Must-see attractions in Cali & Southwest Colombia

  • Church of Las Lajas.

    Santuario de Las Lajas

    Cali & Southwest Colombia

    This massive neo-gothic stone church is built directly against the rocky wall of the gorge where the miraculous image appeared. A gilded painting of the…

  • Fin del Mundo

    Cali & Southwest Colombia

    Fin del Mundo (the End of the World) is a towering waterfall that plunges off a large rock ledge down into the Río Mocoa valley below. A path leads to the…

  • Iglesia de San Francisco

    Popayán

    Dating back to the late 18th century, Popayán's largest colonial church is also its most beautiful. Inside are a fine high altar and a collection of seven…

  • Casa Museo Negret & MIAMP

    Popayán

    This 18th-century house is the home of world-renowned Colombian artist Edgar Negret, whose vast abstract iron sculptures dot plazas around the country…

  • Iglesia de la Merced

    Cali

    Founded in 1545, this is Cali's oldest church. It's a lovely whitewashed building in the Spanish-colonial style, with a long, narrow nave, and humble wood…

  • Mountains of the Farallones de Cali National Park, Colombia.

    Parque Nacional Natural Farallones de Cali

    Cali & Southwest Colombia

    This 1500-sq-km national park protects the headlands around Cali. During the height of the armed conflict it was closed and it has yet to be officially…

  • Ornoyaco

    Cali & Southwest Colombia

    Surrounded by lush jungle, this high-volume waterfall drops into a deep and inviting swimming hole that's a wonderful spot for a refreshing dip. Ornoyaco…

  • Museo de Arte Moderno La Tertulia

    Cali

    Presents changing exhibitions of contemporary painting, sculpture and photography from both local and South American artists. Look out for works by…

  • Santuario de Flora y Fauna Volcán Galeras

    Cali & Southwest Colombia

    Just 8km from the center of Pasto, Volcán Galeras (4267m), one of Colombia's most active volcanoes, continues to rumble and threaten. The upper slopes of…

  • Museo Arqueológico la Merced

    Cali

    Housed in an 18th-century annex to La Merced, this interesting museum contains a collection of pre-Columbian pottery left behind by the major cultures…

  • Museo Arquidiocesano de Arte Religioso

    Popayán

    You don't have to be an expert on religious art to be impressed by this collection of paintings, statues, altar pieces, silverware and liturgical vessels,…

  • Reserva Natural Paway Mariposario

    Cali & Southwest Colombia

    This small nature reserve covers 13 hectares of rainforest beside a rushing river. In addition to a butterfly enclosure and a trail through primary forest…

  • Ojo de Dios

    Cali & Southwest Colombia

    Hidden amid lush jungle off the path to Fin del Mundo, this impressive site has a creek gushing through a hole in the roof of an open cave, which forms a…

  • Isla Corota

    Cali & Southwest Colombia

    This small island is a national park, and at an altitude of 2830m it offers a rare glimpse of cloud forest, bursting with some 500 species of plants…

  • Cerro El Morro de Tulcán

    Popayán

    Behind the Universitario de Tulcán, this hill is topped with an equestrian statue of the city's founder, Sebastián de Belalcázar, and is said to be the…

  • Casa Museo Mosquera

    Popayán

    This interesting museum is housed in an 18th-century mansion that was once home to General Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera, who was Colombia's president on…

  • Museo de Arte Religoso La Merced

    Cali

    Housed in La Merced convent, Cali's oldest building, this museum has an extensive collection of colonial religious paintings and relics. It's worth a…

  • Cañon de Mandiyaco

    Cali & Southwest Colombia

    Just off the main highway about 20km north of Mocoa, this narrow canyon feeding the Río Caqueta is lined with interesting rock formations and is…

  • Cerro de las Tres Cruces

    Cali

    The views are spectacular at these three crosses high in the mountains overlooking the city, and the hike up here is a popular outdoor activity among…

  • Museo del Oro

    Cali & Southwest Colombia

    For insight into the pre-Columbian cultures of Nariño, check out this museum's small but interesting collection of indigenous gold and pottery. Among the…

  • Museo Taminango de Artes y Tradiciones

    Cali & Southwest Colombia

    This museum has interesting displays on indigenous weaving techniques and barniz de Pasto alongside a hodgepodge of antiques. It's worth visiting since it…

  • Museo del Oro Calima

    Cali

    One block east from Iglesia de la Merced, this excellent museum displays more than 600 pieces of intricate gold jewelry, as well as ceramics used in…

  • Museo de Historia Natural

    Popayán

    One of the best of its kind in the country, this museum on the grounds of Universidad del Cauca is noted for its extensive collection of insects,…

  • Iglesia de la Ermita

    Cali

    Overlooking the Río Cali, this striking neo-Gothic church houses the 18th-century painting of El señor de la caña (Lord of the Sugarcane) that survived…

  • Museo Arqueológico Calima

    Cali & Southwest Colombia

    Set in spacious, well-manicured gardens up the hill from the plaza, this museum houses an impressive collection of pre-Columbian pottery and some replicas…

  • Iglesia La Ermita

    Popayán

    Constructed in 1546, Popayán's oldest church is well worth seeing for its fine main retable and the fragments of old frescoes, which were only discovered…

  • Torre Mudéjar

    Cali

    This unusual brick bell tower is one of the best examples of Mudejar architecture in Colombia.

  • Capilla de Belén

    Popayán

    This chapel on a hill just east of the city center offers fine views over the town.

  • Hacienda El Paraíso

    Cali

    Escape the city for a day and head to the old sugarcane plantations to see how the Colombian elite lived in the 19th century. Hacienda El Paraíso, a…

  • Zoológico de Cali

    Cali

    This large zoo is the best in the country. It has a good collection of species indigenous to Colombia, including chiguiros (capybaras), oso hormigueros …

  • Cristo Rey

    Cali

    Resembling a scaled-down version of Rio's famous monument, this towering Christ statue atop Cerro las Cristales affords panoramic views of Cali. At the…

  • Iglesia de San Antonio

    Cali

    Constructed in 1747, this small church is set atop a hill, the Colina de San Antonio, west of the old center. It shelters valuable tallas quiteñas, 17th…

  • Puente del Humilladero

    Popayán

    Popayán's emblematic landmark, this 240m-long, 11-arch brick bridge was constructed in the mid-19th century to improve access to the center from the poor…

  • Museo Guillermo Valencia

    Popayán

    This late 18th-century building is full of period furniture, paintings, old photos and documents that once belonged to the Popayán-born poet who lived…

  • Iglesia de San Francisco

    Cali

    This neoclassical church dating from the 18th century is most renowned for the adjacent Torre Mudéjar, an unusual brick bell tower that is one of the best…

  • Catedral

    Popayán

    The youngest church in Popayán's center, this neoclassical cathedral was built between 1859 and 1906 on the site of a previous cathedral, which had been…

  • Museum Las Lajas

    Cali & Southwest Colombia

    In the lower levels of the Santuario de Las Lajas church, this museum includes exhibits on the history of Las Lajas plus some religious art.

  • Universidad del Cauca

    Popayán

    The central seat of this public university is in a magnificent old colonial mansion that non-students may only admire from the outside.

  • Iglesia de San Juan Bautista

    Cali & Southwest Colombia

    Grand on the outside, gold encrusted inside, this church on Pasto's main square is a fine example of colonial baroque architecture.

  • Iglesia de la Merced

    Cali & Southwest Colombia

    This church is noted for its elaborate wooden spiral staircase.