Fodor's Expert Review Desierto de la Candelaria

The Desierto de la Candelaria, 7 km (4 miles) east of Villa de Leyva, is covered with marine fossils left behind when the ancient sea that once covered the area receded. The most impressive is El Fósil, a 30-foot skeleton of a kronosaurus housed in a small museum. This ancient ancestor of the dolphin swam the seas in the Mesozoic era, long before the Andes pushed their way out of the ocean. In the middle of the Desierto de la Candelaria is El Infiernillo (literally "little hell"), a field of phallic statues dedicated to long-lost fertility rites. The best way to find these sights is by bicycle or on horseback; you can find horses and guides in a field three blocks north of the northwest corner of the Plaza Mayor. Several companies offer tours in air-conditioned vans and do a complete circuit of all the sights, and some itineraries even include the nearby winery.