Cayey

Town in east-central Puerto Rico, in the West Indies, 40 km/25 mi south of San Juan; population (2000 est) 20,000. It is a summer resort, and the commercial centre of a district which grows sugar, coffee, and tobacco. The whole of southeastern Puerto Rico is a tobacco-growing area, and Consolidated Cigars have a large manufacturing plant in Cayey. Other industries include tourism and the manufacture of clothing.

Cayey was the home of a native Indian people known as the Toíta. They inhabited the banks of the Río de la Plata. Europeans first came to the area in 1519, but they did not begin settling there until after 1532.

The town was founded by the Spanish in 1774 on the military road between San Juan and Ponce. It became a summer resort because it has cooler temperatures than other parts of the island due to its altitude of 400 m/1,310 ft.

There is a regional college, founded in 1967, which is part of the University of Puerto Rico,