Úmbita

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Úmbita: a small town in Boyacá, Colombia

Úmbita is a town and municipality in the Márquez Province of the Boyacá Department in Colombia. It sits on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, about 70 kilometers from the department’s capital, Tunja. The area is between 1,600 and 3,400 meters above sea level.

The municipality borders Nuevo Colón and Tibaná to the north, Chinavita to the east, La Capilla and Tibiritá (in Cundinamarca) to the south, and Villapinzón (Cundinamarca) and Turmequé to the west.

The name Úmbita comes from the Chibcha language and means “your point, your summit.” Before the Spanish arrived, the area was part of the Muisca federation. Úmbita was ruled by a cacique named Cochonuba. It belonged to a larger division called Chivití, which it shared with Nuevo Colón. The settlement was split off and founded on November 17, 1779.

Úmbita is very rural, with about 90% of residents living outside the urban center. The economy relies on farming, especially potatoes, making Úmbita one of the top potato-producing villages in Boyacá. Other crops include maize, peas, beans, arracacha, yuca, sugar cane, avocados, bananas, and coffee. In recent years the area has expanded fruit farming to prunes, apples, peaches, blackberries, pears, and tree tomatoes, plus native fruits curuba and uchuva. Medicinal plants such as mint, chamomile, plantain leaves, and nettle are also grown.

The municipality covers about 148 square kilometers. In 2015 it had around 10,300 residents. The mayor for 2020–2023 was Rafael Ernesto Ramírez Vallejo. The local time zone is Colombia Standard Time (UTC-5).