Monguí - Where Time Stops
Monguí is a beautiful small town located in the heartland of the historical Sugamuxi province. This town is less than an hour away from Sogamoso, the capital of Sugamuxi. Often overlooked by its more popular sibling heritage towns, Monguí is a town that represents Boyacá - people, culture and history. As I wander through the square admiring the Cosedora de balones (the football stitcher), Trabajador minero (miner) monuments, I realize these are the people that have come to represent Mongui.
A trip to Monguí is always a time travel. In this town time comes to a stand still.
The highway from the north of Bogotá takes you to the heart of the Cundiboyacense plateau region. Crossing several beautiful small towns in Cundinamarca, eventually reaching Villapinzón. This town is otherwise famous for housing the Páramo de Guacheneque, from where the Bogotá river originates. This is the last town in Cundinamarca on this route.
Crossing this town and an uneventful welcome and thank you arch marks the border between Cundinamarca and Boyacá. Here is where the real fun begins. The landscape is what I call the “50 shades of green”. The mountains are dominated by farms growing fruits, potatoes, onions and corn. Cattle grazing on the slopes of the grassland is a treat to watch.
The first town on this route in Boyacá is Ventaquemada. This town is the home to the famous Puente de Boyacá (Boyacá bridge) monument. If there is time, I would suggest that you visit this place before continuing.
Spending about an hour in this place, there are wonderful walks to the place of the banderas, the municipalities that were in existence during the time of independence of Colombia.
Then there is the Simón Bolívar monument that is over a hill. This hill overlooks some of the beautiful Boyacán landscapes. There is a good coffee place at the entrance to this monument. Driving further for a bit more time, we reach the outskirts of Tunja, the capital of Boyacá. There are tons of food options in Tunja if you have time to go inside the town.
Continuing further, crossing the town of Tuta, we reach Paipa. Paipa marks the beginning of the Tundama region. In Paipa, there are naturally occurring hot water springs. I would recommend spending a day here to enjoy the springs. On this trip however, our final destination is another town.
If there is time to spare, I suggest a detour of an hour. Crossing the sochagota lake and the hot water springs, a few kilometers away lies the Vargas Swamp Lancer’s monument (Lanceros del Pantano de Vargas). I recommend reading this post in which I have covered both these monuments in detail.
Continuing further on the road towards Duitama and beyond, there are two main routes to Sogamoso. One is through the town of Tibasosa and the other is through the town of Nobsa. Monguí is easier to access through Nobsa.
For lunch, there is a wonderful restaurant along this route called the Aranda. The menu is rich and the food is excellent. The restaurant is located in Nobsa and the setting is a treat in itself. The vegetarian options are delicious as well.
From this point, crossing the outskirts of Sogamoso, Monguí is less than an hour away. The roads get curvier as we drive up the mountains and hence exercise caution while driving.
Monguí is one of the seventeen heritage towns or pueblos patrimonios of Colombia. This town normally sees a fraction of the visitors compared to the more popular ones. There are some real good hotels to stay here and some nice restaurants as well. The walks are safe and the people are wonderful.
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