Activities, Food · Cali

El Peñón and Parque El Peñón

El Peñón is a neighborhood in western Cali, by the river and the Bulevar del Río, with restaurants in old houses, galleries and Museo La Tertulia nearby. On Sundays painters show their work in the park.

Hours: Park open all day; artists exhibit on Sundays, roughly 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (checked on 2026-10-12).
Price: Free (park); restaurants vary
Price: Free
Duration: 2 to 4 hours
Address: El Peñón neighborhood, between the Cali River and Avenida Belalcázar, Cali

See on the map Google Maps

The name comes from a large rock you could see when entering the area. It was cattle land, the 'mangas del Peñón', and in 1843 Jorge Isaacs's father bought a hacienda there. Development started around 1920, and many of those 1920s houses are now restaurants, galleries and small hotels.

Parque El Peñón is the heart of the neighborhood. Since 1986 it has worked as an open-air gallery: on Sundays, roughly 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., the Asociación de Artistas del Parque El Peñón hangs paintings, sculptures and crafts. The park has a bust of the poet Isaías Gamboa.

The neighborhood sits right next to the Bulevar del Río and a few blocks from Museo La Tertulia, so you can do it all on foot. We found no reports of damage in El Peñón from the August 2026 earthquake.

What to see

The artists in the park on Sunday.
The 1920s mansions turned into restaurants.
The Cali River and the Bulevar del Río, a block away.
Museo La Tertulia, a few blocks away.

Getting there

On foot from the Bulevar del Río, following the bank of the Cali River west.
Taxi to Parque El Peñón.
From San Antonio it's about a 10-minute walk, heading down toward the river.

Tips

Go on Sunday morning to see the exhibition in the park.
Have lunch in the neighborhood and walk on to the Bulevar del Río or La Tertulia.
It's one of the calmest neighborhoods to walk at night, but still take a taxi booked through an app to get back.