Small town near-ish to Bogota?

Villa de Leyva or the area around like Tunja ?
Easy to reach from Bogota.

Michel

Yes Villa de Leyva and some of the towns around would be perfect. The entire area aroud Boyaca and Santander is totally fine from a security point of view. North of Santander department less so, but I doubt you'll be heading so far in such a short trip

saludos

I'd have to say Villa de Leyva and its surroundings too.

When I had to spend a week in Bogotá one time I got on a bus and went to Guaduas. Stayed at a wonderful colonial style hotel and took some nice walks around the village. It was also the home of Colombia's famous heroine Policarpa Salavarrieta so some interesting history to boot..

Villa de Leyva looks absolutely gorgeous, but pretty much everything I read about it refers to it as a "tourist town." As stunning as it may be, I'm really trying to escape the typical tourist places to see how average people live in an average town. Sorry if I didn't express that well.

There are plenty of other far less visited towns and small cities in Boyaca - you could go to some of the towns around Paipa or Sogamoso. Mongui is a lovely tiny town that is very quiet and doesn't get many travelers coming through while Iza may also be worth a look.

Otherwise perhaps head down to the Magdalena valley - like Yumbopete says and go to Guaduas, La Dorada or Ambalema.Next to no visitors down there, but it can get very hot.

Alternatively, like alex and yumbopete suggested, you could head down to the Magdalena valley. It's a pretty hot part of the country and is a stark contrast to chilly Bogota. However, the region is full of interesting history, and there are options to stay in Eco Lodges that border the Los Nevados Park.

Honda, about 4 hours from Bogota, is a pretty interesting colonial gem that's overlooked by pretty much everybody. It was once the principal port on the Magdalena, and all of the goods coming down the river from the coast, would be offloaded there before they made the climb to Bogota. It's been a while since the town was of any importance, but the area is full of great architecture that can attest the the area's former glory.

Alternatively, you could head to Ibague from Bogota. From there, you can do a back door trip onto the footsteps of the Los Nevados Pak (most people visit the park via Manizales) and Nevado del Tolima. If you like the nature/outdoors, then exploring this possibility could be an option as well.

The good thing about the Magdalena River Valley, is that most people visiting Colombia only experience these areas looking through the windows of bypassing buses. The towns don't get too busy and you'll most likely feel like the only foreigner around for miles.

@alexegerton - When are we going to grab that beer?

• Safe Travels!

Thank you so much for the recommendations! I have some research to do!

From the North station in Bogota try a bus to Guatavita, a tiny village next to a beautiful lake.

Closer to Bogota, Tabio, nothing special, but a nice main square.
Few nice places to have a good lunch, lots of places to get a postre on the square afterwards.