The city was initially called Villa Holguín, in honor of Carlos Holguín Mallarino, the president of the country at the time. It is believed the name was changed to Armenia after a place of the same name, in memory of the Armenian people murdered in the Turkish Ottoman Hamidian Massacres of 1894-97 in Western Armenia. It is also known by its nickname "Ciudad Milagro" (Miracle City).
Armenia is one of the stepping off points for the Coffee Region. Colombian coffee is the smoothest in the world and is grown on the fertile lands of the Central cordillera, where the coffee bushes are interspersed with a wide variety of native species to create beautiful landscapes full of life and color.
Los Nevados National Park, situated in this region, enjoys landscapes of immense solitude amid perpetual snows, frailejones, and magical lakes.
