Inírida, Guainía

Several pages redirect here. For other uses, see Inírida.

Inírida, formerly Puerto Inírida, is the capital city, and a municipality, of the department of Guainía in Colombia. It was established in 1963 on the site of the small village of Obando, at the time in the municipality of San Felipe. The municipality was renamed in 1974. The municipal population of 10,891 (census 2005) is mostly indigenous and accounts for about a third of the department's population.

History

Prior to 1960 there was little development in the area which was sparsely populated by almost entirely indigenous people. However, in the 1990s and 2000s with increased exploitation of the area’s natural resources, efforts have been made to control the local population. The increased military presence was in part because the area was deemed to be a FARC stronghold.

Geography

Located in the llanos at the confluence of the Inírida River and Guaviare River, most of the territory of the municipality of Puerto Inírida is river terrace and bottomland, although there are some hills. It is just 30 km from the Venezuelan border.

Economy

The main economic activities in the municipality, aside from government, are agriculture, fishing and cattle raising. Agriculture includes subsistence farming, the production of fiber from the petioles of the young chiquichiqui palm (Bactris speciosa), used for rope, and the rattan known as "Yaré" used for furniture and baskets.

Demographics

The society of Inírida is composed by a 53% of indigenous people; Curripacos, Puinaves and Piapocos. A 30% by colonizers and a 17% by other indigenous ethnic groups.

Transportation

Airports

The local airport known as Obando Airport , runway is, as of 2007, serviced by one airline, Satena, which has three flights a week to and from Bogotá and one flight a week to and from Villavicencio. However, the San Fernando de Atabapo airport in Venezuela is just 30 km away.

Notes

External links

• Official website of the Inirida municipality
• Aerial photograph of Puerto Inírida c.2000
• Inírida map from Fallingrain
• Asesoria Presidencial para Las Regiones: Puerto Inírida