A Hike in Iguaque National Park, Villa de Leyva, Colombia

Iguaque National Park (Santuario de Fauna y Flora Iguaque) is a protected natural reserve in the Colombian Andes, located in the department of Boyacá, near the town of Villa de Leyva. Managed by Colombia’s national parks agency (Parques Nacionales Naturales), the park is best known for its high-altitude ecosystems, particularly páramo—a unique, sponge-like biome crucial for water regulation in the region. A central feature of the park is Lake Iguaque, considered sacred by the Muisca people, who believed it was the birthplace of humanity through the goddess Bachué.

During our weeklong stay in Villa de Leyva, Lake Iguaque was the obvious first choice for a day hike. But we quickly realized it would be far more complicated than a casual outing. Not only did it come with a stack of expenses—entrance fee, mandatory guide, required insurance, plus taxis totaling around €50 per person—but it also required advance reservation and finding a guide ourselves in some way that wasn’t at all clear.

If you’re set on hiking to Lake Iguaque, you can find more information on the park’s official website. As for us, we gave up on the idea and opted for another nearby route instead. Judging by photos of the lake, our chosen hike may not have been quite as impressive—but it was still wonderfully scenic and completely free. Below, you’ll find a full report of that hike, including all the relevant details in case you’d like to replicate it.

Mountain ridge and native vegetation in a remote part of Iguaque National Park, Boyacá, Colombia — Looking across the mountains from a remote part of Iguaque National Park

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The route we took is called Camino de Herradura (Mule Trail). You can get the GPX file here. It begins next to a small pool known as Pozo Negro, near the Paleontological Museum, about 2 km northeast of the town square (📍trailhead). Since it’s so close, we walked there from our cozy, wallet-friendly accommodation.

An info board stood at the trailhead, which—among other things, like driving motorbikes or lighting fires—forbade entering the trail on foot. A little hesitantly, we decided to ignore that part and follow the path anyway. Our lingering reluctance quickly faded when we ran into another group of local hikers already on the trail. Aside from two more hikers we met later and a villager on a donkey, they were the only people we encountered during the entire trip.

Trailhead sign beside a stream at the entrance to Camino de Herradura in Iguaque National Park, Boyacá, Colombia — The trailhead and the entry prohibition sign

For a short while, the trail ran through thick vegetation by the stream before emerging onto an open slope dotted with fragrant pines. Higher up, the trees thinned out and gave way to low shrubs and bushes, leaving the terrain fully exposed. From here, the views opened up dramatically, overlooking Villa de Leyva below, the surrounding hamlets, and a wide sweep of rolling hills and distant mountains.

Clear pool beside the Camino de Herradura trail in Iguaque National Park, Boyacá, Colombia — A nice little pool near the beginning of the trail

The ascent was steady but gentle; the path smooth and obvious. It took us 1.5 hours to gain roughly 600 meters to a cluster of eucalypti that marked the ridge and to face the sun that had risen behind. We bid farewell to the view and continued onto the bucolic plateau named Vida Honduras that was secluded behind the ridge.

Panoramic view of Villa de Leyva and the surrounding valley from the Camino de Herradura trail in Iguaque National Park, Boyacá, Colombia — The last glimpse of Villa de Leyva and the broad valley

Small wooden huts were scattered across the plateau, thin plumes of smoke curling from their chimneys—clear signs of life, though no one was in sight. Horses and cows grazed lazily in the open fields, seemingly indifferent to our presence. In the distance, mist drifted slowly over the surrounding peaks, slipping in and out of view and lending the whole scene a subdued, pastoral calm. Amid it all, we ate our packed lunch in the shade of a tree before beginning our descent down the other side.

Open grasslands of the Vida Honduras plateau in Iguaque National Park, Boyacá, Colombia — Vida Honduras plateau

Tree beside the Camino de Herradura trail on the Vida Honduras plateau, Iguaque National Park, Boyacá, Colombia — Lunch tree

From the plateau, a lovely, smooth path led down through grass into the gorge, winding gently amid patches of colorful wildflowers. The descent was quiet and unhurried, the landscape feeling increasingly secluded as we lost altitude. The stillness was broken only by the barking of shepherd dogs, clearly displeased by our presence but keeping their distance as we passed through.

Hiker on the Camino de Herradura trail with the Iguaque massif in the background, Iguaque National Park, Boyacá, Colombia — Heading north, facing the highest massif of Iguaque

Black-eyed Susan vine (Thunbergia alata) growing in Iguaque National Park, Boyacá, Colombia — Black-eyed Susan vine in the thickening woodlands

As we went deeper into the gorge, the path pushed through thick, wet grasses, the ground spongy underfoot and water eventually seeping into our shoes. The trail became increasingly overgrown, more suggested than clearly defined, and progress slowed accordingly. Along the way, we encountered several stone fences and stretches of barbed wire, obstacles we either had to climb over or crawl under, depending on what looked least awkward at the time.

Stream flowing over rocks in Iguaque National Park, Boyacá, Colombia with grass and vibrant red flowers in the foreground — By the gurgling stream

The final stretch of the trail was the roughest of all, heavily overgrown and barely traceable, forcing us to push through dense bushes skirting steep cliffs. Any sense of a proper path disappeared altogether near the end. What followed was a sharp descent, involving a bit of light scrambling and an easy but careful climb down, which eventually delivered us into the ravine of the Río Cane.

Rocky waterfall in the Río Cane gorge, Iguaque National Park, Boyacá, Colombia — Above a waterfall

Hiker standing on a steep rocky slope above the Río Cane gorge in Iguaque National Park, Boyacá, Colombia — Descending the steepest part of the route

A little later, after crossing a rushing stream on a narrow pipe bridge, we finished our hike in the hamlet of Sábana Alta—or so we thought. The plan was to call a taxi from there, but despite being just 8 km from Villa de Leyva, no driver was willing to come. So we started walking, covering about half the distance on foot before a kind local family finally responded to our hitchhiking gestures.

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