As a UNESCO City of Gastronomy, one can’t visit Popayán without trying its unique local cuisine. The locals sent us to Mora Castilla, a small and simple restaurant in the historic city center that many regard as the best place to sample payanés delicacies.
Popayán has a nice collection of colonial churches scattered throughout the whitewashed historic city center. They were all closed until after 3:30pm on the Friday I visited but I was able to admire most of them from the outside.
While exploring the historic city center of the “White City” of Popayán, there are a few interesting museums to pop into. The only negative is that you have to be a Spanish speaker to get anything out of them.
Besides the local specialties at Mora Castilla and phenomenal meal at Hotel Camino Real, we found a good variety of Colombian and international restaurants in Popayán.
Popayán is known as the White City (La Ciudad Blanca) for its whitewashed historic colonial city center. It was founded in 1537 by Spanish conquistador Sebastián de Belalcázar and is one of the most well-preserved colonial cities in all of Latin America.
Buga is primarily a destination for religious pilgrims. It typically attracts over three million Catholic pilgrims a year to the Basilica of the Lord of Miracles (Basílica del Señor de los Milagros).
Buga, one of Colombia’s prestigious Heritage Towns (Pueblos Patrimonio), is not typically on the tourist radar. This small Colombian city of nearly 100,000 attracts over three million Catholic pilgrims a year to the Basilica of the Lord of Miracles (Basílica del Señor de los Milagros), but there are other points of interest to visit besides its beautiful churches.
Buga is a town near Cali, Colombia, that’s primarily a destination for religious pilgrims.
