Quindío Department

Department of Quindío Departamento del Quindío
Department
UTC-05
ISO 3166 code	CO-QUI
Municipalities	12
HDI (2019)	0.784[3] high · 5th of 33
Website	www.quindio.gov.co

Quindío (Spanish pronunciation:

.

History

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1973	322,815	—
1985	392,208	+21.5%
1993	495,212	+26.3%
2005	534,552	+7.9%
2018	539,904	+1.0%
Source:[4]

Before the Spanish invasion the entire area was inhabited by the peoples of the

.

The first settlement to be founded in the area was

.

In 1905, the old Department of Antioquia was partitioned into two, giving rise to the new

, was annexed to Caldas department.

Also, see list of governors of Quindío Department.

Municipalities

In order of population:

• Armenia, capital city. Named after the Caucasus republic of Armenia.
• Calarcá. Named after Cacique (Chief) Calarca of the Pijao people.^[5]
• La Tebaida. Named after the Thebaid region of ancient Egypt
  .
• Circasia. Named after the Caucasus region of Circassia.
• Montenegro. Named after the Balkan republic of Montenegro.
• Quimbaya civilization
  .
• Salento. Named after the Salento region in Italy.
• Córdoba. Named after the Andalusian city of Córdoba, Spain.
• Pijao
  federation.
• Génova. Named after the Italian city of Genoa.
• Buenavista. Named after the Spanish city of Buenavista de Valdavia.
• Filandia. Named from the Latin words "filia" (daughter) and "Andia" (Andes), thus "daughter of the Andes" (the northernmost municipality of the department).

Geography

Most of its surface is occupied for the western face of the Cordillera Central. Highest mountain: (Nevado del Quindío) 5,150 m (16,896 ft) high. The lowest area is the valley of La Vieja River, 1,100 m (3,609 ft) high.

This department consists entirely of mountain landscapes covered in tropical rainforest and Guadua bamboo forests. The ground is enriched with ancient volcanic eruptions, raising its fertility. There are also many rivers and streams, including the Quindío River which rises in the Cocora Valley.

The weather varies widely, having two rainy seasons (April and November) separated by two dry seasons. The annual precipitation is around 2,500 mm (98 in) and comes from the humidity of winds from the Pacific Ocean being cooled as they rise over the Andes. The average temperature is between 24 °C (75 °F) in the La Vieja river valley and 16 °C (61 °F) in Salento.

Quindío wax palm tree

With law 61 of 1985, the Colombian Congress adopted the Quindío wax palm tree, Ceroxylon quindiuense, a local endangered species adapted to high altitudes, as the National Tree. As ratified on September 16, 1985, by the then president of Colombia, Belisario Betancur, the law states: "The species commonly known as the Quindío wax palm tree, scientific name Ceroxylon quindiuense, is declared the national tree and symbol of our fatherland. The national government is empowered to buy as much land as needed to create wildlife sanctuaries with the purpose of preserving this national symbol and its natural environment. It is forbidden to cut down the Quindío wax palm tree. The punishment for doing so shall be a fine and a term in jail"."

The Quindío wax palm tree was nearly driven to extinction by the extraction of the resinous substance that it exudes. Furthermore, its leaves were widely used for the celebration of Holy Week processions, especially that of Palm Sunday.

Economy

Quindío's economy is based mainly in the harvest of

are also cultivated, mostly for sale in local markets.

Tourism

• Quimbaya museum
• Colombian National Coffee Park
• PANACA park
• Cocora Valley
• El Mariposario (Butterfly vivarium
  )
• National Bamboo and Guadua Investigation Center
• Peñas Blancas
• Nevado del Quindío

Culture

Gastronomy

Some of the typical food and drinks are:

• Salentune Patacón, which is made with
  plantain, smashed in a thin layer, fried and covered with grounded cheese and pineapple
  sauce
• Quindian arepa filled with shredded chicken and pieces of pig chicharrón
• Cocora, which is a baked trout
• Maduro, which is a broiled plantain filled with cheese and Bocadillo (thick guava jam)
• Roasted gurre
• Guatin
  stew
• Coffee wine (obtained from fermentation of coffee berries) with flavor similar to
  coffee liqueur
• Coffee
  arequipe
• Corn chicha fermented in a large pottery recipient containing a horseshoe to enhance the flavor
• Carajillo, a typical cocktail made of one part of hot coffee, one part of sugarcane aguardiente and cinnamon sticks

Festivals and celebrations

Quindío department is the main exponent of traditional Cultura Cafetera (coffee culture) in the country. There are several events all around the year that attracts a large number of visitors to this region. With the purpose of preserving this cultural expression, the regional government promotes the declaration of Patrimony of Humanity by the UNESCO.

Among other events:

• The National Coffee Party is the main event of the department. It is celebrated each year since 1960 in Calarcá, the last days of June. The event includes the national beauty contest of coffee.
• The international fair of handcrafts, each may in Armenia.
• The day of St. Isidro (July-all the municipalities).
• The National festival of kites (August- La Tebaida).
• The anniversary of Armenia (October), with the Yipao or jeep parade.
• The
  candlelight festival
  of Quimbaya (December) .
• The Bullfighting season of La Macarena (January- Armenia).

The Quimbayan Christmas Panther

The Quimbayan Christmas Panther is an indigenous & sacred animal recognized by indigenous and

of Quindío where many residents claim full or partial descent from Quimbaya native peoples of the region.(the Quimbayan christmas panther is blue with yellow tail).

Fauna and Flora

Odontoglossum
cruentum

Quindío is the natural habitat of 520 species of birds and about 60 species of mammals. Many of them are endemisms. The area has the largest number of Heliconia species in the world and a large numbers of species of orchids, mainly of the genera Cattleya, Odontoglossum, Miltonia, Phragmipedium and Peristeria. The natural forests typical of the area, such as the páramo, and the cloud forest, are decreasing progressively due to agricultural activities. As a result, many of the endemic species are threatened, endangered or critically endangered.^{[citation needed]} Some of them are:

• Yellow-eared parrot
• Andean guan
• Colombian weasel
• Epicrionops columbianus caecilian
• Mano de Oso tree.

References

External links

• Biblioteca Luis Ángel Arango/Quindío