The Unknown Colombia - Adventures and Travels of El Indio Andino

  Monguí is not a big town. It is small. In fact the urban zone of Monguí has less than 3000 people and including the rural zone, less than 5000 people. It neither has the advantage of access like Villa de Leiva nor the popularity of Barichara that sees a ton of visitors and backpackers. Monguí on the other side sees less visitors and hence is untouched by the ‘tourist bane’ phenomenon.  Once you land up in Monguí, there are some must do activities. Let us start looking at them one by one. Why does Monguí exist?  Monguí is an important point in the ancient trade route between the Andean domains of the Sugamuxis and the plains in the east. Their trade included corn, salt, emeralds etc. Beyond Monguí is the Páramo de Ocetá and the Páramo de Pisba beyond which are the ancient plains ( Los Llanos ) that extend till modern day Venezuela. Monguí thereby is the first settlement in the Andean region. Add to that the access to Sogamoso, the capital of the Sugamuxis. The main...

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.  How to reach? 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 ...