Declared a national monument in 1954, Villa de Leyva's colonial architecture has been preserved in its entirety, with cobblestone roads and whitewashed buildings. The physical beauty of the surrounding countryside and mild, dry climate have long attracted outsiders. The town was founded in 1572 by colonizer Hernán Suárez de Villalobos, and early on it was mainly a retreat for military officers, clergy and the nobility.