Pasto, Colombia


Pasto, officially San Juan de Pasto, is the capital of the department of Nariño, in southern Colombia. Pasto was founded in 1537 and named after indigenous people of the area. In the 2018 census, the municipality had a population of 392,930. Pasto is located in the Atriz Valley on the Andes cordillera, at the foot of the Galeras volcano.

History

The etymology of the word Pasto can be traced to the indigenous people who inhabited the region at the arrival of the Spanish conquerors, the Pastos. However, the Atriz Valley itself was inhabited by the Quillacingas. In the 2018 Colombian census, 163,873 people self-identified as Pasto, and in the 2010 Ecuadorian census, 1,409 people self-identified as Pasto.
Pasto was founded in 1537 by the Spanish conquistador Sebastián de Belalcázar. In 1539 Lorenzo de Aldana, also a Spanish conquistador, moved the city to its current location, and established it under the name "San Juan de Pasto". A major contributor to the economy and expansion of Pasto was a man of Italian origin named Guido Bucheli.
Pasto has been an administrative, cultural and religious center of the region since colonial times. Because of this, the city is known as the theological city of Colombia. During the Independence Wars against Spain Pasto was a royalist city. Partly due to this political stance, and because of its geographical location, after independence, Pasto remained isolated for a long time from the rest of Colombia.

Geography

Most of the city lies between and elevation above sea level, while some settlement exceeds on the flanks of the Galeras Volcano, which stands at.

Climate

Under the Köppen climate classification, Pasto features an unusual altitude-influenced warm-summer Mediterranean climate that tends to possess the wet season of the southern hemisphere, for example the section of Quito that is south of the equator. Pasto has relatively consistent temperatures throughout the course of the year. Despite the fact that the city is located close to the equator, due to its high altitude, Pasto's average high temperatures typically range only between while average low temperatures are usually between. Pasto averages roughly of rainfall annually.

Economy

In the municipality, 11.1% of establishments are dedicated to industry; 56.0% to trade; 28.9% to services and 4.1% to other activities.
In urban areas, the main economic activities are trade and service industries, as well as some small businesses, about half of which are craft manufacturing. The larger companies in Nariño are located in Pasto and are largely involved with food, beverages and furniture production. For the development of trade, mainly with the neighboring country of Ecuador, there are several shopping centers. The Pasto Chamber of Commerce was established in 1918 and according to the 2008 yearbook had 14,066 commercial establishments of which 58.5% were engaged in trade and repair of vehicles. In the rural areas, there is predominantly farming and cattle ranching, as well as a small-scale mining industry.

Infrastructure

Water and sanitation

By means of the Pasto Sanitation Company, the urban area has a 93% provision of water and sanitation. In the rural area, 74% have mains water and 33% have plumbed sanitation.

Land access

The Pan-American Highway connects Pasto by land with the city of Popayán northwards and with Ipiales southward, 78 km away on the border with the Republic of Ecuador. The distance from Pasto to the capital of the republic, Bogotá, on the Pan-American Highway is 798 km with a travel time of about 18 hours. To the west, the city is connected to the port of Tumaco on the Pacific coast, by a paved road of 284 km, and to the east with Mocoa in Putumayo department with a road of about 145 km. For national intercity land transport, there is a terminal used by the principal transport operating companies and which is used by approximately two million passengers a year.

Air access

is 35 km from the city, in the nearby town of Chachagüí, it provides domestic air connections offered by Colombian airline Avianca.

Telecommunications

Telephone and internet: Various companies like Telmex, Movistar, Virgin Mobile, Claro, Tigo, Avantel, and UNE-Orbitel provide telecommunication service in Pasto by means of Mobile phones, all companies providing UMTS cover and HSDPA. Broad band internet connection and terrestrial telephones are also provided.
Radio broadcasting: Within the city there are various FM radio broadcasting companies such as Radio University of Nariño, National Police Radio, community radio and commercial radio stations with high musical content. There are also some AM stations available of which the oldest is Radio Nariño and Radio Pasto Echos,.
Television: In Pasto, there is full access to all the national TV stations such as Channel 1, Station Institutional, and Station Columbia. In addition, there are regional programmes like Telepacífico and TelePasto. There are also local private stations like Nariño TV, TV Telmex, and CNC Global TV. and national private stations such as RCN Televisión y Caracol Televisión, and finally there are subscription stations through companies like Telmex, Movistar, Global TV, and DirecTV.

Health

The majority of the institutions that make up the health network of Nariño department are located in Pasto. These comprise 6 hospitals and 4 clinics for levels of attention 2 and 3. For levels of attention 1 there are 7 health centres and 2 health stations. In total these provide 1332 hospital beds to meet the demand of internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, obstetrics, and basic psychiatric service.
In the city, public institutions are organized into four networks for the delivery of their services. The northern network is coordinated by the Civil Hospital including three health posts and a center. The southern network, coordinated by the Health Center of the Rose includes three health posts, a center, and a mobile unit. The southeastern network, coordinated by the Lorenzo de Aldana Health Center includes five health posts and a center. The west network coordinated by the Tamsagra Health Center includes five health centers and the Center for Zoonoses.
The main hospitals are:
There are several universities with students from Pasto and from other cities in Nariño, some of them are:
  • University of Nariño
  • Universidad Mariana
  • Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia
  • Fundación Universitaria San Martin
  • Institución Universitaria Cesmag
  • Universidad Antonio Nariño
  • Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia - UNAD
  • Escuela Superior de Administración Pública - ESAP
  • Corporación Universitaria Autónoma de Nariño

    Carnival and arts

One of the most important events held by the city is the Blacks and Whites' Carnival, with outstanding displays of craftsmanship in floats portraying legends and traditions, often mixed in with references to current political events in Colombia. These floats take years for the craftsmen to create for the Carnaval de Negros y Blancos. During the carnival, the city goes wild and unleashes all the joy it has bottled up all year, and the streets are flooded with people and celebrations. It is not advisable to wear nice clothes during this festival, as during these celebrations people have fun painting each other's faces with cosmetic colors and throwing colorful talcum powder and party foam. The carnival takes place between January 2 and 7 each year.
A specialty of this region is a pre-Columbian art technique called Barniz de Pasto, or Pasto Varnish in English. This uses a type of natural rubber which is colored and then stretched over woodwork pieces; finally, the skillful artisan uses a special knife to cut and create the many beautiful designs that characterize this artistic technique.

Tourism

The main attraction in the town of Pasto is Lake Guamuez or La Cocha lake, located 27 kilometers from the city, 45 minutes by road, and 2800 meters above sea level. In the middle of the lake, there is the Island of La Corota, a National Forest Sanctuary.
For lovers of cultural tourism, in addition to its museums mentioned above, the city offers visitors a wealth of churches among which stands out the Church of San Juan Bautista of the eighteenth century, the cathedral, the Church of Our Lady of Mercy, the Church of San Felipe, the Church of San Sebastián or "the Bakery", Temple of Christ the King, St. James, and the Church of St. Augustine.
For ecotourism, there is the Chimayoy Environmental Center, meaning in Quillacinga "go to meet with the sun." Located 4 km on the road between San Juan de Pasto in Colombia's interior is a space provided for education, tourism and environmental research, and ecological conservation.

Gastronomy

The dishes that most represent the gastronomy of Pasto are the products of mixed cultures, the expression of the land's fertility and the hard work of the people. The most typical is grilled or roasted guinea pig. On January 7, they celebrate the festival of the guinea pig in the nearby village of Catambuco as the culmination of the "Blacks and Whites Carnival". Among the typical outstanding desserts are: "bucket ice-cream", made in a copper bucket cooled with crushed ice; 'chilacuán', a dessert made with mountain papayas; and dough-based pastries, of which 'quimbolitos' and filled pasties are the best known.
Some of the typical drinks are made of lulo, mora, and passion fruit. These make the base of a drink that may be strengthened by a local liquor called chapil or aguardiente.