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Iglesia y Convento de Santa Clara Real
richiecdisc Says: Iglesia y Convento de Santa Clara Real was meant to be quite an impressive colonial church and complex resplendent with a profusion of religious artwork from the period but was unfortunately closed when we were in town. There was no notice to the effect but it was literally...
Casa Cultural Gustavo Rojas Pinilla
richiecdisc Says: While Casa Cultural Gustavo Rojas Pinilla was not up to par with either of our other colonial casa visits, it was interesting enough and since it was free, we couldn't complain about our Spanish-only-speaking guide. Home to the famed former president of Colombia by a...
richiecdisc Says: Though quite pretty from the outside, Iglesia de San Ignacio was never open while we were in town and perhaps is no longer in service. Despite it's prominent position in town and its exterior being in great shape, I found very little about it on the Internet nor was it...
richiecdisc Says: Iglesia de San Augustin turned out to be one of our favorite sights in town perhaps not despite it no longer being a church but because it now houses a library. The quiet courtyard was at the time displaying a fine collection of fairy tale artwork which was one of the more...
richiecdisc Says: Since we had such a great experience at Casa Del Fundador Suarez Rendon we decided to check out its bookend colonial masterpiece across the square. Casa de Don Juan de Vargas did not disappoint. In fact, the home Tunja's most noted writers is every bit the 16th century...
richiecdisc Says: Sometimes you cannot judge a book by its cover and certainly churches by their exteriors. At the end of Pasaje de Vargas you pop out on rather large but simple looking Iglesia de Santo Domingo with its plain white facade. Once inside the 16th century marvel, you are...
Casa Del Fundador Suarez Rendon
richiecdisc Says: Casa Del Fundador Suarez Rendon was one of the top highlights sight-wise for us during our stay in Tunja which was surprisingly crammed with colonial marvels like this one. Its stunning exterior is perfectly captured late afternoon but do not miss its equally impressive...
richiecdisc Says: The most stunning building exterior on Plaza de Bolivar is easily Catedral Santiago de Tunja. Dating back to 1554, it is not only the town's largest but also most elaborate church. It is best captures in photos late afternoon with its west facing front.
richiecdisc Says: While Tunja's Plaza de Bolivar is no stunner it is the center of a very vibrant city, full of students going about their daily business. This is no made for tourists Disney-incarnation of a South American city as some may allude to neighboring Villa de Leyva. Though there...
Conquistador Hotel: on the square but not so flavorful
richiecdisc Says: In a quest to find fruit juice drinks to rival previous trips to South America, and not having found them, we check out a very busy fuiteria in the Conquistador Hotel. We figured with that much fruit on display and lots of people sucking them down, their jugos must be...
El Maizal: an old Tunja standby
richiecdisc Says: After finding so many great cheap places to eat on our wanderings around Tunja it was hard to succumb to using our guidebook, especially for a relatively higher priced one. But El Maizal proved to be a good choice for some very local dishes and an interesting glimpse into a...
Las Cascades: Daniel leads us to a gem
richiecdisc Says: Las Cascades was a fairly generic looking place on Pasaje de Vargas which is pretty much packed with cheap eateries. It would have very likely escaped my attention if a prospecting young Christian guy named Daniel had not brought us here as one of the cheapest places in...
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If you are traveling around Colombia by bus, it's hard to not be in Tunja at some point. It is about 3 hours and 20000 COP ($10) to Bogota to the south and 4.5 hours and 30000 COP ($15) to San Gil to the north.
Mini buses go to Villa de Leyva very regularly for 5500 COP and take about 45 scenic (read winding) minutes.
Haggling on the regular buses is recommended as prices do seem very negotiable. The terminal is at Calle 17 & Carrera 7, just on the outskirts of the old town and an easy enough walk to many budget hotels. I didn't check but my guess is the ones closer to the terminal would have been very cheap and still close enough to the city center.
Updated Sep 30, 2010
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What to buy: Tunja was also a great place for street eats and fruit. We had an ample serving of papaya for 1000 COP (50 cents), the sourish green mango with lime and chili from Mr. Mango for 2000 COP ($1) and best of all a kilo bag of ushuva, an exotic fruit from Colombia) for only 2000 COP ($1). Doreen is used to paying at least ten times as much back home so she was elated with that find! These stands change every day and we never saw the woman again. She probably came into town with bags of them and was happy to get money for something that evidently grows like weeds in certain areas of the country.
Written Sep 30, 2010
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It seems Juan Vargas loved illustrations and had a fantastic collection of books with a wide variety of mythological figures. He commissioned various painters to make a mishmash of seeming unrelated motifs and these are what now adorn the ceilings of both the Casa del Fundador Suarez Rendon and his former residence, Casa Don Juan de Vargas.
Written Sep 30, 2010
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Luggage and bags: We used our backpacks for two treks while in Colombia but even traveling around the country, they make things easier and opened more options. Walking from the bus terminal to our hotel would have been a lot harder with a suitcase in hand!
Clothing/Shoes/Weather Gear: Tunja can be a cold place so warm clothing is a must but dressing in layers will come in handy. At this elevation, if the sun comes out, it can get warm too.
Photo Equipment: A wide angle lets you bring things into the foreground of your photos to make them more interesting. In the narrow streets of Tunja, it will make it possible to get the whole building into your photos too! A zoom is great for sneaky people/food vendor shots you'd be afraid to take otherwise.
Miscellaneous: My wife was quite the trouper despite being sick park of our stay in Tunja. We even stayed an extra day so she could fully enjoy the snacking around possibilities of this great authentic Colombian town.
Written Sep 30, 2010
richiecdisc Says: Iglesia de Santa Barbara dates back to 1599 and though a bit out of the very center of town, it is well worth the walk as it is still open to the public and has a very impressive Mudejar ceiling. Photos inside are unfortunately not permitted.Carrera 11 No. 16-62
richiecdisc Says: The 16th century Iglesia de San Francisco was said to house an incredibly realistic sculpture of Christ and intricate archway but the exterior looked in a bit of disrepair and it was not open the two times we passed by it. Hopefully, it is being restored to its former glory...
richiecdisc Says: When we left the museum, we were ready to part ways with Daniel no matter how charming he was. We figured he was going to expect some kind of tip for his “services” at some point. He asked if we were hungry and we said yes so he wanted to show us his favorite restaurant....
richiecdisc Says: One of the big surprises of Tunja were its charming colonial mansions that have been turned into excellent museums. There are two right on the main square and not to be missed if in town. There are even tours done in English. We were walking across Tunja's main square our...
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Turning on the Star Power of Tunja
Seen largely as a transit hub, many travelers bypass Tunja despite it being one of Colombia's more intriguing cities. Blessed with a plethora of fine colonial architecture, a few interesting museums...
130km north of bogota;capital of boyaca province visit it when it's time enough ,even if it is partially preserved,is now losing rather quickly its colonial character.
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