The Dominican Convent of El Santo Ecce Homo, built in 1620 on the road between Villa de Leyva and El Fósil, is one of the finest colonial religious buildings in Boyacá. Its church, cloister, and garden have survived largely intact, and the whitewashed walls and sandstone columns give it an austere, impressive character. But the most remarkable thing about it is under your feet.
The stone floor of the church is embedded with petrified corals, ammonites, and marine fossils from the Cretaceous sea that once covered this plateau. The builders simply used whatever stone was available; they didn't know what they were including. The result is that a 17th-century colonial church contains a natural history exhibit that predates the building by 120 million years. A resident guide explains both the religious history and the geological curiosity — worth asking about when you arrive.