Colombian coffee growing axis

UNESCO World Heritage Site
Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia
Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List

Coffee landscape.
Type Cultural
Criteria v, vi
Reference 1121
UNESCO region Latin America and the Caribbean
Inscription history
Inscription 2011 (35th Session)

The Colombian coffee growing axis (Spanish: Eje Cafetero), also known as the Coffee Triangle (Spanish: Triángulo del Café) is a part of the Colombian Paisa region in the rural area of Colombia, famous for growing and production of a majority of the Colombian coffee, considered by some as the best coffee in the world. There are three departments in the area: Caldas, Quindío and Risaralda. The most visited cities are Armenia, Pereira and Medellin

History of Coffee

It began growing coffee beans commercially in Colombia in Salazar de las Palmas, Norte de Santander and in the twentieth century was the primary product within Colombian exports. In 1999 represented 3.7% of gross domestic product and 37% of agricultural employment. The main coffee producing departments are: Nariño, Norte de Santander, Antioquia, Valle del Cauca, Huila, Tolima, Caldas, Risaralda, Quindio and Cundinamarca.

The area between the departments of Caldas, Risaralda and Quindío is known as the Coffee Zone because of the large development experienced by the cultivation of this product. This region was strongly affected by an earthquake of 6.4 degrees on the Richter scale registered January 25, 1999, and subsequently the region economically recovered rapidly.

Overview

Weather conditions (8 °C to 24 °C), geographical (Andean Rainforest) and this geological region, determine the production of high quality coffee, with relatively short harvest periods. Farmers in the area have developed techniques for growing, harvesting and processing of grain, and all done "grain by grain", and have retained this form of processing industry despite new techniques of mass agricultural industrialization.

The famous advertising icon "Juan Valdez", represented by a farmer paisa wearing carriel, hat aguadeño and poncho, and accompanied by a mule, has become a triumph of advertising communication. Juan Valdez has been considered in United States as the advertising image of greater recall among the inhabitants of that country in the year 2005.

Street Salento, Quindío, a small town in rural Colombia, has become one of the top tourist destinations in the coffee-Growers Axis.
Balconies in the street Real in Santuario, Risaralda.

Tourist attractions

Colombian National Coffee Park

The region has developed major theme parks. One of them, the Colombian National Coffee Park located in the town of Montenegro in Quindio. The area is also the Museum of Culture Coffee, showing the process of grain production to savor a traditional Colombian coffee, this museum, like all the other theme parks are a replica of the colonial city, where tourists enjoy dance performances and traditional music, panoramic view from cable car with its lush landscape, and various rides.

Another theme park unique in Colombia is the National Park of Culture Agriculture - 'Panaca', also located in the Municipality of Quimbaya in Quindio. Its key feature is that, unlike zoos, visitors are immersed in a personal and direct contact with farm animals and also enjoy scheduled activities and events with those animals.

The Matecaña City Zoo in Pereira, is one of the most important traditional zoos in Colombia and South America, has 150 species and 800 individuals, distributed in 239 mammals, 172 birds, 57 fish, 111 reptiles and 5 Of note, the high rate of reproduction, making even a few years ago the crossing of an African lion and a Bengal tiger, resulting in the 'Ligre'. It also has the important Museum of Nature within.

Other attractions in the area include:

Main urban centers

Tourism

Offers some trekking and the chance to see some of Colombia's top coffee cultivating land as well as the country's native palm tree - the Wax Palm, which grows up to 60 metres tall.

See also

Gallery Colombian National Coffee Park

References

    External links

    Wikimedia Commons has media related to Colombian Coffee-Growers Axis.

    Coordinates: 5°28′18″N 75°40′54″W / 5.47167°N 75.68167°W