Colombia / Mongüí

Mongüí: Whitewashed colonial village in Boyacá

2-3 days, from Bogotá

Mongüí is a beautiful colonial village in the mountains of Boyacá, known since the 1930s for its tradition of hand-stitching leather footballs — including some used at the World Cup in Uruguay. Well worth the trip is an excursion into the Páramo de Oceta and a hike past the mystical Laguna Negra, through fields of stunning lupines and frailejones (giant Espeletia plants).