What should I expect in Cali, Colombia?

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Hello,
In Cali you can expect beuatiful women, nice restaurants, and lots of salsa dancing.
Places to go for dinner: restaurants in Granada which include Carambolo, Platillos voladores, Lola, Faro El Solar, and many others that have concentrated around the area. You should also go to Cali Viejo, a restaurant in what used to be an old Hacienda but is in the city now. It is a beautiful setting and some nights they have trios singing boleros and typical Colombian music. Also have "pizza pantalon" and french fires with tomato sauce at Salerno, and pizza at La Pizzeria of the Intercontinental Hotel (my personal favorite over any pizza I have tried in Italy or NY).
A place not frequently visited but great for a romantic date is the zoo. There is a relatively new restaurant there called Yaje (not sure of the spelling).
To go out, you should go to Kukaramakara a great place with great live music. Another typical place to go dancing in Cali is Chango in Juanchito. It is a nearby town where you can see the best salsa dancing and a mixture of all social classes dancing side-by-side.
In Cali also visit San Antonio which is a beautiful colonial style neighbourhood, go see La Merced and La Ermita, two beautiful churches that icons in Cali. Take a walk in the park next to the CAM (City Hall). If you go in December, go to a bull-fight and to the events organized by the Feria de Cali (Dec 25-31), when many famous salsa and merengue singers visit all the different social clubs and discos. The are events for all budgets and social classes.
Do day-trips around to the Museo de la Canna de Azucar (Sugar cane museum), go have sancocho in Ginebra, have hot chocolate (Colombian hot chocolate is more bitter than Swiss style hot chocolate that is more common in the US) with cuajada and pandebono in the 18th kilometer in the Carretera del Mar (Road to sea, because it is the way to Buenaventura).
Well... I hope this helps and that after your trip you help highlight all the good things about Cali and Colombia.

parrotjohn2001

I wouldn't ordinary suggest bringing this in your luggage, but automatic weapons.... Trenton has some rough neighborhoods, granted (I'm been in Camden), but it's amateur hour compared to Cali. Cali is home to the world's worst narcotics traffickers, and has one of the highest homicide rates in the hemisphere.

Wikipedia has a good general article on Cali:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cali

This about homicides in Cali in the 1990s:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00039091.htm

Here is a National Geographic special:
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/ng/ep9/ep9_qa.html

US Drug Enforcement Agency states that nothing has changed in the drug arena. KINS reports Cali, maintains the second highest murder rate in Latin America at 112 per 100,000 people, is the traditional headquarters of one of the most powerful drug trafficking rings in Colombia and remains rife with narcotics-related violence

Anyway, hope I haven't scared you off. Best of luck and like they said on Hill Street Blues "Be Careful Out There."

mariluz421

Man I would like to know if some of these people who answer have even been to Cali?

YOU CAN EXPECT FUN, FUN, FUN.... CALI IS A WONDERFUL CITY ITS PEOLE ARE WARM AND THEY WILL WELCOME YOU . THERE IS SO MUCH FOR YOU TO DO THERE AND THER IS NEVER A DULL MOMENT. YOUR ONLY DANGER IS PROBABLY FALLING IN LOVE. THE WOMEN IN CALI ARE VERY BEAUTIFUL AND FRIENDLY. BUT YOUR GIRFRIEND IS FROM THERE SO YOU PROBABLY ALREADY KNOW THAT . I'M SURE THAT SHE WOULD NOT ASK YOU TO GO IF SHE TAUGHT YOU WOULD BE IN DANGER. YOU WILL FIT RIGHT IN. DON'T WORRY. HAVE A GREAT TIME.

GOD BLESS YOU!!!!

rey_de_la_montana

Well I have never been to Cali, I am going there next month. I think it will be a great time. Don't worry so much about safety, just use simple common sense as you would in a major city in the USA. I hear the women of Cali are wonderful and beautiful.

Andres A

Dude good dancing shoes and something for the hang over , trust me you will drink a lot ,
AGAIN do not worry for any security issues i seen some of the answers and they are out of focus you will not see a shooting in the middle OF the day , that only happens in the movies,
As any other city has soME bad parts , but don't worry , i am sure that your girlfriend and her family will take care of you , they will show you the best places and keep you away from not so safe places
ONLY REAL DANGER YOU WILL BE IN IS CHEATING ON YOUR GIRLFRIEND AFTER SO MUCH PARTYING

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