Popayán is known throughout Colombia for its whitewashed colonial city center. It’s one of the best-preserved colonial cities in all of Latin America. Homes, government buildings, churches, museums, and shops are all painted white.
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.
Calima Lake was a huge disappointment. Maybe our expectations were too high, but we thought it would be much nicer.
Darién is the biggest settlement around Calima Lake. It’s a pleasant town with not much to do, but we enjoyed it.
There are many of places to stay around Calima Lake, including hotels, hostels, fincas, and camping. You can find some of them on this website. The biggest settlement around the lake is the town of Darién, where there are many hotels and restaurants.