Pereira

About

While the Spanish had attempted to settle the area as early as 1540, Pereira wasn’t successfully founded until 1863. The 20th century saw the settlement swell as settlers established coffee, sugarcane, and cattle farms in the fertile soil. Today, Pereira is the largest city in Colombia’s coffee-growing region, and as an economic center, is faster-paced than the usual tourist destinations. That doesn’t mean visitors can’t find some respite in its elegant cathedral with its colorful tiled floor, and ornate wooden ceiling. Of course, there’s also a Simon Bolivar square where you can find vendors, street-food, performers, and a statue of the national hero - except in Pereira he’s shirtless atop his horse like a Greek god. The plaza, or one of the city’s countless cafes, would be a great place to try Colombia’s most famous export: coffee. This is often sweetened with local, unrefined cane sugar known as “panela”.