Jaji

Jají was rebuilt in the 1960s as part of a state programme that restored several Andean villages to a uniform colonial appearance, and the result is a plaza enclosed by white houses with red-tiled roofs, wooden balconies and blue and green doors, with a church on one side. It is unashamedly a made image rather than a survival, and it works: the village is a standard excursion from Mérida, with craft shops and cafes under the arcades.

What you actually see

• The plaza - white arcaded houses with tiled roofs around a central square.
• The church - the village church closing one side of the plaza.
• The craft shops - workshops and stalls under the arcades.
• The mountain setting - the village at about eighteen hundred metres in the Andes.

When to go

December to April is driest and clearest. Weekends bring visitors from Merida. Afternoon cloud is common in the wet months.

Honest expectations

The village is a 1960s restoration rather than an authentic survival and reads as staged to some visitors. It is small and an hour or two covers it. Shops are geared entirely to day trippers.

Nearby

Merida is east, and Mucuchies is northeast.