Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia


World Heritage Identification Number: 1121

World Heritage since: 2011

Category: Cultural Heritage

Transboundary Heritage: No

Endangered Heritage: No

Country: 🇨🇴 Colombia

Continent: Americas

UNESCO World Region: Latin America and the Caribbean

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The Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia: A Unique and Sustainable Tradition

The Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011, presents an exceptional example of a sustainable and productive cultural landscape. This unique and representative tradition spans across six farming landscapes, which encompass 18 urban centers nestled on the foothills of the western and central ranges of the Cordillera de los Andes in the west of the country.

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UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site

An exceptional example of a sustainable and productive cultural landscape that is unique and representative of a tradition that is a strong symbol for coffee growing areas worldwide - encompasses six farming landscapes, which include 18 urban centres on the foothills of the western and central ranges of the Cordillera de los Andes in the west of the country. It reflects a centennial tradition of coffee growing in small plots in the high forest and the way farmers have adapted cultivation to difficult mountain conditions. The urban areas, mainly situated on the relatively flat tops of hills above sloping coffee fields, are characterized by the architecture of the Antioquian colonization with Spanish influence. Building materials were, and remain in some areas, cob and pleated cane for the walls with clay tiles for the roofs.

Encyclopedia Record: Colombian coffee growing axis

The Coffee Axis is a geographic, cultural, economic and ecological region of Colombia, located in the departments of Caldas, Risaralda and Quindío, as well as the regions of northwestern Tolima, northern and eastern Valle del Cauca and southwestern Antioquia, including the capital cities of the first four departments mentioned.

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Additional Site Details

Area: 141,120 hectares

UNESCO Criteria: (v) — Outstanding example of traditional human settlement
(vi) — Directly associated with events or living traditions

Coordinates: 4.889476 , -75.773082

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Image of Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia

© Triángulo del Café Travel, CC BY 2.0 Resized from original.

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Nearby World Heritage Sites

National Archeological Park of Tierradentro
258 km — Colombia
San Agustín Archaeological Park
334 km — Colombia
Los Katíos National Park
358 km — Colombia
Darien National Park
372 km — Panama
Historic Centre of Santa Cruz de Mompox
506 km — Colombia

Country Information: Colombia

Flag of Colombia

Official Name: Republic of Colombia

Capital: Bogotá

Continent: Americas

Population (2024): 52,886,363

Population (2023): 52,321,152

Population (2022): 51,737,944

Land Area: 1,109,500 sq km

Currency: Colombian peso (COP)

Country Data Sources

Last updated: January 18, 2026

Portions of the page Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia are based on data from UNESCO — World Heritage List Dataset and on text from the Wikipedia article Colombian coffee growing axis, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes made. Additional original content by World Heritage Explorer (WHE), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. WHE is not affiliated with UNESCO or the World Heritage Committee. Legal Notice. Privacy Policy.

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