The return trip

You returns to Tunja and of there you goes for a highway that skirts fertile valleys cattlemen, approaching at the end of the highland.

Arcabuco

The town is amid a beautiful valley, whipped by the wind that ends in a beautiful canyon, of leafy and fallen forest of water for the travelers' relief.

Moniquira

After getting off the savanna, you arrives beside the River Suarez, to 1650 metters over sea level. It is temperate land, with cane cultivations, guavas, oranges, bocadillos (concentrated candy of guava), collations, cheese, slices of bread and butter and spas. There you can go for a walk for the River Suarez, the Real Cascade, the Jump of the Monkeys and that of the Golondrinos and the caves of Old Town.

The Progress for the Boyaca province

Boyaca has one of the best and more extensive highways in Colombia. The highway is very safe, in its biggest paved part and the secondary roads have gravel in good condition. In the road you see security and surveillance by the colombian army.

In Boyaca people are simple, kind and they has culture of attention to the tourist. It is a place of landscapes and freedom. There was forged the Colombian independence, in the Emancipation Campaign of 1819, with the battles of the Swamp of Vargas and Bridge of Boyaca.

In this trip you don't forget to taste the boyaca cooked, the cuchuco with spine, the tiny mazamorra, sausage, bayaca round maize loaves, almojabanas, cheese, candies and collations.

Also you have with many natural and cultural attractiveness in Boyaca.

About of the natural attractiveness we find in river Teatinos, the Natural National Park the Cocuy that embraces three provinces and it has an extension of 306.000 hectares with heights that it go from the 600 to the 5230 mts over sea level, have 18 picks with perpetual snow among those that stands out Ratacua Blanco to 5330 mts, has 14 snowy storms and more than 300 lagoons of origin glacier that feed near 80 rivers, the lagoons stand out from the greens to 3990 meters, the big of the Sierra and lagunillas. The vegetation varies of agreement with the height, in the moor there are more than 250 endemic species, there they inhabit animal species extinction road like the condors, bear of glasses, deer and some paujiles types and ducks its climate is dry between January and March the temperature varies among the 23 ºC in the oriental part and the centigrade 3-grades on the 4800 meters. Also i located the Natural National Park Pisba In the moor there are several lagoons and they have been more than 17 frailejones species. (Espeletia, vegetal specie) You can camp, there are not lodgings, their climate is humid in the oriental part and I dry off in the Westerner; with dry months between December and March, the temperature average is of 15 ºC. To 2000 meters and of 5 ºC on the 3500 meters.

Sanctuary of Fauna and Flora Iguaque

Boyaca landscapes Their sharp land understands 6750 hectares with heights from 2400 to 3800 meters over the level of the sea. Among their several lagoons that of Iguaque stands out, of where the mankind was born according to the muiscas. The fauna and flora are varied; there are deer of white line, foxes, monkeys, faras, larks, colibríes and chirlomirlos, among others. They stand out the anturios, orchids, paseonarias, frailejones and chusques. The same as in Villa of Leyva and their surroundings, it is frequent to find fossil marine. Area to camp and a center of visitors, their climate is varied, arid, I fry and of moor. The less rainy months they go from January to March and of September to December the temperature average is of 13ºZ8C.

MEDIUM OF TRANSPORTS

Air:
Gustavo Rojas Pinilla Airport (Tunja)
Juan Jose Rondon Airport (Paipa)

Terrestrial:
Terminal of transports (buses - taxis)

LODGING & ACCOMODATION

PAIPA: Center of Conventions Lake Sochagota Hotel. Info +57 (7) 7850944
TUNJA: Hunza Hotel. Info +57 (8) 7424111
DUITAMA: San Lorenzo Hotel. Info +57 (8) 7638044
CHIQUINQUIRA: En Gran Hotel. Street 16 #7 TO 55 Info +57 (1) 7264393
MONIQUIRA: Center Comfaboy way to Santa Sofía. Info +57 (1) 7282310 - +57 (1) 7282214
LAGOON DE TOTA: Town's hotel
SOGAMOSO: Town's hotel
VILLA DE LEYVA: El Duruelo Hotel. Street 13 #12 -88. Info +57 (1) 7320222