Piedecuesta (, officially ''Villa de San Carlos del Pie de la Cuesta'') is a town and municipality in the Santander Department in northeastern

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 ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

. It has a population of about 120,000. It is part of the metropolitan zone of Bucaramanga, which is the fifth largest urban area of Colombia by population.

Geography

Piedecuesta is situated in the Rio de Oro valley. One of its most notable landmarks is the Cantera's Hill, on top of which sits a large statue of the Virgin Mary (known locally as Cantera's virgin). Other landmarks include Guatiguara's valley, the Saints' Plateau, part of

Chicamocha Canyon The Chicamocha Canyon ( , es, Cañón del Chicamocha) is a steep sided canyon carved by the Chicamocha River in Colombia. With a maximum depth of , an area of and a length of , the canyon is the second-largest worldwide. The canyon is situated ...

, and Ruitoque Plateau.

Economy

Piedecuesta is an important agricultural area; some products are Castilla blackberries (major national producer), tobacco (a traditional product since the Spanish Colonial Era), Tahitian lime (one of the largest national producers), and sugar cane (the town remains a major panela producer). The town is a major service center and owns the most develop-able land of a metropolitan city. Piedecuesta also contains multiple rivers within its boundaries, such as the Gold River, the Manco River, and the Hato River. Recent developments include: Ruitoque Plateau, which offers golf courses and high level condominiums; the Valley of Menzuly, which will soon include an international hospital; and The Saints' Plateau, a tourist destination. Industrial development in Piedecuesta has seen recent surges with the expansion of large companies into the area. These companies include ICP(Colombian Institute of Petroleum) and UIS Guatiguará (a high-level research center of the

Industrial University of Santander The Industrial University of Santander ( es, Universidad Industrial de Santander), abbreviated in Spanish with the acronym UIS, is a public university, based in a coeducational, and research model. The university serves the Santander Department, ...

Tourism

The Saints' Plateau landscape includes several waterfalls and views of Chicamocha Canyon. Holy Week: As most citizens of Piedecuesta are of the Catholic faith, this day is traditionally spent visiting religious monuments such as the virgin of the Cantera's Hill, the Mountain of Hermits, and the procession of Nazarene into the main streets. Liberty Park lies in the center of the town and is surrounded by several buildings, including the San Francisco Javier church (which was built with red stone from the Cantera's Hill) and the Perpetuo Socorro church (the first church of the town). The presence of two large churches in a town of this size is unusual in Colombia. The Municipal Palace is an ancient building of the local government.

References

{{coord, 7, 05, N, 73, 00, W, region:CO_type:adm2nd_source:GNS-enwiki, display=title Municipalities of Santander Department