López de Micay (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈlopes ðe ˈmikaj]) is a town and municipality in the Cauca Department, Colombia.

The first Spanish explorations in the region were carried out in 1525, when the conquistador Diego de Almagro discovered the San Juan de Micay River, and found it very difficult to settle any colony due to the inhospitable nature of the territory - flooded coasts, thick vegetation and indigenous tribes willing to defend their independent state.

[2] [3] During the following years, Spanish ships from Panama raided, with the purpose of seizing indigenous' gold and taking many native slaves from the regions of the San Juan de Micay River, who would later pass as labor to the mines and colonial haciendas of the interior.

However, despite having clear legal recognition, there is no delimitation of the spaces between the Indigenous Reservations and the Community Councils, a situation that has not affected coexistence but that must be corrected during our administration.

This form of occupation exposes the high level of rurality and the difficulties of connectivity and integration between the different local human settlements, as well as with the neighboring municipalities and the capital of the department, this being one of the main challenges to be addressed by the administration.

[4] Fishing is very important activity, carried out in an artisanal manner for both self-subsistence and marketing with Buenaventura, with low levels of profit due to intermediation and transportation costs.

Artisanal mining has been a historical economic activity in the area, specifically in the Chuare, Siguí and Micay rivers and some of its tributaries.