Santuario is a municipality in the department of Risaralda (Colombia), located 66 km from the departmental capital called Pereira in the central-western region of the department, on the eastern side of the Western mountain range.
It borders the municipalities of Pueblo Rico, Apía, La Celia, La Virginia, Balboa and the departments of Valle del Cauca, Chocó and Caldas.
It has a population of over 15,000 inhabitants and within its territory is part of the Tatamá National Natural Park and the Planes de San Rafael Municipal Natural Park, for this reason it is known as "The Pearl of Tatamá". It was founded by Buenaventura Navarro in colonial times.
It was founded in 1886, and belonged to the department of Cauca. In 1894 it ceased to be a hamlet and became a district and in 1907 it was established as a municipality. Its economy is centered on coffee cultivation and other activities such as agriculture, livestock and forestry. These are some interesting tourist sites: Tatamá Natural Park, María Inmaculada Church (with beautiful stained glass windows made by the artist Álvaro Andrés Bedoya), La Calle Real, Valle and the Mapa River viewpoint, La Cumbre ecological trail, Planes de San Rafael visitor center and Peralonso viewpoint, Municipal Sports Center, mural in the House of Culture "Traces of a golden town", Los Balcones recreational area and La Marina Spa.
Translated by Google •
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