Salsa Dancing in Cali

Cali is a city in the Valle del Cauca department in Columbia, southwest of Bogota. It’s known for its salsa dancing as well as for impressive architecture and wonderful cathedrals.

Cali is the place to be if you are interested in learning salsa dancing. You can watch or participate and the best time to begin is in August when the city hosts an 8-day salsa music festival. Participating are more than 4,000 dancers, musicians and artists with about 20 international orchestras. There are various shows, workshops, talks and salsa lessons. Another highlight is the Cali Festival in December which offers different celebrations and event all around the city and all with loud music and plenty of dancing.

Cerro de las Tres Cruces are three amazing crosses high in the mountains that overlook the city. The views are awesome and the hike up has become a popular hiking activity.

Museo de Arte Moderno La Tertulia offers wonderful exhibitions of contemporary painting, sculpture and photography from both local and international artists.

Iglesia de la Ermita is an impressive neo-Gothic church that houses the 18th century painting of El Senior de la Caria or Lord of the Sugarcane. There have been many miracles attributed to this image.

Museo de Arte Religoso La Merced has made its home in the La Merced Convent which is Cali’s oldest building. This museum offers visitors an extensive collection of colonial religious paintings and relics. This is a lovely 16th century structure and has three internal courtyards.

Cristo Rey offers fantastic views of the city. This is a monument that is similar to the towering Christ statue in Rio De Janeiro. At the top are food stands.

El Gato del Rio or The River cat is a famous sculpture of a cat created by Colombian artist Hernando Tejada. It is located on the side of the Cali River. When he passed away local artists sculpted another 15 feline statues in his honor.

Iglesia de la Merced had its beginning in 1545 and is the city’s oldest church. This whitewashed building was built in the Spanish colonial style. It has a long, narrow nave and stucco construction. Inside is an impressive heavily gilded Baroque high altar topped by the Virgen de las Mercedes, the patron saint of the city.

Torre Mudejar is an unusual brick bell tower and is one of the best examples of Mudejar architecture in Columbia.

Iglesia de San Francisco is a neo-Classical church that dates back to the 18th century. It is renowned for the adjacent Torre Mudejat, brick bell tower.

Hacienda El Paraiso take the time to head for the old sugarcane plantations and see how the Columbian elite lived in the 19th century. This is a beautifully restored manor house that has been converted into a museum. It offer visitors a look into Valluna life. It’s the setting of Jorge Isaacs’ romantic-era novel Maria.

Zoological de Cali is the best zoo in the country. Here you can see capybaras, anteaters, lots of monkeys and a butterfly enclosure. It also has a good aquarium with many Amazonian species.

Iglesia de San Antonio was constructed in 1747 and is the smallest church sitting atop of a hill in the Colina de San Antonio, west of the old center. It has valuable tallas quitenas, 17th century carved wood statues of the saints that represent the style known as the Quinto School.

Barrio San Antonio is Cali's historic center near the church. An interesting neighborhood to walk around in. It has many cafes, bars, and restaurants and is the perfect place to lay back, relax, and enjoy,