It has a minor basilica, Our Lady of Mercy, which is a parish church of architectural note.

), a Medellin-based Latin Catholic Society of Apostolic Life of Pontifical Right for Men, which despite its name is especially active in Colombian missions.

Yarumal was founded in 1787 as San Luis de Gongora.

The current name of Yarumal comes from a local plant of the family Moraceae, known in botanical Latin as Cecropia peltata L. An unusually large proportion of the inhabitants suffer from early-onset Alzheimer's disease, which is caused by the gene mutation E280A.

Half of the affected residents were shown to have developed symptoms by their early 40s.