Getaways from Cali
Cali has mountains and rivers half an hour away. On weekends caleños head up to Kilómetro 18 for the cool air and the birds, go down to Pance to swim in the river, or drive out to Lago Calima. These are the trips we recommend, from the closest ones to the ones where you sleep out of town.
1NatureOver 4 hoursKilómetro 18 and the San Antonio forest: birds
Cloud forest about 30 minutes from Cali on the road to the coast, with farms that welcome birders: hummingbirds, tanagers and quetzals.
2NatureFreeOver 4 hoursRío Pance and Ecoparque de la Biodiversidad
Mountain river south of Cali where locals spend their Sundays. It's home to the 90-hectare Ecoparque de la Biodiversidad, with free entry.
3NatureOver 4 hoursLa Chorrera del Indio
A waterfall about 35 meters high with a natural pool in Pance, in the rural south of Cali. It's private land with paid entry, a restaurant and trails.
4Nature$$$$$All dayPNN Farallones de Cali: hiking Pico de Loro
Hike with a local guide through cloud forest from El Topacio, in Pance, to the top of Pico de Loro, at about 2,800 meters, inside Farallones.
5Nature$$$$$All dayLago Calima
Reservoir about 2 hours from Cali with wind almost every afternoon: Valle del Cauca's spot for kitesurfing and windsurfing, with the town of El Darién next to it.
6Museums$$$$$0 to 2 hoursMuseo Arqueológico Calima
INCIVA museum in Calima El Darién with pieces from the peoples who lived in the Valle del Cauca more than two thousand years ago. Open every day after the earthquake.
7Nature$$$$$2 to 4 hoursParque Natural Regional El Vínculo
Dry forest reserve 3 km from Buga, with guided trails and a lookout over the Cauca Valley. Run by INCIVA, it reopened after the earthquake.
8Food$$$$$All dayGinebra and wood-fired sancocho
Town an hour from Cali known for hen sancocho cooked over a wood fire; roadside restaurants, a river and the Mono Núñez square.
9Nature$$$$$All daySan Cipriano, brujitas and the river
Village in the Pacific rainforest that you reach by brujita, a wooden platform pushed by a motorbike along the railroad tracks, to swim and float down the river on an inner tube.
10Nature$$$$$All dayBahía Málaga, Juanchaco and Ladrilleros: humpback whales
From July to October, humpback whales come to give birth off Juanchaco and Ladrilleros; you get there by boat from Buenaventura.
