Yopal, Administrative center in Casanare, Colombia
Yopal is an administrative city in the Casanare department of eastern Colombia, located at the western edge of the Llanos plains. The city serves as a regional center with government buildings, commercial districts, and residential areas spread across a flat terrain under a tropical climate.
The settlement was founded in 1935 by Pedro Pablo González as a small center in the Llanos. In 1974 it became the capital of the newly formed Casanare department.
The name comes from an indigenous term for a type of palm tree that grows in the region. Visitors today see wide streets and large plazas shaped by the oil economy, where commercial shops mix with restaurants and small stores.
El Alcaraván Airport offers connections to larger Colombian cities and makes arrival easier. Road links lead to Sogamoso and other regions of the Cordillera Oriental, and travelers should expect tropical heat and occasional rain.
Since the mid-1990s the economy shifted strongly through the petroleum sector, leading to rapid population growth. Cattle raising was once the main source of income, while today oil extraction and services shape the cityscape.
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