Guaduas

Guaduas () is a municipality and town in Colombia, in the Lower Magdalena Province department of Cundinamarca, about 117 km from Bogotá. It is an agricultural and tourist center of some importance with a population of about 33,000 in the municipality. Its name refers to a type of bamboo cane. It is one of the cities on the Bogotá-Medellín highway. Its main plaza is featured on the Colombian ten-thousand pesos bill, and is one of the seats of the Roman Catholic Diocese of La Dorada–Guaduas

== History == The early inhabitants of the "Valley of the Guaduas" were the indigenous Panche people. It was an important stop on the road from Santafé de Bogotá to Honda, located in a small, fertile valley. The town proper was founded on April 20, 1572 by Andrés Díaz Venero de Leiva. It was abandoned after its foundation until December 13, 1610, when Fray Tomas de Morales founded the Franciscan monastery of La Soledad on the same location. It was recognized officially as a villa on December 27, 1644 and formally re-founded by Francisco Pérez de Guzmán.