La Granada
Pijao

The municipality of Pijao, located in the Quindío department of Colombia, was founded on May 15, 1902, by Antonio María Quintero, Luis Jaramillo, Claudio Rivera, and others, on land previously inhabited by Pijao tribes. It borders Córdoba to the north, the Tolima department to the east, Génova to the south, the Cauca Valley to the west, and Buenavista to the northwest. Pijao is characterized by having rainfall exceeding 2400 mm in mountainous areas, with elevations above 1600 meters above sea level, and annual precipitation of approximately 1800 mm. Additionally, winds move from the Cauca River valley towards the mountain during the day at low speeds, concentrating and dispersing rapidly along the mid-slope.

Pijao, a municipality with no more than 6800 inhabitants, is located in the western part of the Quindío department, in a small section of the extensive Central Cordillera where time may not pass as it does in other places. It is the first Latin American town to be part of the "Cittaslow" network (meaning "slow" in Italian). The international Cittaslow network recognized Pijao globally as the first Latin American town to join the Cittaslow list, which includes approximately 150 cities around the world.

The town is known for the friendliness of its people and the tranquility of their lives. This has been a significant achievement both for the department and the country, as residents are surrounded by the charm of nature, contributing to a higher quality of life.

The soils in Pijao, Quindío, are known for their fertility and suitability for cultivating a variety of products, especially coffee, fruits, and vegetables.  

The department of Quindío is the smallest of the country's continental territory, with a surface area of 1,845 km2. It stands out in the country for the strong roots of the coffee culture and for its natural wealth, represented by exuberant vegetation and a great diversity of ecosystems.

A couple of facts demonstrate the importance of coffee in this region: all of Quindío's 12 municipalities are coffee producers, and 207 of its 267 villages are coffee-growing. The department is the twelfth largest coffee producer in the country (out of 20), with an estimated annual production of 666,000 60-kilogram bags of green coffee or, in other words, 6 % of the Colombian harvest.

Quindío is one of the departments that make up the Eje Cafetero, which was once abundant in coffee crops before being devastated by a major earthquake in 1999. From then on, its expansion and recognition began to be directed towards tourism for its beautiful landscapes and colonial towns. Today, its fertile land continues to be attractive for coffee and other crops, especially in the mountain range area in the municipalities of: Pijao, Buenavista and Génova where soils rich in organic matter are still preserved.