Junín is a municipality and town of

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 ...

in the Guavio Province, part of the

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 Cundinamarca. The urban centre is situated at an altitude of in the east of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense. Junín borders

Gachetá Gachetá is a municipality and town of Colombia, capital of the Guavio Province, part of the department of Cundinamarca. The urban centre of Gachetá is situated at an altitude of in the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes. The municipality bo ...

and Guatavita in the north, Gama and

Gachalá Gachalá is a municipality and town of Colombia in the Guavio Province, part of the department of Cundinamarca. The urban centre of Gachalá is situated at a distance of from the capital Bogotá at an altitude of in the Eastern Ranges of the ...

in the east,

Fómeque Fómeque is a municipality and town of Colombia in the Departments of Colombia, department of Cundinamarca Department, Cundinamarca. Municipalities of Cundinamarca Department {{Cundinamarca-geo-stub ...

in the south, and La Calera and

Guasca Guasca is a Colombian town and municipality in the Guavio Province, part of the Cundinamarca Department located approximately 55 km from Bogotá passing through the town of La Calera, Cundinamarca or 65 km passing through Sopó. Guasca ...

in the west.Official website Junín
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Etymology

The former name Chipazaque of Junín refers to the shared terrain by the ''

zipa When the Spanish arrived in the central Colombian highlands, the region was organized into the Muisca Confederation, which had two rulers; the ''zipa'' was the ruler of the southern part and based in Muyquytá. The ''hoa'' was the ruler of the n ...

'' and '' zaque'', the most important ''

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 ...

s'' of the

Muisca Confederation The Muisca Confederation was a loose confederation of different Muisca rulers (''zaques'', ''zipas'', '' iraca'', and ''tundama'') in the central Andean highlands of present-day Colombia before the Spanish conquest of northern South America. The ...

. In Muysccubun it means "our father the ''zaque''" or "union between ''zipa'' and ''zaque''". The name Junín was given by

Tomas Cipriano de Mosquera Tomas may refer to: People * Tomás (given name), a Spanish, Portuguese, and Gaelic given name * Tomas (given name), a Swedish, Dutch, and Lithuanian given name * Tomáš, a Czech and Slovak given name * Tomas (surname), a French and Croatian surna ...

in 1861, because the green valleys reminded him of the

Pampa de Junín The Pampas (from the qu, pampa, meaning "plain") are fertile South American low grasslands that cover more than and include the Argentine provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, Santa Fe, Entre Ríos, and Córdoba; all of Uruguay; and Brazi ...

, location of the Battle of Junín in Peru.

History

Before the

Spanish conquest of the Muisca The Spanish conquest of the Muisca took place from 1537 to 1540. The Muisca were the inhabitants of the central Andean highlands of Colombia before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors. They were organised in a loose confederation of differe ...

, the green hills of Junín, then called Chipazaque, were a shared terrain between the ''zipa'' of

Bacatá Bacatá is the name given to the main settlement of the Muisca Confederation on the Bogotá savanna. It mostly refers to an area, rather than an individual village, although the name is also found in texts referring to the modern settlement of Fu ...

and the ''zaque'' of

Hunza Hunza may refer to: * Hunza, Iran * Hunza Valley, an area in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan ** Hunza (princely state), a former principality ** Hunza District, a recently established district ** Hunza River, a waterway ** Hunza Peak, a mou ...

. The conquistadors reached the area of Junín in 1550 and founded the modern town.

Economy

Main economical activities of Junín are agriculture, livestock farming and tourism.

Gallery

File:Iglesia de Junin en la tade.jpg, Church File:Interior Iglesia de Junin Cundinamarca.jpg, Church interior File:Parque Junin de Noche.jpg, Church at night File:LaRivera.jpg, Train in Junín File:Parque Ararat ó Parque Alemania.jpg, Parque Ararat

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Junin, Cundinamarca Municipalities of Cundinamarca Department Populated places established in 1550 1550 establishments in the Spanish Empire Muisca Confederation