Tuluá (), is a city located in the heart of Valle del Cauca,

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

. A major industrial and commercial center, it is the region's fourth-largest city after

Cali Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,227,642 residents according to the 2018 census. The city spans with of urban area, making Cali the second ...

—the department capital— Buenaventura and Palmira. Founded around 1741 by Juan de Lemos y Aguirre, it has a population of approximately 220,000. It is also known as the ''Corazón del Valle'' (meaning 'The Heart of Valle'), as ''La Villa de Céspedes'' ('Town of Céspedes', named after the naturalist Juan María Céspedes) and ''Tierra Fácil'' ('Easy Land' in the native language). It is well known throughout Colombia and many parts of South America as a major center of

salsa dancing Salsa is a latin dance, associated with the music genre of the same name, which was first popularized in the United States in the 1960s in New York City. Salsa is an amalgamation of Cuban dances, such as mambo, pachanga and rumba, as well as Ame ...

Geography

Panorámica de Tuluá desde la cordillera Occidental

The

Tuluá River 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—Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca, Buenaventura and Palmira, ...

runs through Tuluá's urban area. The city is located 269 miles from

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

, the capital of Colombia, 63 miles northeast of Cali and 108 miles from the important harbor city of Buenaventura, which lies on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. Although it has a relatively small urban area, Tuluá's metropolitan area is comparatively big. The city lies between the two westernmost

cordillera A cordillera is an extensive chain and/or network system of mountain ranges, such as those in the west coast of the Americas. The term is borrowed from Spanish, where the word comes from , a diminutive of ('rope'). The term is most commonly us ...

s of Colombia, about 50 miles east of Buenaventura.

Climate

Located just three degrees north of the equator, Tuluá has a

tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate, humid tropical climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southea ...

(''Af'' in the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

). It has hot, sunny days usually in the high 20s and low 30s, punctuated by intense storms. Night temperatures are on average in the high teens. A lot of different vegetables and fruit are grown in Tuluá. Rio Tuluá

Crime

Tulua en la noche desde el cerro del picacho en la cordillera occidental

Tuluá has high crime rates. The surge in murders is allegedly due to rivaling paramilitary gangs Los Urabeños and Los Rastrojos fighting for control of the city's lucrative drug trade. In 2022, over 50 people were killed by a

prison riot A prison riot is an act of concerted defiance or disorder by a group of prisoners against the prison administrators, prison officers, or other groups of prisoners. Prison riots have not been the subject of many academic studies or research inquir ...

Education

The

University of Valle The University of Valle ( es, Universidad del 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 inst ...

has a branch campus in Tuluá. The main campus is based in Cali, the department's capital. UCEVA (the

Central University of Valle del Cauca The Central Unit of Valle del Cauca ( es, Unidad Central del Valle del Cauca), also called UCEVA, is a public, departmental, coeducational university based in the city of Tuluá, Valle del Cauca, Colombia. See also * List of universities in Co ...

) has its main campus in the city.

Transportation

The closest airport is Cali's international airport—which in fact is in Palmira—

Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport 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-busies ...

(CLO) or Palmaseca. Nine airlines provide service for the airport, including American Airlines, AeroRepública and

Avianca Avianca S.A. (acronym in Spanish for ''Aerovias del Continente Americano S.A.'', "Airways of the American Continent") is a Colombian airline. It has been the flag carrier of Colombia since December 5, 1919, when it was initially registered under ...

, Colombia's largest airline. Tuluá also has a regional airport,

Heriberto Gíl Martínez Airport The Heriberto Gil Martínez Airport is an airport serving the municipality of Tulua in the Valle del Cauca Department of Colombia. The airport was formerly Farfan Airport, named after an unverified pre-Hispanic tribe. On 20 August 2004, it was ...

(ULQ).

Places of interest

Botanical garden (Jardin Botánico) called Juan María Céspedes in Mateguadua village. Chillicote lake is famous for its

heron The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychus ...

s. The soccer stadium ''12 de Octubre'' has a capacity of 17,000. It is used by the local

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

team

Cortuluá Cortuluá, officially named Cortuluá Fútbol Club S. A. and previously known as Corporación Club Deportivo Tuluá, is a Colombian football club from the municipality of Tuluá in the Valle del Cauca. It was founded in 1967 and plays in the Cate ...

, which plays in the Colombian first division. Guadua Park (Parque de la Guadua) Bamboo and heliconias (plants often mistaken for birds-of-paradise), nature trails , a waterfall, and natural pools of warm water are some of the attractions at the Guillermo Ponce de León Paris Guadua Park in Tuluá. This 12.5-acre site is overflowing with greenery; visitors can also enjoy a large playground with their children. Sarmiento Lora Park (Parque Sarmiento Lora) It offers a great kiddie pool (complete with little water slides) and adult pool area, restaurant, shelters and play area. Civic Plaza Boyaca (Plaza Civica Boyaca) The Tuluá Festival (Feria de Tuluá) takes place every June in the second or third week. Music plays an important role with bands, artists and singers performing. A music performance is held every night.

Notable people

* Faustino Hernán Asprilla, football player *

Gustavo Álvarez Gardeazábal Gustavo Álvarez Gardeazábal (born 31 October 1945) is a Colombian writer, and politician. He attended the University of Valle and was the runner-up for a Premio Nadal in 1971 for ''Dabeiba''. He was awarded a List of Guggenheim Fellowships awa ...

, writer * Poncho Rentería, journalist * Diego Salazar, Olympic weightlifting medal winner *

Carlos Alzate Carlos Eduardo Alzate Escobar (born March 23, 1983 in Tuluá, Valle del Cauca) is a Colombian professional track and road racing cyclist from Colombia, who most recently rode for the team. He won a silver medal for his native country at the 2 ...

, cyclist * Jonathan Cuenú, football player

References

External links

*Major's official website

*Estación de radio virtual onlin
www.futturo.org
e-Radio desde Tuluá Colombia *Entertainment website (Iosfera)

*Entertainment website (Mastulua)

*Tulua's Fair official website

*Information website about Tulua's Fair on Iosfera

*Information website about Tulua's (News, Events, Photos) on Iosfera

*Information website about Tulua's (News) on Revista independiente

*Information website about Tulua's Fair on Mastulua

*Information website about Cortuluá

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tulua Municipalities of Valle del Cauca Department Populated places established in 1741