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Quindío is a department of Colombia. It is in the western central region of the country, crossed by the Andes mountains. Its capital is Armenia. It is famous for quality coffee plantations, colourful architecture, and is blessed with a great climate. This department is located in a strategic area, in the center of the triangle formed by the three main cities of Colombia: Bogotá, Medellín, and Cali. Quindio is the smallest Colombian department (0.2% of the national territory) with 12 municipalties. Etnographically and culturally it belongs to the Paisa region.
The entire area was inhabited in the precolumbian period by the peoples of the Quimbaya civilization until the 10th century B.C. At the time of Spanish conquest the area was inhabited by indigenous people of Carib descent known as the Pijao tribes. The native population was gradually reduced due to slavery and armed confrontations, causing the territory to remain mostly uninhabited over the following centuries. At the present time, only a small population of nearly 2000 Amerindians remains in an indigenous reservation near La Tebaida.
The first settlement to be founded in the area was Salento in 1842. In the 19th century northern peasants from Antioquia settled in the area and their goal was to stay there permanently in a process known as Colonización antioqueña (Antioquian Colonisation). Due to the inaccessibility of the territory and the lack of roads, trade and communications were made by mule caravans (arriería).
The capital city, Armenia was founded in October 14th, 1889 by colonists lead by Jesus Maria Ocampo. In 1905, the old Department of Antioquia was partitioned into two, giving rise to the new Department of Caldas, which at the time included the modern department of Risaralda. In 1908 the territory, then in jurisdiction of the Cauca Department, was annexed to Caldas department. From 1948, this was one of the most affected departments by an armed conflict known as La Violencia, with casualties and damages to property in all municipalities.
In 1966, (January 16th) it separated as an autonomous department. The project for the creation of the new department was developed by the local politician Ancizar López who became the first governor.
In 1999 the capital city and many villages and towns were partially destroyed by an earthquake. The rebuilding was financed by national and international donations managed by a public organization known as FOREC (acronym for Fund for Reconstruction of Colombian Coffee-Growers Axis).
Most of teh departments area is occupied by the western face of the Cordillera Central. The highest mountain is Nevado del Quindío, (Snow Mountain of Quindio) 5.150 m high and the lowest area is the valley of la Vieja River, 1.100 m high.
There are 1.845 km² of mountainous landscape, with many rainforests and Guadua bamboo forests too. The ground is enriched with ancient volcanic eruptions, making the soil very fertile.
The weather has a wide range, given the variations on termic floors. It has a high annual rain precipitation (around 2500 mm/year) because the humidity of winds from the Pacific Ocean trapped by the Andes. There are two rainy seasons (April and November). The average temperature is between 24°C in La Vieja river and 16°C in Salento.
In 1985, the Colombian Congress adopted Quindío Wax Palm Tree [ Ceroxylon quindiuense (Karsten) Wendl.], a local endangered species of high-altitude-adapted palm tree, as the National Tree. As ratified on September 16 for the current president of Colombia, Belisario Betancur, in the following terms: "It's declared as national tree and symbol of our fatherland the species commonly known as quindio wax palm tree, scientific name ceroxylon quindiuense. National Government Is faculted to buy as many lands as needed to create wildlife sanctuaries with the purpose of preserve this national symbol and its natural environment. Chopping down the wax palm tree is forbidden and punishable with a fine and jail."
The economy is mainly based in the harvest of coffee. The department is one of the most important producers of Colombian coffee and belongs to the Colombian Coffee-Growers Axis which is the centre of production and export of the highest quality coffee in Colombia. Plantain, cassava, Salentune potato, and sugarcane are also cultivated, mostly for consumption in the local markets.
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