Sights in Southwest Colombia
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Zoológico de Cali
The Zoológico de Cali has a good collection of species indigenous to Colombia, including chiguiros (capybaras), oso hormigueros (anteaters), condors, monkeys and a mariposario (butterfly enclosure). It’s 2km southwest of the center in Barrio Santa Teresita and is most easily accessed by taxi.
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Museo Arqueológico la Merced
The Museo Arqueológico la Merced is housed in the former La Merced convent, Cali’s oldest building. Its five rooms contain a small collection of pre-Columbian pottery left behind by the major cultures from central and southern Colombia.
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Museo del Oro
The Museo del Oro, one block away from La Merced, has a small but fine collection of gold and pottery of the Calima culture.
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Iglesia de San Francisco
The Iglesia de San Francisco is the city’s largest colonial church and arguably the most beautiful. Inside are a fine high altar and a collection of seven unique side altars. The 1983 earthquake cracked open the ossary, revealing six unidentified mummies. Two are left, and you can visit them on a one-hour guided tour of the church that includes the five-story bell tower and the outdoor cupolas. Look for the tourist policeman outside the church doors who conducts the tours.
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Archeological Park
The 78-hectare archeological park is 2.5km west of the town of San Agustín. There are in total about 130 statues in the park, either found in situ or collected from other areas, including some of the best examples of San Agustín statuary. Plan on spending around three hours in the park. Guides congregate in the museum’s outdoor cafe, but you don’t really need one.
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Iglesia de la Merced
The Iglesia de la Merced is in the former La Merced convent. Begun around 1545, it remains the city’s oldest church. It’s a lovely whitewashed building in the Spanish colonial style, with a long, narrow nave, and humble wood and stucco construction. Inside, a heavily gilded baroque high altar is topped by the Virgen de las Mercedes, the patron saint of the city.
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Hacienda El Paraíso
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 lovingly restored manor house, has been converted into a museum. It provides an insight into Cauca life, complete with literary connections - it's the setting of Jorge Isaacs' romantic period novel María.
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Iglesia de San Antonio
The small 1757 Iglesia de San Antonio is set atop a hill, the Colina de San Antonio, west of the old center. It shelters valuable tallas quiteñas, 17th-century carved-wood statues of the saints, representing the style known as the Quito School. The church also affords a good view of the city; it's just a 10-minute walk west of the Torre Mudéjar.
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Museo Guillermo Valencia
Museo Guillermo Valencia is dedicated to the Popayán-born poet who once lived here. The late-18th-century building is full of period furniture, paintings, old photos and documents related to the poet and his son, Guillermo León Valencia, who was Colombia’s president from 1962 to 1966.
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Casa Museo Mosquera
Casa Museo Mosquera is housed in an 18th-century mansion that was once home to General Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera, a politician and historian who was Colombia’s president on four occasions between 1845 and 1867. Note the urn in the wall; it contains Mosquera’s heart.
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Panteón de los Próceres
Located just next door to the theater is the neoclassical Panteón de los Próceres, which shelters the remains of Popayán’s most illustrious sons, including General Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera and botanist Francisco José de Caldas (1770–1816).
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Iglesia de la Ermita
Overlooking the Río Cali, the neo-Gothic Iglesia de la Ermita, constructed between 1930 and 1948, houses the 18th-century painting of El Señor de la Caña (Lord of the Sugarcane); many miracles are attributed to the image.
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Museo Taminango de Artes y Tradiciones
The Museo Taminango de Artes y Tradiciones has a hodgepodge of antiques but is worth seeing since it’s housed in a meticulously restored casona (large house) from 1623, reputedly the oldest surviving house in town.
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Museo Arqueológico
At the entrance to the archeological park is the Museo Arqueológico, which features smaller statues, pottery, utensils, jewelry and other objects, along with interesting background information about the San Agustín culture.
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Museo de Historia Natural
Just east of the historic center you’ll find the Museo de Historia Natural. One of the best of its kind in the country, it’s noted for its extensive collection of insects, butterflies and, in particular, stuffed birds.
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Museo Arquidiocesano de Arte Religioso
Museo Arquidiocesano de Arte Religioso has a good collection of religious art, including paintings, statues, altar pieces, silverware and liturgical vessels, most of which date from the 17th to 19th centuries.
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Museo de Arte Moderno La Tertulia
The Museo de Arte Moderno La Tertulia presents temporary exhibitions of contemporary painting, sculpture and photography. It’s a 15-minute walk from the city center along the Río Cali.
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Cathedral
The neoclassical cathedral is the youngest church in the center, built between 1859 and 1906 on the site of a previous cathedral, which had been completely destroyed by an earthquake.
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Iglesia La Ermita
Built in 1546, Iglesia La Ermita is Popayán’s oldest church and worth seeing for its fine main retable and the fragments of old frescoes, which were only discovered after the earthquake of 1983.
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Iglesia de San Francisco
Iglesia de San Francisco is a neoclassical construction dating from the 18th century. Next to the church are the Convento de San Francisco and the Capilla de la Inmaculada.
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Museo del Oro
For insight into the pre-Columbian cultures of Nariño, check out the Museo del Oro, which has a small but interesting collection of indigenous gold and pottery.
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Teatro Guillermo Valencia
It is worth strolling past the early 20th-century Teatro Guillermo Valencia. Ask nicely at the box office and they may give you an ad-hoc tour.
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ADN
If you’re into contemporary art, try Cali’s leading contemporary art gallery, ADN. There’s a small cafe and bookstore on-site.
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Torre Mudéjar
Adjacent to the Capilla de la Inmaculada is this unsual brick bell tower, one of the best examples of Mudejar art in Colombia.
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