Guayatá - The town of the curd arepa

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In the previous post, we saw how the community radio from Sutatenza helped eradicate illiteracy amongst the peasant community. While we still have to explore Sutatenza and beyond, let us move a bit on the other side of the valley to a largely unknown town that rose to fame when it won the Guinness award for the world's largest flower petal carpet in 2014.


The Guinness Plaque of Guayatá 


Welcome to Guayatá - The town of the curd arepa.


View of Guayatá from Guateque 


Guayatá lies about 45 minutes away from Guateque and the road is mostly paved unlike the road to Tenza. The first time I heard about Guayatá was while having coffee in Guateque when I saw that the coffee they sold was cultivated in Guyatá. 


Súnuba river marks the official boundary between Guateque and Guayatá 


Guayatá means the domain of a lady cacique in the Chibcha language. It most likely derived from Súnuba, the lady Cacica. 


As we walk through the main plaza, we come across monuments celebrating the hard working Guayatunas in various forms. 


Monument to the Guayatuna farmer


This monument celebrates the hardworking farmer who works in the farm harvesting coffee beans and corn while the lady farmer grinds this corn to prepare the famed Arepa Guyatuna. 


Arepas are traditional food made of corn in the Andes region and it comes with different ingredients in different regions of Colombia. Guyatá is known for its traditional arepa that is made by mixing curd and corn flour. Then it is placed on flat stones called lajas over coal fire. Guyatunás are so proud of this tradition that there is a monument in the plaza celebrating this tasty food.


Monument of the Guyatuna Arepa


Moving a bit away from the plaza towards the mountains, we reach the view point that is called “Mirador de la Virgen Inmaculada”. This hill offers brilliant views of the urban area with Guateque visible on clear days. Fortunately I was in the town on a clear day.


Viewpoint towards the urban zone and Guateque 


By this time, the sun is strong which makes it hot to walk and explore. In the main plaza, right near the police station, there is a beautiful coffee place called Café Fonzaque. They offer excellent coffee grown at their own farm and is an excellent place to stop by for a coffee and also to carry back some local coffee.


Lovely little coffee shop - Café Fonzaque 


We still have to explore the church and the town hall, as well as the open-air museum that celebrates the culture of this region. We will do so as we explore this beautiful town in another chapter.

Location: Guayatá, Boyaca, Colombia

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