The lagoon where mankind supposedly originated, the ancient Muisca trails and a variety of ecosystems are some of the magical attractions to be discovered at Iguaque Flora and Fauna Sanctuary, a sacred place for the Muisca culture. The information below will be very useful for your visit to Iguaque in the Colombian Andes.
Iguaque Flora and Fauna Sanctuary
This sanctuary is located on the eastern mountain range between the departments of Boyacá and Santander, in the jurisdiction of the municipalities of Sáchica, Chíquiza, Villa de Leyva and Arcabuco, covering an area of 67.5 km².
Community Interaction with Iguaque
The communities on the periphery of the Sanctuary are mostly made up of farming families dedicated to cattle ranching and agriculture.
In other cases, the main socioeconomic activity is tourism, as in the case of Villa de Leyva. Know more about Villa de Leyva in our entries The Paleontologist’s Perfect Fossil Trip in Villa de Leyva, Colombia and Discover the Natural Attractions of Villa de Leyva, Colombia.
In the rural population, especially in Chíquiza, there is a deep rootedness for the Muisca Culture, indigenous people that inhabited the Cundi-boyacense highlands. The same is their rootedness for the natural environment that the Sanctuary offers, and they continue to venerate the Iguaque Lagoon, as a sacred natural element of their Muisca Culture.
Ecosystems You Can Know in Iguaque
The sanctuary has four different ecosystems: Páramo and subpáramo, Paramo wetlands, High Andean forest and Andean forest.
Páramo and subpáramo
The lower limit of the páramo ecosystem is 3200 meters above sea level until it reaches 3800 masl. the structure of the páramo and subpáramo is very similar, mainly composed by grasslands, and the presence of Frailejones (Espeletia sp.).
Paramo wetlands
In the sanctuary you will see the following types of wetlands: lagoons, wet drains, and wet plains. These bodies provide water to the communities near the sanctuary.
High Andean forest
The Sanctuary has an anomaly that means that the differences between paramo and high Andean forest can only be clarified thanks to the plant species of each ecosystem, since there are points in the Sanctuary where they can have the same altitude.
The Sacred Lagoon
Laguna de Iguaque, at approximately 3,600 meters elevation, holds deep significance in Muisca cosmology as the birthplace of humanity. According to tradition, the goddess Bachué emerged from these waters carrying a child, and together they populated the Earth before returning to the lagoon as serpents. This cultural dimension adds profound meaning to the hike beyond its natural beauty.
The trail to the lagoon covers approximately 5.6 kilometers one way, climbing through sub-Andean forest and then open páramo to reach the lake. The páramo landscape is dominated by frailejón plants — the fuzzy, silver-leaved rosettes that characterize these high-altitude Andean grasslands. Over time, frailejones can grow several meters tall, creating an otherworldly landscape unique to the northern Andes.
Wildlife and Flora
The sanctuary protects a gradient from oak-dominated Andean forest to páramo grassland, supporting wildlife communities adapted to each zone. Spectacled bears have been documented in the upper forests, though sightings are rare. White-tailed deer, mountain coatis, and various small mammals inhabit the forest understory.
Birding along the trail produces high-altitude specialties including the Bearded Helmetcrest hummingbird — one of the world’s highest-elevation hummingbirds — alongside Andean Siskins, Mountain Tanagers, and various furnariids that forage in the dense understory vegetation.
Practical Information
Iguaque Sanctuary is located near Villa de Leyva in Boyacá, making it an excellent day hike or overnight excursion from this popular heritage town. The round-trip hike takes 6-8 hours. Altitude acclimatization is important — spend at least a day in Villa de Leyva (2,149m) before attempting the climb. The sanctuary limits daily visitors, so arrive early or book in advance during peak seasons. Combine with Monguí and the broader Andean Region for a Boyacá nature circuit.
Sara Colmenares holds a Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) in Ecology from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and a Master’s degree in Botany from the same institution. Her doctoral research focused on palm ecology in the Atlantic Forest, supported by the Rufford Foundation conservation grant.
A published researcher in the Brazilian Journal of Plant Physiology and a member of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC), Sara has presented her work at international conferences across Latin America and beyond. She was awarded the COLCIENCIAS “Virginia Gutiérrez de Pineda” fellowship, one of Colombia’s most competitive academic distinctions for young researchers.
Sara founded the Sula nature tourism brand in 2018, applying her scientific expertise to develop birding and wildlife experiences across Colombia’s six natural regions. Her fieldwork took her from the cloud forests of the Andes to the Amazon basin, the Pacific coast, and the plains of the Orinoquía. She combined deep ecological knowledge with firsthand experience to create content that is both scientifically accurate and practically useful for nature travelers.
She holds a B.Sc. in Biology from the National University of Colombia, where she also taught plant ecophysiology. She speaks Spanish, Portuguese, and English.