Tunja
Introduction
Tunja sits on the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes, in the highland region known as the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, roughly 130 km northeast of Bogotá. As the capital of Boyacá department, it is also an important educational centre, home to several well-known universities.
Long before the Spanish conquest, an indigenous settlement called Hunza stood here, seat of the hoa Quemuenchatocha, until the conquistadors took it on August 20, 1537. The Spanish city was founded by captain Gonzalo Suárez Rendón on August 6, 1539, exactly one year after Santafé de Bogotá. Tunja preserves the most remaining Muisca architecture, including the Hunzahúa Well, the Goranchacha Temple and the Cojines del Zaque.
Getting there
Buses arrive at the Nueva Terminal de Transporte in the east of the city. From the main plaza you can reach it by minibus (ask for "Terminal") or by taxi. Be aware that Google Maps may still point you to the old bus terminal, which is closed.
- From Bogotá: about 2 hr 30 min. Buses leave from the terminal, but catching one at Portal del Norte can be faster and more convenient.
- From Cocuy National Park: roughly 9 hr. Paz del Rio runs three services a day, including a night bus, and booking ahead is advised; Libertadores also operates a line.
- From San Gil: about 5 hr with Copetran.
- From Sogamoso: around 1 hr 30 min.
- From Villa de Leyva: about 1 hr for the 39 km trip.
- To Medellín: Omega runs a service leaving in the afternoon, and Gacela runs one at 5 pm. Call the terminal or the companies directly and cross-check what you are told, since some agents give unreliable information.
Getting around
Tunja has no rail, metro or tram network, so getting around means road transport, minibuses, taxis and walking. The historic centre is compact and the main sights cluster downtown, including El Cid, El Virrey, Teatro Boyacá and Cinema Boyacá, so walking is often the simplest way to move between sights, shops and restaurants. Bear in mind that the city centre sits at high altitude, so take it easy until you are acclimatised, and that streets follow a naming system based on calle, carrera and avenue designations worth getting familiar with before you set out.
- Minibuses: the workhorse of local transport, with low fares paid on board. They go pretty much everywhere, making them a cheap way to cover longer stretches between the centre and outlying areas. They also serve the bus terminal: from the main plaza, ask for "Terminal".
- Taxis: plentiful and convenient for short hops, with a minimum fare and most trips within the city staying close to it. You can flag one down or call a local taxi number to order one, and a taxi is a straightforward alternative to the minibus for reaching the bus terminal.
- Arriving by road: the Nueva Terminal de Transporte sits in the east of the city and is reachable from the main plaza by minibus or taxi. Note that online maps have historically shown the old, closed bus terminal as the main result for "Terminal de Transporte", so make sure you are heading to the current one.
Tunja is regarded as a very safe city, so getting around on foot or by taxi is generally comfortable. For longer regional trips it works well as a jumping-off point for destinations such as Villa de Leyva, Paipa and the Sierra Nevada del Cocuy. When booking intercity buses to farther destinations, it is worth calling the terminal or the bus companies directly and cross-checking information, since some agents may provide inaccurate details.
Where to stay
You will find dozens of places to sleep in the area between the bus terminal and Plaza Bolívar, with further options somewhat beyond. The greatest concentration sits within easy walking distance of the plaza, so you can base yourself centrally and reach the historic core on foot.
- Hosteria San Carlos — an old colonial house one block northwest of Plaza de Bolívar, a bit run down, with no breakfast.
- Hotel Hunza y Centro de Convenciones — a big establishment with a spa and a restaurant.
- Hotel Posada de San Agustín — a cozy place with free breakfast.
Food & drink
For traditional Colombian cooking at low prices, head to Piqueteadeoro La Novena on Carrera 9 at Calle 22, where you can get cheap local plates and fruit salad. El Maizal, just off the northeast corner of the plaza, serves what may be the cheapest breakfast in town — hot chocolate and a roll with cheese — along with set lunch and dinner. For Italian, La Buona Vita on Carrera 9 offers handmade pastas. North of Plaza de Bolívar, Cowfish / Fiamma Napoletana covers burgers, sushi, pizza and homemade pasta, with vegetarian options in each category, and is very popular with Tunja residents.
Nightlife closes at 1:30AM, and Sundays are rather dead. Bruder Pub on Carrera 9 is a microbrewery and pub with good beer and good food at very affordable prices. Berlin, on the fifth floor at Carrera 10 and Calle 21A, is a cocktail bar with a rooftop terrace and a nice view over the city. Hops & Barley, on Avenida Norte, is a brew pub pouring an IPA, stout and other craft favourites — take a buseta marked Muiscas or UTPC and get off at "La Olimpica", about a kilometre past the old train station. For something quieter, Pussini is a cosy cafe on the Plaza de Bolívar.
What to see and do
Tunja rewards you with one of Colombia's densest concentrations of colonial architecture, and much of it clusters around Bolívar Plaza, where you can absorb the colonial feeling of the city and find the Catedral Basílica Metropolitana Santiago de Tunja, the grand dame among the city's many churches, fusing Isabelline, Renaissance and neoclassical styles. From the plaza you can fan out to the Iglesia de San Ignacio, a Jesuit church noted for its polychrome statue of Jesus and home to the International Festival of Culture, and to the Capilla Museo Santa Clara La Real, thought to have been the first convent in the principality of New Granada and heavily decorated inside. Other churches worth seeking out include the Iglesia de Santo Domingo, with Isabelline architecture and wood-and-plaster bas-reliefs across its nave, the Iglesia de San Francisco, built in a Colonial-Classicist Baroque style, the Iglesia de las Nieves, the Iglesia de Santa Bárbara, the Parroquia San Laureano, where independence fighters assassinated in 1816 were buried, and the Santuario El Topo, site of a reported apparition. You can also visit the Casa del Fundador Gonzalo Suárez Rendón, said to be the only remaining house of a city founder in Latin America and now an art and history museum, the neoclassical Tower Palace, which houses canvases of Colombian departmental governors, and the Monasterio de San Agustín, a cloister that also served as a jail and bank. For something older still, head to Pinzón Park, built on the site of the Muisca city of Hunza and holding a statue of the general it is named after beside the San Agustín Cloister, or to the Hunzahúa Well on the UPTC campus, an archaeological site of the pre-Columbian Hunza people with steles. About 20 km southwest on Route 55, the Puente de Boyacá marks the site of a historic battle and decisive revolutionary victory for the independence of New Granada, with related monuments and obelisks nearby. Back in the city, the old train station on Avenida Norte has fallen into disrepair, though it looks as if work may be underway to restore rail service.When to go
Tunja sits at almost 3000 m, which gives it a subtropical highland climate: temperatures vary little through the year, so what changes most from month to month is the rain rather than the thermometer. The distinct dry season runs from December to February, bringing the clearest, driest conditions of the year. Because the temperature stays much the same as at other times, the difference you notice during this window is mainly in the rainfall.
Outside the December to February dry season, expect more rain, though temperatures remain little changed. Days are generally cool at this altitude, so layers are useful whatever the season you choose.
Three days in Tunja
Day one: Start in the centre of Tunja, the highland capital of Boyacá on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes. Begin with the colonial street grid laid out under Spanish rule, where the plaza and the surrounding blocks recall Gonzalo Suárez Rendón and the founding of the city on the site of the Muisca settlement of Hunza, home of the zaque Quemuenchatocha. Work your way through the historic core on foot, then head out to the Muisca sites on the edges of the city: the Hunzahúa Well and the Goranchacha Temple. The Cojines del Zaque are another pre-Hispanic marker worth reaching before the afternoon light goes. Tunja sits high in the Eastern Ranges, so the air is cool and the weather can turn cold and wet without much warning; carry a layer and expect rain at almost any time of year.
Day two: Use Tunja as your base for the wider altiplano. Buses run from the Nueva Terminal de Transporte, and local services connect the city with the surrounding towns, so you can shape a day around the villages of Boyacá without moving your bags. Check schedules at the terminal rather than relying on memory, and use Google Maps to orient yourself once you are in the centre. If you would rather stay in the city, spend the day on the colonial churches and convents of the historic centre, then walk the streets around the plaza in the evening. The altitude is noticeable, so pace yourself and drink water.
Day three: Take a longer run out of the city, or head onward if Tunja is one stop on a bigger route. From Bogotá you can reach Tunja via the Portal Norte, and from Tunja you can continue toward San Gil with Copetran, toward Sogamoso, toward Villa de Leyva, toward Paz de Río, or on to Medellín. Buses also connect the region with Cocuy National Park and with the Libertadores route. If you are returning to Bogotá, the run across the Altiplano Cundiboyacense is straightforward, and Tunja makes a natural first or last stop in Boyacá.