The Andean region has a wide range of temperature zones and is where the majority of natural parks are found. It is the habitat of the condor, the national bird of Colombia.  The region is also home to many other bird species some of which are endemic to Colombia, as well as many other animal and plant species. The different ranges and altitudes have made a perfect environment for coffee and it is here where the best coffee in the world is planted and cultivated.

 

There are two trips we can take to the Andean region.  Both allow you to experience the very traditional farming life of the Andean highlands.  History is discovered every few kilometers in the quaint colonial villages, the battlefield monuments and the breathtaking terrain of these mountains. The Boyacense is typically shy but respectfully friendly often ending their phrases with “sumerced” which means “your mercy”.  

 

One road will take us to the beautiful little villages of Paipa, Tibasosa, Iza, and Mongui.  We will visit the highland lake of Tota, walk the Paramo of Mongui and bathe in the hotsprings of Paipa.  We will talk with the coal miners’ children who carve figures from the coal. We will listen to the stories of independence and of legends of a people that lived on this land long ago.

 

The other road leads to a region that is in a sense a lush desert.  We will visit the beautiful Colonial village of Villa de Leyva which boasts an important artist colony today.  Here we can experience prehistoric times seeing impressive fossil remains. Many archeological sites can be visited to learn about the indigenous peoples that were here before the colonial period was established.  We will hike the sacred mountain trail to Lake Iguaque which for the Muisca people was where life began. We will take an evening horseback ride to appreciate the magnificent clear starlit sky.

 

The people of Boyaca are farmers and artisans.  Each community boasts a special handicraft. Here you may step back hundreds of years in time.