MANIZALES: Capital of the State of Caldas.
ALTITUDE: 2.150 osl
TEMPERATURE: 18 º C to 24 ° C
AREA: 508 km2.
ANIMAL SYMBOL: The Barranquillo bird.
TREE: The Arrayan.
FLOWER: The Black Anturio.
NEWSPAPER: La Patria
REGION: Coffee Triangle

A city privileged by its geographic location, initially identified by the steep topography and the symbiosis between nature and construction, that have allowed it to be developed like a conventional city, and simultaneously, to use kindness of nature with their waters, fauna and flora. Manizales is called “the city of the opened doors” as a result of its human quality. Manizales was founded on October 12 of 1849 and its name comes from the stone peanut (gray color granite) which was very abundant in rivers and streams of this region.

University city for excellence; host of the best fairs in America where the spirit of carnival alternates with the beautiful candidates of the International Coffee Contest and the art of bullfighting.

REPUBLICAN ARCHITECTURE:
After the fire that razed much of the city and taking advantage of the rise of the coffee boom, it was decided  to reconstruct the same city, but leaving behind materials such as wood and bahareque, using new techniques and styles unknown by then in the country.
 
Manizales has the greater set of republican architecture of the country, with near 150 buildings of that style. Because of this fact these buildings were declared national architectonical heritage with unique characteristics that perhaps are not found in another place currently.

Among the most representative buildings is the Governor's Palace, The Bishop's Palace, the Manuel Sanz building and the antique school of Christ. Many others of these Republican buildings will be found around streets 22 and 23.

LOS YARUMOS ECOPARK: A place for recreation, culture, ecotourism, environmental education and an option to feel dizzy and adrenalized.  The adventure and the forest are mixed and offer extreme sports such as canopy, ice rink, climbing wall, hiking trails to enjoy the 7 colors cascade, the organic plant and animal species of the region among other activities.

The natural museum, library, meeting rooms, camping area, garden center, theater, art scenarios and restaurant are places in which to meet, play and do all sorts of activities at Los Yarumos.

RECINTO DEL PENSAMIENTO: Magical place surrounded by clouds of multicolored butterflies, ideal for breathing clean air and observe closely a variety of approximately 280 species of orchids which belong to the cloud forest itself.The aerial view on a chairlift ride will let you see the great part of the infrastructure and landscape of the site in a 24 minutes journey. There, the processes of pollination of butterflies can be watched closely and learn about their mating process as well.
You will also have the opportunity to learn about the history of the “El pabellón de la guadua”(the bamboo ward), a unique building in the world, where you will be charged of good energy and enjoy Nature in an eco-tour of the trail.

CATHEDRAL BASILICA OF MANIZALES: Impressive monument of religious art, the largest in Latin America built in reinforced concrete, one of the most majestic in the world in its genre. The foundation stone was laid by Monsignor Tiberio de Jesús Salazar, Bishop of Manizales, on February 5-1928. Its architect Julian Polty, French, Chief of Historic Monuments in Paris, began the work with the Italian company Papio and Bonarda. Neo-Gothic styled, with its frames in a vault proper of the Romantic style. The Polish Corridor and the museum type of the 4 towers make it well-known as the second masterpiece of concrete architecture in Colombia. With a weight of near 20,000 tons, covers a 2,400 square meters surface and a height of 106 meters. It can lodge 5,000 worshipers. Its construction was completed in December 1939 and was declared a National Monument on November 24, 1984.

POLISH CORRIDOR: Located on the highest part of the Cathedral Basilica, was opened in 1959 but closed in 1977 due to lack of safety measures and the poor state of stairs, but was reopened in 2008 after a total refurbishment and improving security measures. The corridor was named as Polish Corridor because the cathedral was builded at the time of the Second World War, when the famous Polish corridor linked the territories of Poland and Germany. In this place you will enjoy a pleasant journey and look at the majesty of the doors open, you will know the history and events through which have had to passed the temple.

GOVERNMENT PALACE: It was built between 1925 and 1927 by the Italian Papio Bonardi and decorated by the Colombian Belisario Rodriguez. An elegant and beautiful building, decorated with the "Republican style" and strongly influenced by French and Italian architecture. It has a large block in U whose ends are joined by a lower block, is built around a large central courtyard that allows a beautiful visual of the whole. This area, surrounded by corridors, shows a mixture of many styles and trends. It was declared a National Monument on November 29, 1984.