Siachoque

Municipality and town in Boyacá Department, Colombia

Flag

Location of the municipality and town of Siachoque in the Boyacá Department of Colombia

Country

ColombiaDepartmentBoyacá DepartmentProvinceCentral Boyacá ProvinceFounded2 August 1556Founded byFriar Jerónimo de PeraltaGovernment

• MayorJairo Grijalba Lancheros
(2020-2023)Area

• Municipality and town125 km² (48 sq mi)Elevation

2,760 m (9,060 ft)Population

(2015)

• Municipality and town8,964 • Density72/km² (190/sq mi) • Urban

1,574Time zoneUTC-5 (Colombia Standard Time)WebsiteOfficial website

Siachoque is a town and municipality in the Central Boyacá Province, part of the Colombian department of Boyacá. Siachoque is situated on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense at a distance of 21 kilometres (13 mi) from the department capital Tunja. It borders Toca in the north, Rondón and Viracachá in the south, in the east Toca, Pesca and Rondón and in the west Soracá and Chivatá.^[1]

Etymology

The name Siachoque comes from the Chibcha language of the Muisca people who inhabited the central highlands of present-day Colombia before the Spanish conquest. It is composed of the words Si; "here", a; "from, taste, smell", chó; "good" and que; "vigorous fortress", translating as "place of good smells and strong and vigorous cultures" or "Land of the vigorous taste".^[1]^[2]

History

Siachoque was part of the loose Muisca Confederation, the former country in the Colombian Andes and the cacique of Siachoque was loyal to the zaque of Hunza. At the defeat of the latter the municipality became part of the New Kingdom of Granada and modern Siachoque was founded on August 2, 1556 by friar Jerónimo de Peralta.^[1]

Economy

Main economical activities in Siachoque are agriculture; potatoes, Solanum phureja (papa criolla), maize, oat, barley and wheat, livestock farming and processing of meat and dairy products.^[1]