Cali

Cali is an inland city in the Cauca valley, cut off from the Pacific by the Western Cordillera. The nearest real beaches, at Juanchaco and Ladrilleros, need a drive of around three hours to Buenaventura and then a boat, which makes them an overnight trip. Closer to home, Caleños cool off in the river pools along the Pance on the southern edge of the city, a weekend ritual with families and picnics, and in hotel and club pools. A visitor who wants sea and sand should plan it as a separate leg of the journey.

Eating in Cali means the cooking of the Valle del Cauca and the Afro-Colombian Pacific coast. Street carts sell lulada and champús, cold drinks made from lulo fruit and maize, and the cholado, a mound of shaved ice, fruit and condensed milk. Bakeries turn out warm pandebono and pan de yuca in the morning, and lunch tends towards sancocho de gallina, aborrajados of fried plantain with cheese, and seafood stews with coconut and borojó from the coast.

The Galería Alameda market is the best place to see the fruits and the Pacific fish and eat at its counters. Granada and El Peñón hold the more polished restaurants, and San Antonio the small cafés. Fine dining is thin and international range is limited, but the regional food is genuinely its own.

Cali is not a city of grand monuments. Its colonial heart is small: the whitewashed church and convent of La Merced, the brick Mudéjar tower of San Francisco, the Gothic-style La Ermita by the river and the hilltop chapel of San Antonio above the old neighbourhood of the same name, whose single-storey houses make the most pleasant walk. The Museo La Tertulia is a respected modern art museum, and the Museo del Oro Calima shows pre-Hispanic goldwork. The Cristo Rey statue and the Gato del Río sculpture garden along the riverside are the familiar landmarks. A day or two covers it; the city's culture lives more in its music than its buildings.

Going out in Cali means dancing, and dancing means salsa. The city's identity rests on it, and people of every age dance with a speed and skill that visitors find startling. Small salsotecas play old vinyl records for serious listeners and dancers, while the big clubs of Juanchito, across the Cauca river on the city's edge, run until near dawn at weekends. Avenida Sexta and the Menga area hold the louder bars and crossover clubs, and Granada and San Antonio the calmer drinks.

December's Feria de Cali turns the whole city into a party for a week. Taking a few lessons first makes nights far more fun. Getting about after dark is best done by taxi or ride-hailing rather than on foot.

Cali sits at the foot of the Western Cordillera, and green, steep country starts at the edge of town. The Farallones de Cali national park rises behind the southern suburbs, with the Pance valley as the main entry point and trails into cloud forest, and the climb to the Cerro de las Tres Cruces is a local early-morning habit. Up the road towards the coast, the forests around Kilometre 18 are among the richest birding sites in Colombia, with tanagers, hummingbirds and the multicoloured tanager a short drive from the city.

Lake Calima, about two hours away, is a steady-wind reservoir for windsurfing and kitesurfing, and the valley floor below is cane fields. Some high trails open and close with access rules, so check before going.

The day trips from Cali are pleasant rather than celebrated. Buga, about an hour north, is a pilgrimage town built around the Basílica del Señor de los Milagros, with a tidy colonial centre. On the way lie the old sugar estates of the valley, among them the Hacienda El Paraíso, the setting of the nineteenth-century novel María, and Piedechinche with its small museum of sugar cane. Ginebra is a village known for Valle cooking and music, and the towns around Lake Calima make a breezy day out. The colonial white city of Popayán and the coffee region are better treated as overnight trips.

The Zoológico de Cali, set along the river with a strong collection of Colombian animals, is the main draw for children, and families spend weekends swimming and picnicking in the Pance river pools. Water parks and large malls with play areas fill rainy afternoons, and Colombian culture is warm and welcoming to children everywhere. Beyond that there is little built for them. Heavy traffic, uneven pavements, steady heat and the need for care in some areas, especially after dark, make it a destination where families tend to move by taxi and plan days around a few fixed outings.

Cali is a spread-out, flat city, and most visitors get around by taxi or ride-hailing, which are cheap and easy. The MIO bus rapid transit system runs on dedicated lanes along the main avenues and reaches many areas, though it is crowded at peak times and takes some learning. Walking works well within San Antonio, Granada and the riverside, which sit close to one another, but the city is hot, pavements are uneven and many streets are best avoided on foot at night. A car is not needed in town; for the Pance valley or the countryside, a driver or tour is simpler.

Shopping in Cali happens mostly in large modern malls in the south and north of the city, where Colombian fashion labels, swimwear and leather goods sit alongside international chains. More particular to the city are the shops selling salsa shoes and dancewear, and the stalls of the Galería Alameda for fruit, coffee and household goods. Crafts from the Pacific coast, such as woven baskets and marimba-inspired objects, turn up at fairs and small shops. There is no luxury street or boutique quarter to speak of.

Cali is a very affordable city for a visitor. Comfortable hotels and guesthouses in Granada and San Antonio cost little by international standards, set lunches and street snacks are cheap, and taxis and the MIO buses keep transport costs low. Museums and churches are inexpensive or free, and dance classes and nights out cost a fraction of what they would in Europe or North America. The upscale restaurants of the north and the busy weeks of the December feria are where spending climbs.

In Cali, live performance mostly means salsa. Big cabaret-style salsa shows, with dozens of dancers, acrobatics and a full orchestra, are put on regularly but not every night, so check the calendar before you go. Orchestras with brass sections also play in the dance halls, and the city's dance schools hold showcases where you can watch some of the fastest footwork anywhere. The Petronio Álvarez festival in August is devoted to the marimba, drums and voices of the Pacific coast and is one of Colombia's great music events. The Festival Mundial de Salsa brings dancers from around the world.

The formal arts are smaller. The Teatro Municipal Enrique Buenaventura and the Teatro Jorge Isaacs host theatre, touring shows and concerts by the Orquesta Filarmónica de Cali. The Teatro Experimental de Cali has a long place in Latin American theatre. Opera and classical seasons are limited, though, and outside the big shows and festivals there is not much on the formal stage.

Cali is a city of music and energy rather than rest. There is no bathing or spa tradition, and wellness is limited to hotel spas, beauty salons and a few day spas in the northern and southern districts. The calmer side of a stay comes from the green slopes of San Antonio, a slow afternoon in a garden café, or a weekend at a country house with a pool in the hills around Pance, which is where Caleños go to unwind.