Cali Highlights

By Richard McColl

Without doubt no one can pass through Cali without at least once attempting to salsa with a local. If this is not to your liking, you could opt out and head the chic barrios of El Peñon or Granada and browse the boutiques and dine on sumptuous dishes in the city’s most exclusive restaurants.

No trip to Cali would be complete without an amble through the colonial neighborhood of San Antonio. Walk until you reach the San Antonio chapel at the top of the hill from where you can catch a great view of the city before wandering down the hill into the old part of the center which is lined with theatres and museums in an architectural mix of colonial and modern buildings.

Salsa is the pulsating heart of this city, and from cab drivers listening to the tinny beats on their vehicle radios to live performances in public spaces and theatres, you can’t avoid it. There are dozens of salsa schools for the novice to learn some steps and a good many clubs that will have even the most lead-footed foreigner eager to give it a go.

Cali is also considered a fantastic pace for shopping with a couple of very well regarded shopping centres including the Unicentro, Chipichape and Palmetto Plaza.