Кальарка: Колумбияның кофе өсіру аймағының қаласы

Calarcá is a municipality in the eastern part of the department of Quindío, Colombia. It is located 4 km east of the departmental capital Armenia. Its nickname is La Villa del Cacique in homage of its writers. The city was founded in 1886 by Segundo Henao during the time of colonization by people from Antioquia. It is the second most populated city in Quindío, after Armenia. In 2023, Calarcá had an estimated population of 75,979. Located along the Colombian coffee growing axis, it was made part of the "Coffee Cultural Landscape" UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011.

The municipality of Calarcá is located between 4° 20’ 40” and 4° 33’ 50” north and between 75° 33’ 40” and 75° 48’ 40” west. The inner city is located 4° 33’ 0.6” north and 75° 39’ 00” west. It lies in the Andean zone flanking the Central Cordillera, east of the department of Quindío in the centre western part of the country, within the area known as the Eje Cafetero ("Coffee Axis"). Calarcá is bordered by the municipalities of Salento to the north, Cajamarca in Tolima to the east, Córdoba, Buenavista, Pijao in Quindío and Caicedonia in the Valle del Cauca to the south, and La Tebaida y Armenia to the west. The municipality has an area of 219.23 km2. Urban area is 2.44 km2. Rural area is 216.79 km2. It varies in altitude between 1000 m above sea level at the confluence of the Quindío y Barragán rivers to 3667 m above sea level in the El Campanario highland area.

Calarcá has subtropical highland climate with an average of 20 °C.

Just like in others towns in the Quindío, the economy is based on Colombian coffee crops, plantain and manioc. Another important source of income is money remittance from people working in other countries to their families. Ecotourism is also strongly supported in the area. Just outside the town is the Quindío Botanical Garden, which opened in 1985, and includes an outdoor butterfly house that contains more than 1,200 species of butterflies native to Colombia, housed inside a butterfly shaped structure of 640 m2. Since the collections of medicinal plants, heliconias, and cactus, are accompanied by gardens that delight the senses.

Peñas Blancas consists of a crag and three vertical rock faces located on the western slopes of the Central Cordillera of the Andes near Calarcá. The bright white color of the rock walls is due to the presence of calcite and limestone. There are a large number of solutional caves and rock shelters inside the cliff, but access is very difficult. The caves are believed by some local people to be the location of a legendary treasure hidden by an indigenous Pijao tribal leader, the Cacique Calarcá (from whom the nearby town derives its name), during his battle against the Spanish colonialists

The cliffs are a landmark of the region, and can be seen clearly from the nearby towns of Armenia and Calarcá. They offer opportunities for rock climbing and abseiling (rappeling) up to heights of 80 meters, as well as a 40 meter zip line (zip slide), ecological trails of 3.2 km and 9 km, and camping and a restaurant. From the foot of the cliffs there are fine views of Armenia, Calarca and the surrounding area.