Somondoco is a town and municipality in the

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

Department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

of Boyacá. This town and larger municipal area are located in the Valle de Tenza. The Valle de Tenza is the ancient route connecting the Altiplano Cundiboyacense and the

Llanos The Llanos (Spanish ''Los Llanos'', "The Plains"; ) is a vast tropical grassland plain situated to the east of the Andes in Colombia and Venezuela, in northwestern South America. It is an ecoregion of the tropical and subtropical grasslands, sav ...

. The area is dotted with many such little towns all located at approximately the same altitude (1500–1700 meters). Somondoco borders Almeida in the east,

Guayatá Guayatá is a town and municipality in the Eastern Boyacá Province, part of the Colombian department of Boyacá. Guayatá is situated on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense at distances of from the department capital Tunja and from the national ca ...

in the west, Guateque and

Sutatenza Sutatenza () is a town and municipality in the Eastern Boyacá Province of the department of Boyacá, Colombia. It is located from the Colombian capital Bogotá and from the department capital Tunja. Sutatenza borders Somondoco, Guateque, Tenza ...

in the north and in the south the Cundinamarca municipality of Ubalá.Official website Somondoco
/ref> The nearest larger town is Guateque which is about 30 minutes away by car. In Somondoco are several small companies producing handicrafts and collectables.

Etymology

Somondoco is derived from the Chibcha words ''So'' = stone, ''Mon'' = bath, ''Co'' = support. The village is named after ''cacique Somendoco'' or ''Sumindoco''.Etymology Somondoco
- Excelsio.net

History

Somondoco is a very old center of population extending back into prehistory. The Muisca settled here due to the abundance of

emerald Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium.Hurlbut, Cornelius S. Jr. and Kammerling, Robert C. (1991) ''Gemology'', John Wiley & Sons, New York, p ...

s mined in the Andes mountains. When the Spanish

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...

es led by

Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada y Rivera, also spelled as Ximénez and De Quezada, (;1496 16 February 1579) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador in northern South America, territories currently known as Colombia. He explored the territory named ...

arrived, Somondoco was ruled by a ''

cacique A ''cacique'' (Latin American ; ; feminine form: ''cacica'') was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, the indigenous inhabitants at European contact of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. The term is a Spa ...

'' named ''Sumindoco''. He was loyal to the '' zaque'' of Hunza. The date of foundation of Somondoco is November 6, 1537.Foundation of Somondoco November 6, 1537
/ref>

Economy

Main economical activities of Somondoco are

mining and agriculture; maize, tomatoes, sugar cane,

bean A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes th ...

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

s and coffee. File:Somodoco desde guateque.JPG, View of Somondoco

References

External links

{{coord, 4.98778, N, 73.4361, W, source:kolossus-itwiki, display=title Municipalities of Boyacá Department 1537 establishments in the Spanish Empire Populated places established in 1537 1537 disestablishments in the Muisca Confederation Muysccubun Colombian emeralds

Etymology

History

Economy

References

Further reading

External links