Colombia: Bogota > Villa de Leyva > Barichara > Chichamocha Canyon > Bucaramanga

Jan 2026 |

If you are looking for a great introduction to riding in Colombia, this route is highly recommended. After shipping my bike from Panama to Bogota (read more), I did some research online about rides from Bogota and learned about these highly recommended stops.

Ride 1: Bogotá to Villa de Leyva (VDL)

Villa de Leyva is a famous colonial town, about 4 hours north of Bogota. After the expected traffic getting out of Bogota (not that bad, actually) I was soon into the Andes foothills, on decent roads. After turning off the main highway, the final hour or so to VDL is a rural road with much drier topography.

VDL is a major tourist destination and has all the accoutrements: good food, bars, shopping, spectacular setting, and nice old-town architecture. The main highlight is the giant town square. I only stayed one night -- but could have stayed longer (and did return for 1 night weeks later).

Ride: 170 km / 4 hours

Stay: Hotel del Paz / $25? / ***

R2: Villa de Leyva to Barichara

From VDL, the first hour of riding was through some nice ranchland, then back onto a highway with many smoke-belching trucks. The last 30 mins are on a twisty rural road. Overall, a nice ride. Basrichara is another famous colonial town, and the setting is awesome, high above a deep canyon. The condition of the town is superb. I stayed in an old Hacienda building, and it was spectacular, quiet, peaceful, with a full kitchen. There was only 1 other guest, and we barely crossed paths. Though I intended to stay 1 night, I was there for 3.

Ride: 180 km / 5 hours

Stay: Hospedaje Don Juan / $25? / ****

Short video of time in Barichara : TikTok | Instagram

R3: Barichara to Chichamocha Canyon to Bucaramanga

This ride is exceptional. From Barichara, it's about a 1-hour ride to Chichamocha. On Google Maps, it was not exactly clear what you can see from the road while riding north. But riding along, you come around a corner and blammo, there's the stunning scene of is the spectacular scene. After the first section of amazing views, the road has a big section of switchbacks down to the river. After that awesome canyon ride, the road forks off into another amazing, tighter canyon for another stunning section of road. The last 30 minutes of the ride is a major highway into Bucaramanga. I stayed 1 night, it seemed like a nice place, but not a major tourist destination.

Ride: 121 km / 4 hours

Stay: Ayenda Castile Real 1521 / $25? / **