Aguadas, Caldas

Aguadas is a town and municipality in the Colombian department of Caldas. It is bordered to the north by Abejorral, to the east by Sonsón, to the southeast by Salamina, to the south by Pacora, to the west by Caramanta and Valparaiso, and to the northwest by La Pintada. The municipality of Aguadas, located in the northern part of the department, was founded in 1808 by José Narciso Estrada. In addition to the fame of Aguadeño hats (sombrero aguadeño), which are very similar to palm-straw Panama hats (also known as iraca in Colombia). Aguadas offers visitors its historic center, which was declared a national monument in 1982. It has a temperate climate thanks to the variety of climates ranging from warm to moor. Another of its main attractions is the National Festival of the Colombian Pasillo (Festival Nacional del Pasillo Colombiano), an annual event that has earned recognition for Aguadas as the capital of the Colombian Pasillo. Located along the Colombian coffee growing axis, the historic center of Aguadas was made part of the "Coffee Cultural Landscape" UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011.