Lower Basin of the Chicamocha River

Continuing north, it took us half a day to get to San Gil from Villa de Leyva. San Gil, is the most touristic town in the area and makes the most logical base for exploring this TWHS. This cultural landscape seems a bit more unified and organized than the one we'd been to previously with it being based on the transition/fusion from pre-hispanic Guane culture to colonial occupation in this area. Small colonial towns were built over Guane villages around the canyon and later isolation when bypassed by modern roads has led to the preservation of the towns as well as the colonial trail network (built over pre-existing trails) connecting them. 

There is a Guane museum in San Gil but otherwise found it to be rather busy for a small city. There are good connections from here heading north and south and lots of affordable food and accommodation options. From the local bus terminal there are regular buses to the smaller towns in the area that are mentioned in the TWHS description. We visited Barichara on a day trip and hiked the portion of the trail network to Guane village. Barichara is very pretty and well preserved. I saw a recent list rating it the most beautiful of Colombia's colonial towns so it is far from being an undiscovered gem, but it hasn't been overdeveloped yet either. There are beautiful views over the canyon and it's worth the visit just to sit with a few drinks at a cafe …