City South America
Cali
Cali is a big city in Colombia. It lies in a long, warm valley where farmers grow lots of sugarcane.
Cali is a big city in Colombia's Cauca Valley, more than 1,000 meters above the sea, and the capital of the department of Valle del Cauca, Universalis says. It grew fast after a railway to the Pacific port of Buenaventura was finished in 1914. Colombia's 2018 census counted 2,172,527 people in the city.
Cali (Santiago de Cali), capital of Valle del Cauca, lies in the hot plain of the Cauca valley above 1,000 m (Universalis); its rapid growth followed the Buenaventura railway (begun 1874, finished 1914). Census 2018 (adjusted, municipal seat): 2,172,527; projection 2023: 2,234,400, Colombia's third city.
Photo: Futbolero, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover Cali
Cali is a big city in Colombia. It sits in a long, warm valley, high above the sea.
More than two million people live there.
Universalis says Cali lies in the valley of the Cauca River, more than 1,000 meters above sea level. The warm plain around it, the Valle del Cauca, gave its name to the department, and Cali is its capital.
Colombia's 2018 census counted 2,172,527 people in the city (adjusted for people the count missed). The official projection for 2023 is 2,234,400, making Cali the third-largest city in Colombia.
Universalis: situated in the Cauca valley at more than 1,000 m, in a hot plain 200 km long and 25 to 30 km wide, the Valle del Cauca (or Valle), which gave its name to the department of which Cali is the capital; a very extensive agglomeration.
DANE via City Population (municipal seat of Santiago de Cali; figures since 2005 adjusted for underenumeration): census 2005 2,066,856; census 2018 2,172,527; projection 30 June 2023 2,234,400 (rank 3, after Bogotá and Medellín).
- Country
- Colombia (capital of the department of Valle del Cauca)
- People in the city (census, 2018, adjusted)
- 2,172,527
- Newer projection (30 June 2023)
- 2,234,400, Colombia's third city
- Height
- more than 1,000 meters above sea level (Universalis)
City lights at night
This photo was taken at night. Tall buildings and lots of little lights shine over the city, with dark trees in front.
This photo shows Cali at night on 10 December 2023, seen from a high place about 2.6 kilometers west-northwest of the city's center point. Tall buildings rise on the left, rooftops of lower buildings fill the middle, and lights glow all the way to the horizon. Dark trees fill the front of the picture.
Universalis says the city center is a business district with squares shaded by palm trees, such as Plaza Caicedo, while newer districts of low houses spread across the plain.
Commons: 'Panorámica nocturna de Cali diciembre de 2023' (night panorama of Cali, December 2023), own work by Futbolero, CC BY-SA 4.0, taken 10 December 2023 (Wikivacaciones 2023 campaign); the camera point (3.4476 N, 76.5416 W) is 2.58 km WNW of the city's Wikidata point.
Universalis: the central business district with squares shaded by palm trees, such as Plaza Caicedo, surrounded by buildings of businesses and government offices; on the plain, modern districts of low houses take in a fast-growing urban population.
- Photo
- Cali at night, 10 December 2023, by Futbolero
- City center
- a business district with squares shaded by palm trees, such as Plaza Caicedo (Universalis)
- Newer districts
- neighborhoods of low houses spreading over the plain (Universalis)
From a stop on the road to a big city
Long ago, Cali was a small town where travelers stopped on the way to the sea. Then a railway was built, and the city grew very fast.
Universalis says that until the start of the 20th century Cali was a modest town, a stop on the way to Buenaventura, Colombia's port on the Pacific Ocean. The railway, begun in 1874, was finished in 1914, just as the Panama Canal opened to ships crossing between the oceans.
After that, Cali grew fast. Universalis gives about 630,000 people in 1964, 1,250,000 in 1978 and 2.4 million in 2005.
Universalis: until the early 20th century a modest town, a stage on the road to Buenaventura, the Pacific port; the railway, begun in 1874, was completed in 1914, when the Panama Canal opened to transoceanic traffic; the city, linked to Bogotá, Medellín and the Pacific by rail, then by paved roads, motorways and air, then grew rapidly. Universalis's own population figures (not DANE's seat figures): 630,000 (1964), 1,250,000 (1978), 2.4 million (2005).
- Until the early 1900s
- a modest town, a stop on the way to the Pacific port of Buenaventura (Universalis)
- 1874–1914
- the railway was begun in 1874 and finished in 1914, when the Panama Canal opened (Universalis)
- Growth
- 630,000 people in 1964, 1,250,000 in 1978 and 2.4 million in 2005 (Universalis)
Rails, roads and planes
Railways, roads and planes have linked Cali with other big cities. They also link it with a port on the Pacific Ocean.
Universalis says Cali was linked to Bogotá, Medellín and the Pacific Ocean first by railway, then by paved roads, then by motorways and by air. Universalis calls Buenaventura the port on the Pacific.
The flat valley that Cali sits in is about 200 kilometers long but only 25 to 30 kilometers wide.
Universalis: linked to Bogotá, Medellín and the Pacific by rail, then by asphalt roads, finally by motorways and by plane; the Valle del Cauca plain is 200 km long and 25 to 30 km wide; good transport links helped draw industry.
- Links
- to Bogotá, Medellín and the Pacific: first by rail, then by paved roads, motorways and air (Universalis)
- Port
- Buenaventura, on the Pacific (Universalis)
- The valley
- 200 km long and 25 to 30 km wide (Universalis)
Warm all year, with two rainy seasons
Cali is warm all year. Some months are very rainy, and July and August are drier.
The World Meteorological Organization's averages for Cali for 1971 to 2000 show warm weather all year: the average daily high stays between 28.8 °C and 30.9 °C, and nights cool to about 18 to 19 °C.
The rain comes in two wetter seasons. March to May is wet, with April the wettest month at 190 millimeters, and so are October and November. July is the driest, with 55 millimeters. The twelve months add up to about 1,485 millimeters.
WMO World Weather Information Service, Cali (Colombian institute IDEAM; period 1971–2000 as given in the data): mean daily maximum 28.8 °C (Nov) to 30.9 °C (Aug); mean daily minimum 18.0 °C (Jul) to 19.4 °C (Apr). Precipitation: Jan 88, Feb 120, Mar 146, Apr 190, May 165, Jun 91, Jul 55, Aug 64, Sep 108, Oct 170, Nov 159, Dec 129 mm; sum of the months 1,485 mm. The monthly rain-day counts (whole numbers in the table) range from 9 (Jul, Aug) to 19 (Oct).
- Average daily highs (WMO, Cali, 1971–2000)
- 28.8 °C (November) to 30.9 °C (August)
- Average daily lows (same table)
- 18.0 °C (July) to 19.4 °C (April)
- Wettest month
- April, 190 mm
Sugarcane, factories and culture
Around Cali, farmers grow lots of sugarcane. The city is an important place for factories, tourism and culture.
Universalis says the Valle del Cauca is a region of intensive farming, mostly sugarcane plantations, with cattle and pig farming too. Cali is also an important industrial center, with factories making chemicals, paper, medicines and cement.
Cali has also become a center for tourism and culture, Universalis says. The University of Valle, a public university, was founded in 1945.
Universalis: a region of intensive agriculture based above all on sugarcane plantations; Valle del Cauca is a department of farm industries and cattle and pig raising; Cali is also an important industrial center where foreign firms set up chemical, paper, pharmaceutical and cement works, drawn by plentiful labor and good transport links; Cali has also become a tourist and cultural hub. Wikidata: University of Valle (Q3117949), public university, founded 29 October 1945, 7.41 km SSW of the city point; Cali Zoo (Q5019807), 1981, 4.42 km WNW.
- Farming
- intensive farming, mostly sugarcane plantations (Universalis)
- Industry
- chemicals, paper, medicines and cement, among others (Universalis)
- University of Valle
- a public university in Cali, founded 29 October 1945 (Wikidata)
Cali on the map
Find Colombia on the globe. Cali is in the west of the country, in a long valley.
Cali lies at about 3.4° north and 76.5° west, in the Cauca valley in the west of Colombia.
Measured from the city's center point on Wikidata, the place where the photo was taken is about 2.6 kilometers west-northwest, Cali Zoo about 4.4 kilometers west-northwest and the University of Valle about 7.4 kilometers south-southwest.
Cali lies at about 3.44° N and 76.52° W (Wikidata point Q51103; the Natural Earth/sheet point is 4.68 km from it). From the Wikidata point: photo camera point 2.58 km WNW; Cali Zoo (Q5019807) 4.42 km WNW; University of Valle (Q3117949) 7.41 km SSW.
- Latitude
- about 3.4° north
- Longitude
- about 76.5° west
- Valley
- the Cauca valley (Universalis)
Amazing facts
-
Cali's railway was finished the same year a famous canal opened far away in Panama!
Universalis says Cali's railway, begun in 1874, was finished in 1914, just when the Panama Canal opened to ships crossing between the oceans.
Universalis: the railway, begun in 1874, was completed in 1914, at the moment the Panama Canal opened to transoceanic traffic.
-
Cali's valley is long and narrow, like a giant hallway.
Universalis says the plain of the Valle del Cauca is about 200 kilometers long but only 25 to 30 kilometers wide.
Universalis: the Valle del Cauca plain is 200 km long and 25 to 30 km wide, roughly seven to eight times as long as it is wide.
-
In Cali, the average daily high changes by only about two degrees all year!
In the World Meteorological Organization's averages, Cali's daily highs range only from 28.8 °C in November to 30.9 °C in August.
WMO normals for Cali (1971–2000): mean daily maximum 28.8 °C (Nov) to 30.9 °C (Aug), a spread of 2.1 °C.
Words to know
- valley
- low land between hills or mountains, often with a river
- sugarcane
- a tall grass whose stems are used to make sugar
- plantation
- a large farm where one main crop is grown
- department
- in Colombia, one of the large areas the country is divided into
- projection
- an official estimate of how many people live somewhere, worked out from an earlier count
- census
- an official count of all the people in a country
Discovery challenge
-
Cali is a city in which country?
Cali is the capital of Valle del Cauca, a department of which country?
Cali is the capital of the department of Valle del Cauca in which country?
- Colombia
- Mexico
- Peru
Show the answer
Colombia
Colombia!
Colombia.
Colombia.
-
Which crop grows in big fields around Cali?
Universalis says farming around Cali is based mostly on which crop?
According to Universalis, the intensive agriculture of the Valle del Cauca rests mainly on plantations of what?
- Sugarcane
- Wheat
- Rice
Show the answer
Sugarcane
Sugarcane!
Sugarcane.
Sugarcane.
-
When was Cali's railway finished?
In which year was the railway linking Cali to the Pacific port finished?
Universalis: the railway begun in 1874 was completed in which year?
- 1914
- 1874
- 1964
Show the answer
1914
1914!
1914.
1914.
-
Cali's railway led to a port on which ocean?
Buenaventura, the port on Cali's old route, is on which ocean?
Universalis calls Buenaventura the port on which ocean?
- The Pacific
- The Atlantic
- The Indian Ocean
Show the answer
The Pacific
The Pacific!
The Pacific Ocean.
The Pacific.
-
Which month is the rainiest in Cali?
In the World Meteorological Organization's averages, which month gets the most rain in Cali?
WMO normals for Cali (1971–2000): which month has the most precipitation, 190 mm?
- April
- July
- January
Show the answer
April
April!
April.
April (190 mm).
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Gold Museum
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Locate Cali in the Cauca valley in western Colombia.
- Explain how a railway can make a small town grow into a big city.
- Describe how the crops around a city can shape its work.
- Read a climate table with two rainy seasons.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- Why would a railway to a port help a city grow?
- What might change in a city when its population triples?
- Why might a city near the equator have almost the same temperature all year?
Try at home or in class
- Rain bars: make a bar chart of Cali's monthly rain and find the two wetter seasons.
- Growth chart: plot Cali's people in 1964, 1978 and 2005 (Universalis) and 2018 (census).
- Time math: the railway was begun in 1874 and finished in 1914. How many years did it take?
Key vocabulary: valley, sugarcane, plantation, department, projection, census
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Natural Earth vector data , Natural Earth (NACIS) (Public domain)
- Cali , Encyclopædia Universalis
- Colombia: Departments and Major Cities , City Population (Thomas Brinkhoff), from DANE (Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística)
- Cali: climatological information (1971–2000) , World Meteorological Organization, World Weather Information Service
- File:Panorámica nocturna de Cali 2023.jpg (Futbolero, December 2023) , Wikimedia Commons
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.