What is a puente, and why does it matter to your trip?
If you are planning a trip to Colombia, there is one piece of local knowledge that will save you from arriving in a charming colonial town only to find every room taken: the puente festivo, or "holiday bridge." Colombia has one of the highest counts of public holidays in the world, and a law known as the Ley Emiliani moves many of them to the nearest Monday. The result is a steady rhythm of three-day weekends — and on those seemingly random Mondays, towns within striking distance of Bogotá fill to the brim.
Villa de Leyva is the classic case. About 3 hours and 165 km from the capital, with one of Latin America's largest cobblestone plazas, mild days and cool nights year-round, and enough to do — Casa Terracota, Pozos Azules, fossil museums, vineyards, waterfalls — to fill three days easily, it is where Bogotá goes when Bogotá gets a Monday off. Before you book anything in Colombia, check a holiday calendar. Here is the 2026 one.
The 2026 long-weekend calendar
Colombia has 18 national holidays in 2026, and 15 of them form long weekends. Most are Mondays, thanks to the Ley Emiliani.
| 2026 date | Holiday |
|---|---|
| Monday, January 12 | Epiphany (moved) |
| Monday, March 23 | Saint Joseph's Day (moved) |
| April 2 to 5 | Holy Week (Holy Thursday and Good Friday) |
| Friday, May 1 | Labor Day |
| Monday, May 18 | Ascension Day (moved) |
| Monday, June 8 | Corpus Christi (moved) |
| Monday, June 15 | Sacred Heart (moved) |
| Monday, June 29 | Saints Peter and Paul (moved) |
| Monday, July 20 | Independence Day |
| Friday, August 7 | Battle of Boyacá |
| Monday, August 17 | Assumption of Mary (moved) |
| Monday, October 12 | Columbus Day (moved) |
| Monday, November 2 | All Saints' Day (moved) |
| Monday, November 16 | Independence of Cartagena (moved) |
| Tuesday, December 8 | Immaculate Conception (midweek in 2026 — no puente) |
| Friday, December 25 | Christmas Day |
Two months stand out for what they lack: February and September have no holidays at all. They are the quietest stretches of the year in Villa de Leyva — better rates, an uncrowded plaza, and with reliable internet they make an excellent base for a remote-work stay.
Long weekends with a festival attached
Some puentes coincide with the town's biggest events, and those are the weekends when hotels routinely run past 90 percent occupancy. If one of these overlaps with your dates, book even further ahead:
- The August 17 puente — the Kite Festival, when August winds fill the sky above the plaza.
- The Saint Joseph puente in March — often when the Astronomy Festival sets up telescopes in the main square.
- The Corpus Christi puente in June — the Tomatina in Sutamarchán, a giant tomato fight in the next town over.
- A November puente — the town's film festival is usually scheduled to ride a long weekend.
Exact festival dates can shift from year to year, so confirm through the official channels of the Alcaldía (town hall) of Villa de Leyva before locking in plans.
How to plan around a puente
Book weeks ahead — or aim for the gaps. On an ordinary puente, two to four weeks of lead time is sensible; on a festival puente, more. Alternatively, flip the logic: visit midweek or on a non-holiday weekend and you will have the town almost to yourself.
Arrive Friday night or early Saturday. Leaving Bogotá mid-morning on the Saturday of a puente can stretch the 3-hour drive into considerably more. Buses run from Bogotá's Terminal Norte and Terminal Salitre for roughly COP 40,000 to 45,000 (verify current fares); our getting here guide covers the trip step by step.
Expect heavy traffic back to Bogotá on Monday afternoon. Every puente ends the same way. Leaving right after an early lunch, or staying for dinner and driving back at night, beats joining the 4 p.m. exodus.
Save the surroundings for the holiday Monday. Ráquira's pottery shops, the Santo Ecce Homo monastery, El Infiernito, or a hike in Iguaque National Park are at their best exactly when the town center is at its fullest.
Where to stay on a Colombian long weekend
On a puente, where you sleep decides whether you enjoy the crowds or become one. El Limonar is a private, solar-powered two-bedroom cottage in the countryside 5 to 10 minutes from the Plaza Mayor — close enough to walk into the buzz whenever you like, far enough that your evenings are crickets and stars rather than someone else's party. Free parking removes the single most annoying puente problem, pets are welcome, and fiber WiFi means you can stretch the trip by working remotely on the Monday. When the center is packed, coming home to a whole house of your own is the best part of the long weekend.