Popayán

Popayán is a city in south-western Colombia, capital of the Cauca department, founded by Sebastián de Belalcázar in 1537. In the colonial era it was a wealthy seat of landowners and mine owners whose gold mines in the Pacific lowlands were worked by enslaved Africans, and it produced many leaders of the independence era. Known as the 'White City' for its whitewashed colonial buildings, it is famous for its Holy Week processions.