Colombia Colombia’s heartland

  • Villa de Leyva
  • NEPTUNO ©
  • NEPTUNO ©
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Dotted across the River Magdalena and its surrounding mountain ranges are the sleepy colonial towns of Villa de Leyva, Honda, Barichara and Mompós.

Overview

Dissected by voluminous rivers carving valleys through rugged Andean ranges to marshy outlets to the Caribbean Sea, Colombia’s interior has always presented challenges to the traveller. River craft routes have now in many places been superseded by road and air networks, but both along the banks of the River Magdalena and along the mountain roads towards the Venezuelan border are a string of long forgotten colonial towns of great architectural beauty and a lazy lifestyle. Some of these, such as Villa de Leyva, Honda, Barichara and the river port of Mompós have become popular weekend spots.

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Holidays Colombia’s heartland

From expertly designed Private Journeys to trail-blazing Group Tours, browse our range of carefully crafted holidays.

Guatape, Colombia

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Chachalaca: Colombia’s Colonial and Coffee Culture

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Off The Beaten Track Colombia: Colonial towns to the Llanos

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Self-drive Colombia: Exploring the coffee region and beyond

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Weaverbird: Spirit of Colombia

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Where to go when - our guide to Colombia’s heartland

Cocuy Colombia

The weather in Colombia’s heartland is wide and varied

Dotted across the River Magdalena and its surrounding mountain ranges are the colonial towns of Villa de Leyva, Honda, Barichara and Mompós. While these are tranquil, sleepy towns during the week, they tend to be busier on the weekends. Villa de Leyva and Barichara remain in the 20s°C year round, with most rain falling in Apr - May and again between October - November. July is a good time to visit Villa de Leyva to catch the Virgen de Carmen celebrations, a popular religious festival with live folk music. While it can feel fairly humid and hot throughout the year, the best time to Mompós is April- June. It is best to avoid October - November as the town is prone to flooding during these months. During Semana Santa (Easter week) the quaint cobbled streets come alive with grand processions and parades.

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Meet our team

Real Latin american experts

  • Sallly
    Sally Dodge - Travel Expert

    A former Journey Latin America tour leader, Sally spent 7 years working, travelling and living throughout Latin America before returning to the UK to help people arrange their own adventures to this wonderful destination.

  • Heloise
    Heloise Buxton - Travel Expert

    Heloise started her Latin American journey as an exchange student in Santiago, Chile. With extended summer holidays this was the perfect opportunity to backpack through Bolivia, Peru, Argentina and Brazil.

  • Paul Winrow Giffin
    Paul Winrow-Giffin - Travel Expert

    After graduating in Computer Science, Paul spent seven months travelling from Colombia to Argentina and came home hooked on Latin America.

  • Juliet
    Juliet Ellwood - Travel Expert

    After graduating with a degree in Anthropology and History and having been fascinated by Latin America since childhood by the book featuring photos of Nazca, Juliet first visited the region in 2003. Since then, Juliet has visited the majority of countries in Latin America but has particularly extensive experience with Peru, a country she loves for many reasons but not least, its incredible archaeological richness and delicious food!

  • Maggie
    Maggie Wilson - Travel Expert

    Maggie visited Latin America on her first backpacking trip when she was 19. Since then, she has taken every opportunity to travel, and has managed to explore a lot of the region in subsequent trips.

  • Ben
    Ben Line - Travel Expert

    Ben fell in love with Latin America on a six month backpacking trip from Colombia to Mexico in 1995. Since then he has explored most of South America, including living in Peru for a year. He is now Head of Sales.

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