Otun

The Otún River descends from Colombia’s Central Cordillera toward the Cauca valley. Its banks were part of the country of the Quimbaya, whose communities were noted for their skilled goldwork. In 1540 Jorge Robledo founded the Spanish city of Cartago beside the Otún, in the territory of the Indigenous leader Consota.

The colonial town remained on the Otún for more than a century. In 1691 its inhabitants moved Cartago west to the La Vieja River, where agricultural settlement had already expanded. The surrounding Quimbaya country had been inhabited by agricultural communities before the Spanish expedition arrived. The older site remained an important point on routes between the Cauca valley and the central mountains. The river continued to carry water from the high Andes into the lowland basin.

The later city of Pereira lies here.