Ibagué

Sister cities

• Lomas de Zamora

History

Ibagué was founded by Andrés López de Galarza on 14 October 1550, as "Villa de San Bonifacio de Ibagué del Valle de las Lanzas" ("Town of Saint Boniface of Ibagué of the Valley of the Spears") in a nearby location where now lies the urban area of the neighboring municipality of Cajamarca about to the west of Ibagué's current whereabouts. The indigenous Pijaos commanded by cacique Ibagué were not fond of Spaniards colonizing the area so the city was re-founded in its current location on 7 February 1551. From April to December 1854, Ibagué was briefly the capital of the New Granada following a coup d'etat promoted by general José María Melo. In 1908, when the department of Tolima was created, Ibagué was designated as its capital. The University of Tolima was founded in 1945, and was raised to state university status in 1954. The city is also the home of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ibagué.

Geography

Ibagué is located in the Colombian Andean region, in the center of the department of Tolima, surrounded by mountains on all sides with the exception of a plateau which extends to the east. Ibagué lies within the Andean Volcanic Belt. It has two active volcanoes in its immediate vicinity: the Nevado del Tolima, NW of the city, and the Cerro Machín, west of the city center but still within the Municipality of Ibagué. The city is one access point to Los Nevados National Park, the other being Manizales. Cerro Machín has been dormant for the last 800 years, but seismological activity has been registered recently causing several earthquakes, and in 2007 a 400 meters steam column from the crater. The volcano is classified as "III – Changes in behavior of volcanic activity" by Ingeominas, the Colombian Institute for Geology and Mining. A map of menaced areas has been published indicating that in the event of an eruption the city of Ibagué would not be affected despite its proximity to the volcano.

Most-observed species

• Blue-gray Tanager

  Thraupis episcopus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  5,077
• Saffron Finch

  Sicalis flaveola (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  4,893
• Tropical Kingbird

  Tyrannus melancholicus Vieillot, 1819 · Aves
  4,831
• Black Vulture

  Coragyps atratus (Bechstein, 1793) · Aves
  4,801
• Ruddy Ground-Dove

  Columbina talpacoti (Temminck, 1810) · Aves
  4,369
• Bare-faced Ibis

  Phimosus infuscatus (Lichtenstein, 1823) · Aves
  4,099
• Southern House Wren

  Troglodytes musculus J.F.Naumann, 1823 · Aves
  3,881
• Palm Tanager

  Thraupis palmarum (Wied-Neuwied, 1821) · Aves
  3,712

Most recent

• M 4.3 — 2025-05-18
  7 km W of Playarrica, Colombia
• M 4.2 — 2025-04-09
  8 km SSE of Calarcá, Colombia
• M 4.5 — 2024-06-07
  6 km NNE of Sevilla, Colombia
• M 4.2 — 2024-02-10
  5 km ESE of Ansermanuevo, Colombia
• M 4.3 — 2024-01-19
  5 km N of Ansermanuevo, Colombia
• M 5.6 — 2024-01-19
  7 km E of Cartago, Colombia