Somondoco

Somondoco is a town and municipality in the Colombian Department of Boyacá. This little village and larger municipal area are located in the Valle de Tenza. The Valle de Tenza is the ancient route connecting the Sabanas of Cundinaboyacense and the Llanos. The area is dotted with many such little towns all located at approximately the same altitude (1500-1700 meters). Somondoco is a very old center of population extending back into prehistory. The reason for the development of this village by the Muiscas Indians was the availability of emeralds from the mountain. While most towns and cities in Colombia have founders, Somondoco does not.

Today Somondoco is a pleasant little village with about 500 residents. There are more than 15,000 residents in the Municipal area also called Somondoco. The form of government is an elected mayor (Alcalde) and council. The nearest larger town is Guateque which is about 30 minutes away by car. There are frequent taxis. There are several "microempresa" producing handicrafts and collectables. There are two excellent and well-known restaurants which offer good and oversized meals at reasonable prices.