Sogamoso

Tunja is the capital city of the department of Boyaca. It has a population of just over 150,000 inhabitants of which 10% a meant to be students. The city centre is on top of a steep hill, the highest part of the city is at 2,750 metres and the lowest is at 2,400 metres.

When travelling North from Bogota you usually pass through Tunja. It is a very beautiful and old city and it is worth stopping off in Tunja for a couple of hours. It is a good way to break the journey up between Duitama, Sogamoso or San Gil. If you're travelling to Villa de Leyva you'll probably have to change in Tunja anyway.

There are many old churches to see within Tunja (see the map below for their locations). There are also lots of coffee shops (that even sell good coffee and not just tinto) and lots of restuarants gathered around the main square. It is nice just to wander through the old streets of Tunja - some of them are even pedestrianised (a revolution in Colombia).

The terminal is on the corner of Carrera 7 and Calle 17, there is a left luggage area at the terminal so you don't have to lug all of your bags around with you. The left luggage is in a room near to the toilets on the main terminal floor. From the terminal walk up hill to reach Plaza Bolivar.

Tunja is covered in most guidebooks which contain history and information about all of the churches.

Plaza Bolivar, Tunja

Map of Tunja