Sogamoso Archaeological Museum

Sogamoso was Suamox, the religious centre of the northern Muisca and the seat of the Iraca, and it held the Temple of the Sun - a large circular timber structure that Spanish soldiers burned in 1537, reportedly by accident while looting it at night with torches, and which took days to burn out. The museum sits on the archaeological site where a Muisca cemetery was excavated from the 1940s, and a full-scale reconstruction of the temple was built on the grounds based on the archaeology and on colonial descriptions - it gives a sense of scale that the foundations alone cannot. The collections cover Muisca goldwork, ceramics, textiles, burials and daily life. The reconstruction has burned and been rebuilt since.

What you actually see

• A full-scale temple reconstruction - built from archaeology and descriptions.
• The site of Suamox - religious centre of the northern Muisca.
• Excavated burials and cemetery - dug from the 1940s.
• Muisca gold, ceramics and textiles - in the collections.

When to go

Year round; closed some Mondays. Two hours.

Honest expectations

The temple is a reconstruction, not original fabric. Labelling is in Spanish. The museum is university-run and hours can change. Sogamoso itself is an industrial city with limited other draws.

Nearby

Iza and Tibasosa are close; Lago de Tota is south-east.