[2] Located away from major trade routes in a high altitude valley of semi-desert terrain, and with no mineral deposits nearby to exploit, the town has undergone little development in the last 400 years.

As a consequence, it is one of the few towns in Colombia to have preserved completely its original colonial style and architecture: the streets and large central plaza are still paved with cobblestones, and many buildings date from the sixteenth century.

As a result of its cool temperatures, dry climate, and rich soil, Villa de Leyva has established itself as a wine region, with the emergence of a number of wineries around the town in recent years.

Antonio Nariño, best known for translating The Rights of Man into Spanish and a leading advocate for Colombian independence, lived the last few years of his life and died in Villa de Leyva.

To the north-east of Villa de Leyva, the land rises to cloud-forest and includes the national park of Iguaque, and a group of seven waterfalls collectively named La Periquera, 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from the town centre.

The valley in which the town is located is rich in fossils from the Paja Formation (Cretaceous period), the most famous being a near-complete Monquirasaurus discovered in 1977 about 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Villa de Leyva.

[3] In the same formation the fossil ichthyosaurs Platypterygius sachicarum and Muiscasaurus catheti and the brachiosaur Padillasaurus leivaensis and pliosaur Brachauchenius, later reclassified as Stenorhynchosaurus, have been discovered.