The town, currently known as "La Colina Iluminada de
los Andes" ("The Illuminated Hill of the Andes"), is the second
oldest municipality in the department. In Pre-Columbian times the territory
where modern Filandia is located was occupied by indigenous peoples of the Quimbaya
tribe, who not only practiced agriculture but were also noted for their
metalwork, particularly in gold and tumbaga, an alloy of gold and copper. The
name Filandia comes from "Filia" (daughter), "Andia"
(Andes); Filandia, daughter of the Andes. The Quimbayans began to diminish in
number after the arrival of the Spanish in the
