Tocancipá () 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 Central Savanna 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. Tocancipá is situated in the northern part of the Bogotá savanna, part of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes with the urban centre at an altitude of . The capital

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

, which

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...

includes Tocancipá, is to the south. Tocancipá borders Gachancipá and Nemocón in the north, Zipaquirá in the west, Guasca and Guatavita in the east and Guasca and Sopó in the south.Official website Tocancipá
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Etymology

The name Tocancipá comes from Muysccubun and means "Valley of the joys of the ''zipa''".

History

The area of Tocancipá was inhabited early in the history of inhabitation of the Altiplano. The archaeological site Tibitó is located within the boundaries of Tocancipá and evidence of inhabitation has been dated to 11,740 ± 110 years BP.Aceituno & Rojas, 2012, p.127 At the time of arrival of 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 in 1537, Tocancipá was part 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 ...

, a loose confederation of different rulers of the Muisca. 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 ...

ruled over Tocancipá. Modern Tocancipá was founded on September 21, 1593 by Miguel de Ibarra.

Tourism

Jaime Duque Park Jaime Duque Park is a family-oriented amusement park located in the Tocancipá municipality of the Metropolitan Area of Bogotá, Colombia. The park contains the Jaime Duque Zoo, the Museum of Mankind, as well as replicas of several major locations ...

, a family-oriented amusement park, is located in Tocancipá. The town also hosts the

Autódromo de Tocancipá Autódromo de Tocancipá is a motor racing circuit located in Tocancipá, Cundinamarca, Colombia. It is the official headquarters of the 6 Hours of Bogotá, Campeonato Nacional de Automovilismo (CNA), and TC2000 Colombia. History Based on an ...

, a race track where vintage and GT races are held.

Gallery

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tocancipa Municipalities of Cundinamarca Department Populated places established in 1593 1593 establishments in the Spanish Empire Muisca Confederation Muysccubun