Pasto

Founded in 1537 at the foot of the Galeras volcano in the Andes, Pasto — officially San Juan de Pasto — is the capital of Colombia's Nariño department, with a walkable centre dense with historic churches and a strong café and restaurant scene. During the 19th-century independence struggle, the city's fierce resistance earned it the nickname "La Leona de los Andes" (the Lioness of the Andes), and it remains the administrative and cultural hub of the southern Andean region.

• Population410,835
• Nearest water from center0.2 km
• Nearest mountain from center8.7 km
• UNESCO within 50 km7