Plan an October trip around the FICCALI film festival

Barrio Obrero is where Cali salsa history is going onto the walls: the city is building a cultural route with dozens of murals and sculptures of salsa figures, a salsa museum, a vinyl record shop and a long-running salsa venue. A good start is Plazoleta Jairo Varela and the Niche trumpets, then on to the neighbourhood…

Delirio is Cali big salsa spectacle: a live orchestra, around 150 dancers, musicians and circus artists, and a dance set to close the night, staged in a big top at the Centro de Eventos Valle del Pacífico in Yumbo. It runs about once a month, usually on the last Friday, and entry is for ages 18 and over. Buy tickets…

Museo La Tertulia stands on the bank of the Cali River in El Peñón, a modern and contemporary art museum founded in 1956 in a rented house in San Antonio. It has three buildings, including a children art workshop and the Cinemateca, an arthouse cinema that also hosts festivals. Look for works by Colombian artists such…

Cali taxi meters count units, not pesos, so the number on the display is not your fare. The city sets a minimum fare that covers roughly the first 48 units, and every extra unit has a fixed value, so a short ride costs the minimum. Check that the meter is visible, sealed and shows a calibration label, and ask for the…

The panoramic tourist bus is free, and the city posts the registration link on its official social media, with a new link on Tuesdays at 6 p.m. Spots are limited per route. In late 2024 the tourism office warned that about 30 people paid a website promising a guaranteed seat, and that nobody sells places. Register…

Cali was the first Colombian city to let riders pay the MIO fare with a contactless Visa or Mastercard debit or credit card, or a phone wallet, tapped on the validator. Validators are on buses, at stations and at terminals, and no extra sign-up is needed. The classic MIO card still works too, and its recharge points…

Pance is the favourite riverbank for a Cali paseo de olla, but the water can rise within minutes after rain in the mountains, even when your spot is dry. Watch the colour: if it turns brown or muddy, or rain falls toward the cordillera, leave at once and do not wait for an alarm. Stay out of the water after drinking…

Champús is the Valle del Cauca drink that sits next to lulada on a Cali menu and often gets skipped. Cooks crush corn and simmer it with panela, lulo, pineapple, cinnamon, cloves and orange leaves, then serve it very cold. Ask for a vaso de champús when you want something more layered than plain fruit juice. Locals…