 Climate in the municipality of Villanueva is determined by altitude and precipitation.The municipality has an average temperature of 28°C throughout the year with two rainy seasons and two dry seasons.Prior to the arrival of the Spanish explorers in the early 16th Century the area of what is present-day Villanueva was inhabited by a Chimila tribe; the Itotos, then led by "cacique" Canopan and their settlement was called "Timiriguaco" ("great village").