Cartago is a city in southwestern Colombia, about 187 miles (301 km) west of Bogotá. It is in the extreme northern portion of the Valle del Cauca. It is located very close to the city of Pereira, Risaralda about a 20-minute drive. It is the sixth largest city in Valle after Cali, Palmira, Buenaventura, Tuluá and Jamundí. Per the 2018 Colombian census, Cartago's population was 142,902.
Santiago de Cali, or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,280,522 residents estimate by DANE in 2023. The city spans 560.3 km2 (216.3 sq mi) with 120.9 km2 (46.7 sq mi) of urban area, making Cali the second-largest city in the country by area and the third most populous after Bogotá and Medellín. As the only major Colombian city with access to the Pacific Coast, Cali is the main urban and economic center in the south of the country, and has one of Colombia's fastest-growing economies. The city was founded on 25 July 1536 by the Spanish explorer Sebastián de Belalcázar.
Valle del Cauca, or Cauca Valley, is a department in western Colombia abutting the Pacific Ocean. Its capital is Santiago de Cali. Other cities such as Buenaventura, Buga, Cartago, Palmira and Tuluá have great economical, political, social and cultural influence on the department's life. Valle del Cauca has the largest number of independent towns with over 100,000 inhabitants in the country, counting six within its borders. Buenaventura has the largest and busiest seaport in Colombia, moving about 8,500,000 tons of merchandise annually.
The Cauca River is a river in Colombia that lies between the Occidental and Central cordilleras. From its headwaters in southwestern Colombia near the city of Popayán, it joins the Magdalena River near Magangué in Bolívar Department, and the combined river eventually flows out into the Caribbean Sea. It has a length of 965 km (600 mi) to its junction with the Magdalena, for a total length of 1,350 km (840 mi). The river is under the supervision of the Cauca Regional Corporation and the Cauca Valley Regional Autonomous Corporation, and is navigable for 640 km (400 mi) above its junction with the Magdalena.
Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport, formerly known as Palmaseca International Airport, is an international airport located between Palmira and Cali, the capital of Valle del Cauca Department, Colombia. It is Colombia's fourth-busiest airport in passenger volume, with 5,600,000 people using the airport in 2016, and the third largest in area and construction. The airport often serves as the alternate airport for Bogotá - El Dorado Int'l Airport and other Colombian airports.
Bucaramanga is the capital and largest city of the department of Santander, Colombia. Bucaramanga has the fifth-largest economy by GDP in Colombia, has the lowest unemployment rate and is the ninth most populous city in the country, with a population of 613,400. Bucaramanga has over 160 parks scattered throughout the city and has been given the nickname "La Ciudad de Los Parques" and "La Ciudad Bonita de Colombia".
Neiva is the capital of the Department of Huila. It is located in the valley of the Magdalena River in south central Colombia with a municipal population of 357,392. It is one of the most important cities in southern Colombia, mainly because of its strategic geographical location.
Tuluá, is a city located in the heart of Valle del Cauca, Colombia. A major industrial and commercial center, it is the region's fourth-largest city after Cali—the department capital—Palmira and Buenaventura. Founded around 1741 by Juan de Lemos y Aguirre, it has a population of approximately 178,000. It is also known as the Corazón del Valle, as La Villa de Céspedes and Tierra Fácil.
Manizales is a city in central Colombia. It is the capital of the Department of Caldas, and lies near the Nevado del Ruiz volcano.
Ibagué is the capital of Tolima, one of the 32 departments that make up the Republic of Colombia. The city is located in the center of the country, on the central mountain range of the Colombian Andes, near Nevado del Tolima. It is one of the most populous cities in the country, with a population of 492,554, making it the eleventh most populous in Colombia, and with a population of 529,625 in the municipality. It was founded on 14 October 1550, by the Spanish captain Andrés López de Galarza. The city of Ibagué is divided into 13 communes and the rural area has 17 corregimientos. As the capital of the department of Tolima the city hosts the Government of Tolima, the Departmental Assembly, and the Attorney General's Office. It is the main epicenter of political, economic, administrative, business, art, culture, and tourism activities in the area.
Inírida, formerly Puerto Inírida, is the capital city, and a municipality, of the department of Guainía in Colombia. It was established in 1963 on the site of the small village of Obando, at the time in the municipality of San Felipe. The municipality was renamed in 1974. The municipal population of 31,514 is mostly indigenous and accounts for about a third of the department's population.
Palmira is a city and municipality in southwestern Colombia in the Valle del Cauca Department, located about 27 kilometres (17 mi) east from Cali, the department's capital and main city in the South of Colombia. Palmira is the second largest city in the Valle del Cauca, behind Cali.
Buga, formally Guadalajara de Buga, is a city and municipality in the Valle del Cauca Department of Colombia. It is famous for its Basilica del Señor de los Milagros, which houses an image of Christ called el Señor de los Milagros.
Buenaventura is a coastal seaport city located in the Pacific Region of the department of Valle del Cauca, Colombia. Buenaventura is the main port of Colombia in the Pacific Ocean.
La Cumbre is a town and municipality in Colombia, northwest of Cali, in the Valle del Cauca Department. It is located in the West Andes above the city of Yumbo.
Jamundí is a town and municipality in the Department of Valle del Cauca, Colombia.
Toro is a city and municipality located in the north of the department of Valle del Cauca, Colombia. The climate is warm.
The University of Valle, also called Univalle, is a public, departmental, coeducational, research university based primarily in the city of Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia. It is the largest higher education institution by student population in the southwest of the country, and the third in Colombia, with more than 30,000 students. The university was established by ordinance No. 12 of 1945, by the Departmental Assembly as the Industrial University of Valle del Cauca, under the leadership of Tulio Ramírez Rojas and Severo Reyes Gamboa.
The Centro de Eventos Valle del Pacifico(Pacific Valley Events Center) is a convention center located in the city of Yumbo, Colombia on the Autopista Cali-Yumbo, 10 minutes from Alfonso Bonilla International Airport.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Cali, Colombia.
Colombia 
