Guane travel guide

Much like Barichara, the tiny village of Guane, 9 km away by road, is a place seemingly lost in time. That the surrounding valley abounds in fossils only adds to this impression. Former capital of the pre-Columbian Guane culture, it has a beautiful plaza dominated by a church of simple but imposing design, with an interesting beamed and ornamented roof, fine wooden doors, a balcony at the west end and an elegant chapel to Santa Lucía to the left of the altar. In the plaza there is a monument, studded with fossils, dedicated to the last Guane chief, Guaneta, and several brilliant-orange acacia trees. Not much happens in Guane: you are as likely to see a donkey parked outside the local shop as a car.

There are many colonial houses and an excellent and surprisingly large paleontological and architectural museum (daily 0800-1200, 1430-1700, US$1.20) housed in the Parroquia San Isidro on the plaza. It has an enormous collection of fossils found in the local area (which is constantly being added to), as well as woven Guane textiles and a mummified woman. Ask at the local shop if it is closed. A lady will take you on an informative if rather whirlwind tour.