The sprawling city of Cali is the third biggest in Colombia, but as more of a business city, it’s not really on the tourist trail. However, as the Salsa Capital of the World, it’s a great place to experience Colombian nightlife.
My Posts on Cali
General Info:
Attractions:
Introduction to Cali
Cali, officially Santiago de Cali, was founded by Spanish conquistador Sebastián de Belalcázar on July 25, 1536. It originally sat a few kilometers north and moved to its present location in 1537. Most of the land was used for cattle grazing and sugarcane cultivation until the 18th century. The city was also initially the local provincial capital, but Belalcázar moved it to Popayán because of more favorable weather.
The residents rebelled against the Spanish crown on July 3, 1810. It declared independence from the Province of Popayán on February 1, 1811, along with Anserma, Cartago, Buga, and Toro, but the royalists retook control by 1816. New uprisings took place in 1819, and Simón Bolívar (1783-1830) arrived in 1822. The city became an important military outpost that contributed greatly to the independence of other countries to the south.
Throughout the rest of the 19th century, Cali continued to be a mostly agricultural community but began developing industrial and financial sectors. The first telegraph was installed on February 11, 1873, and the electricity arrived on October 26, 1910.
Cali was still a relatively small city until the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914. The city transformed with the construction of the railroad and road connections to the port city of Buenaventura between 1926 and 1945. This allowed for the export of coffee and sugarcane, resulting in an economic boom.
Recent History
More recently, a tragic event occurred on August 7, 1956, when 7 trucks carrying explosives for the army exploded in the city center, killing explosives about 1,100 people. Cali hosted the 1971 Pan American Games, but then suffered for through the 1990s as the Cali Cartel battled for control of the illegal drug trade with the Medellín Cartel.
Cali has since rebounded from its dark recent past, improving infrastructure and quality of life as well as hosting major international events. The city features very good hotels, some excellent restaurants, and great nightlife.
My Experience with Cali
I’ve been to Cali several times to visit Marisol’s relatives and just for fun. In all honesty, I’ve never really been impressed by the city, but there’s enough to keep anyone busy for at least a couple days. As far as the weather, it can be brutally hot and humid during the day but it tends to be more comfortable at night.
You can pretty much see the highlights in a day or two, including sites in the historic city center, some of the major museums, plus the world-class zoo. For lovers of salsa music and dancing, however, the city might be worth a longer stay.
Getting to Cali
If traveling from an international destination, there are plenty of flights into the city. Otherwise, if you’re already in Colombia and within a few hours, you can take one of the frequent buses.
Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport
The airport, Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport (CLO), is located northeast of the city. It serves several domestic destinations. Internationally, it’s possible to go direct from just a few cities such as Santiago, Madrid, Panama City, Miami, and New York (as of June 2025). A taxi is the fastest way to get into the city center from there. You can also take a bus to the bus terminal.
Cali Bus Terminal
It’s possible to get to Cali by bus from several major cities in Colombia. It’s also a major gateway to cities in the south of the country and Ecuador, with overnight trips to the border at Ipiales (11-12 hours).
In my experience, I would only take the bus if it’s your only option. That would include cities such as Pereira, Manizales, or Popayán. If you’re quite far away in Bogotá or Medellín, I recommend flying.
From the bus terminal in Pereira, we used TaxCentral. They generally have two options, bus and Kia. The Kia only takes three hours, while the bus is just a bit more economical but a much longer ride. Expreso Palmira, Tax Belalcázar, and Expreso Trejos also make the trip. To and from Popayán, it takes about three hours.
Where to Stay in Cali
Cali has a great choice of hotels for both business and pleasure, ranging from basic hostels to top five-star name brands. Although I usually stay with friends or family on my many trips through the city, I’ve had the chance to stay at two different hotels.
Hotel OLH Versalles
I’ve stayed a couple times at Hotel OLH Versalles (formerly Ofi+Hotel), which is not too far from the bus terminal. It’s a modern boutique business hotel with big rooms. It was spotless and the service was friendly, not mention the price has been a bargain. (Note: all photos below are from when it was Ofi+Hotel.)
Hotel OLH has an excellent breakfast included in the price. Choose from an omelet, scrambled or fried eggs, sandwich, or cereal. Each meal comes with a fresh juice, choice of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate, and a choice of bread, arepa, or a pancake. It can be served in your room or on the rooftop terrace.
Travelers Suites Castellón de Juanambú
For a nice romantic getaway, there’s Travelers Suites Castellón de Juanambú. It’s located near the upscale Versailles area on a quiet residential street. We opted for a suite, which has a room 40 square meters, a large sitting area, and a small kitchenette. It was like our own private apartment in Cali.
We particularly enjoyed the huge balcony with the jacuzzi and excellent views over Cali. The service was excellent and the room was clean with a good wifi connection. Breakfast was chosen the night before and delivered to the room at a specified time the next morning. They also have a decent lunch and dinner room service menu.
Travelers Suites is located within walking distance of several restaurants and bars, but is up a steep hill. It might be easier to take a taxi coming back.
Where to Eat in Cali
As to be expected in a city geared towards business, there are a lot of great restaurants in Cali. We’ve generally had good experiences.
Litany
Litany is an authentic Lebanese restaurant that brings all of the flavors of the Middle East to Cali. We had an excellent meal and were very happy with the service.
We sat down in the cozy dining which was quite full. The server happily explained some of the dishes to Marisol, who didn’t have much experience with Lebanese cuisine at the time. There was a great variety of dishes to choose from, making it difficult to select what to have for dinner.
After thinking long and hard, we decided to order a bunch of dishes to share. We settled on a kebab plate, chicken and sumac rolls, and a sampler plate that came with fried kibbe, tabbouleh, fattoush salad, falafel, rice, hummus, and stuffed grape leaves. Everything was delicious and full of flavor. Only the baba ghannouj was a bit different than expected. It was very good but not what I’m used to because it was made with a tomato base. I had never experienced that before.
We topped off the meal with knafeh and Arabic coffee. It wasn’t like the künefe I was used to in Turkey but still good.
The Market
Dinner at The Market, located inside the Marriott Hotel, is a good experience. They have a huge selection of international cuisine in a casual dining room with a nice ambience. Much of it is “build your own”, including burgers, pasta, pizza, sandwiches, and wraps. We’ve eaten there three times and were very happy with the food, but the service always seemed to slow near the end the meal.
The only starter we’ve had is the Greek salad. It’s good but not authentic. Pass on it.
For our first dinner, I built my own burger with cheddar cheese, tomato, guacamole, barbecue sauce, sautéed onions, and sautéed mushrooms. It was great. Marisol had the encocado de mariscos and she enjoyed it very much. The seafood was cooked perfectly and the sauce was delicious.
On our second visit, Marisol had ceviche and I built my own pasta bowl. I tried fettuccine mixed with shrimp, calamari, basil, garlic, mushrooms, and green olives, and topped with arrabiatta sauce. I chose three cheeses – feta, parmesan, and mozzarella – which came on the side. Again, everything was great.
On our third visit, Marisol stuck with ceviche again and I built my own pizza. I had a thin crust with garlic tomato sauce, mushrooms, olives, cheddar, feta, parmesan, salami, pepperoni, and chorizo. We had company this time, and they built their own burgers and sandwiches.
As for dessert, we’ve only had room on one of our trips. We had the crème brûlée which is very good.
La Cabaña
La Cabaña is a long drive up into the mountains on the road to Buenaventura, but it’s a great place to escape the heat of the city. This traditional Colombian restaurant has excellent meat and fish dishes at slightly high but reasonable prices. Marisol enjoyed her ajiaco while I had a succulent baby beef. They also have amazing chorizo.
Llanera & Carbón Parrilla Gourmet
Also on the south side of the city is Llanera & Carbón Parrilla Gourmet, which specializes in carne a la llanera. It’s a lively place with good service.
We ordered a picada, which featured a delicious mountain of ribs, beef, chorizo, and morcilla (blood sausage) topped with plantain chips and served on a bed of potatoes and yucca. For dessert, I had a brownie with ice cream, which wasn’t anything special.
Sushi Green
Sushi Green is located in the food court of the Jardín Plaza shopping center. They have excellent sushi at reasonable prices, but service was terribly slow. It took over an hour to get five rolls of sushi.
Simón Parrilla
Simón Parrilla has very good steaks and traditional Colombian food. There are two locations and we visited the one in the south of the city. The restaurant is in a large wooden building and featured a live band to entertain the diners, starting at around 9pm.
I had a baby beef steak and Marisol had a churrasco. We both enjoyed our meals very much, but this restaurant is also out of the way. It might be worth trying their branch in the northern part of the city near all the action.
Clowns Deli
Clowns Deli has three locations in Cali. We visited the one attached to La Tertulia Museum. They have a decent menu but we only had a fresh grape smoothie. It was pretty good but service was very slow.
Epa la Arepa (Permanently Closed)
One night, we had dinner at Epa la Arepa near Marisol’s sister’s house. It had a menu full of arepa and patacón dishes among others. We had the patacón con todo (patacón with everything), which contained several types of meat, guacamole, and salsa. It was delicious but the patacón was a little too overcooked. It’s far away from anything worth visiting in Cali so you probably shouldn’t bother coming in the first place.
Unique Fruit Drinks in Cali
On any visit to Cali, you have to try the unique fruit drinks that originated in the city and throughout the region. You’ll find stands selling them in many plazas and parks in the city, but some of them are also popular all over Colombia.
Lulada
First, lulada is a popular drink made from the pulp of lulo, a regional fruit that’s very sour but delicious. The drink originated in Cali but you can find it all over Colombia.
Champús
Next is champús (or shampús), which is another drink made of lulo, but also with pineapple, panela, cinnamon, and corn, with condensed milk drizzled on top. It’s popular in southwest Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, but each country has their own special variation. It’s quite a combination!
Cholado
Finally, there’s cholado (also known as raspado), which is a traditional drink invented in the nearby town of Jamundí. It’s basically a fruit salad mixed with crushed ice and topped with condensed milk. It can get too sweet but it’s a great treat on a hot day.
Shopping in Cali
Cali has a few good shopping malls. I’ve been to Chipichape in the north and Jardín Plaza in the south, among others. Of those two, I prefer Jardín Plaza.
Safety in Cali
A note on safety: many parts of Cali are still considered dangerous but you should be fine in the historic city center during the day. Take normal precautions and don’t wander outside the touristy area. At night, it’s better to take a taxi, even you’re just going a few blocks.
We’ve never had any problems during any time of day in the upscale area of Barrio Granada, where many of the city’s best restaurants, bars, and hotels are located as well as many shops, or around Barrio San Antonio.
Stay Connected in Cali *
With a flexible eSIM data plan from Saily, you can reduce or even eliminate international roaming fees AND save time, so you can enjoy your trip without missing a beat. Saily is built by Nord Security, trusted by over 14 million people worldwide, and is compatible with both iOS and Android.
Click here to learn more about Saily, or here to get started. Don’t forget to use this promo code to get 5% off: nomadicniko
*This section contains an affiliate link. By clicking on the link, you receive an offer at no cost to you, and, if you make a purchase, I receive a small “thank you” – a win-win for both of us!