Neiva, Huila

Neiva (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈnejβa]) is the capital and most populated city of the Department of Huila, south central Colombia. It is located in the valley of the Magdalena River with a municipal population of 392,009 as on 2026. It is one of the most important cities in southern Colombia, mainly because of its strategic geographical location.

Neiva was first founded in 1539 by Juan de Cabrera in an area now belonging to the municipality of Campoalegre. In 1550, Juan de Alonso y Arias relocated the city to the place that is now the municipality of Villavieja. At this location, the city was destroyed by indigenous tribes in 1560. The city was founded, at its current location, for the third and final time in 1612 by Diego de Ospina y Medinilla.

Neiva became important during the colonial times because of its strategic location. It was located in the trade route that communicated the Viceroyalty of Peru with Bogotá and Caracas. The city was declared as the capital of the Province of Neiva, made up of the Neiva, La Plata, Timaná, Purificación cabildos. In 1905 the city became the capital of the newly created Huila Department, which had been severed from the Tolima Department by the national government.

In 1967, the city was hit severely by an earthquake of magnitude 7.2. The earthquake destroyed several buildings including the Palacio de las 57 ventanas, the Governor's building.

In 2003 the city was the scene of a large bombing that was targeted at the Colombian President. 13 people were killed.

The city has the dry-summer tropical savannah climate (Köppen climate classification: As), relatively rare and scattered across the world.

Due to its location near the equator and its low altitude, the city has a hot annual average climate with daytime temperatures ranging from 88 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit. It is about 300 kilometers / 186.4 miles (about a five-hour drive) from the Colombian capital, Bogotá.

The city of Palembang in Indonesia is the antipode of Neiva. Neiva and Palembang is the only pair of antipodal cities in the world where both cities have population above 300.000 people.