Barichara is the exactly the type of Spanish colonial town of which filmmakers dream.
Cobbled streets, whitewashed walls, terracotta roofs, it has it all! It is arguably one of the prettiest small towns in the Boyaca region, if not all Colombia. Not a great deal going on here so I will mostly let the pictures tell the story. Apparently many Colombian period dramas are filmed here.
We were here staying in Tinto Hostel for a few days. We had our own outdoor kitchen and were looking forward to shopping at the local market and cooking our own food. Unfortunately was market was pretty much closed , so we trawled the local shops to cobble together our meals. Nice to not eat in restaurants for a change!
The greeting by the hostal owner wasn’t all that we would have hoped for. Rather than a Hola! or Buenos Dias, he read us a list of rules. Mainly “don’t bring in alcohol as I sell it here” and “don’t take any hallucinogenic drugs” presumably non- hallucinogenic drugs were OK???
Barichara is built on the side of a mountain valley and some of its streets are steep, very steep!
In many ways it reminds me of the small fishing villages near where I was born in Cornwall, England except of course, that it is nowhere near the sea and empanadas have replaced Cornish pasties!
The buildings are all very well preserved, mostly white with terracotta roofs and brightly coloured doors. Apparently many are owned as weekend retreats for wealthy Bogatanos.
On our penultimate day we decided to walk the “Camino Real” to the next village along. The valley. First we had to walk up the steep hill to the top of the ridge above the village and down the very steep path on the other side.
Stunning scenery all along the way. For most of it we were accompanied by a dog who had followed us all the way from Barichara (he would later join us on the bus back!!)
If Barichara was sleepy, Guane was positively comatose! Given the heat, it was unsurprising really. It must have been 35c by the time we arrived shortly after midday. Knowing what we know now, we would have set off much earlier in the morning. Really felt for the people we saw from the bus on the way back who were just setting off from Barichara.
The centre of the town is the obligatory square containing the Parque Principal. Not as lively as some places we have been but pleasant nonetheless.
Accidental Nomads 
I swear we have some of the same pictures! Quite the sleepy, picturesque village. And that would have been us that you felt sorry for — we set off way too late for the trail and refer to it these days as the death march. Perhaps because we were so miserable, but we werent wowed by the scenery on the walk. Glad you enjoyed it!
“Death march” LOL! It was pretty intense!
Crellston! Just now getting around to reading your Colombia blog (and New Zealand – where we’ll be in MarApr). We too had the nicest dog walk with us all the way on the Camino Real! and that was probably 5 years ago. We were a little nervous at first, as you read so many warnings about stray dogs. Avoided petting him. But we grew to love him. So sorry we never took his pic. Did you? That’s not a dog in your picture is it? A goat? We loved this walk in January, weather wasn’t too hot on our day. Lived Barichara too, just charming.
No pic of the dog I am afraid glover and that is indeed a goat! Loved our time in NZ An are considering a return there for what is becoming a regular couple,of months in a camper in their winter!