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

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. 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 2,280,522 residents estimate by National Administrative Department of Statistics, DANE in 2023. The city span ...

—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'' (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 the name for Latin American dances that are danced to salsa music. Salsa is one of the most popular types of Latin dance that is practiced worldwide, and is typically danced with a partner, although there are elements of solo footwork a ...

Geography

The Tuluá River 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 Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...

, 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 a chain or network 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 used in physical geogra ...

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 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 southeast Florida, United States ...

(''Af'' in the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

). 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.

Crime

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. Academic studies of prison riots emphasize a connection between prison conditions ...

Education

The

University of Valle 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 populatio ...

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 (), also called UCEVA, is a public, departmental university based in the city of Tuluá, Valle del Cauca, Colombia. See also * List of universities in Colombia This is a list of universities in Colombia. ...

) 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. Sixteen airlines provide service for the airport, including American Airlines,

Avianca Avianca S.A. (acronym in Spanish for ''Aerovias de Colombia S.A.'', "Airways of Colombia", and stylized as avianca since October 2023) is the largest airline in Colombia. It has been the flag carrier of Colombia since December 5, 1919, when it ...

(Colombia's largest airline and flag carrier) and Avianca Cargp. 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 Herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 75 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genus ''Botaurus'' are referred to as bi ...

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 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

team

Cortuluá Cortuluá, officially named Cortuluá Fútbol Club S. A. and previously known as Corporación Club Deportivo Tuluá for short, was a Colombian football club from Tuluá, Valle del Cauca Department. It was founded in 1967 and last played in Categ ...

, which plays in the Colombian first division. Lago Chillicote is named after

Chillicothe, Ohio Chillicothe ( ) is a city in Ross County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 22,059 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along the Scioto River 45 miles (72 km) south of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus, ...

a former

sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inte ...

of Tuluá 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

* Gustavo Álvarez Gardeazábal, writer * Carlos Alzate, cyclist *

Edmundo Arias Edmundo Dante Arias Valencia was a Colombian musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Arias composed more than 300 songs, and recorded for various Colombian record labels including Discos Fuentes, Zeida, Ondina, and Sonolux. He is considered one o ...

, musician * Faustino Hernán Asprilla, football player * Jonathan Cuenú, football player *

Vicky Hernandez Vicky, Vick, Vickie or Vicki is a feminine given name, often a hypocorism of Victoria. The feminine name Vicky in Greece comes from the name Vasiliki. Notable people with the name * Family nickname of Victoria, Princess Royal (1840–190 ...

, actress * Diego Salazar, Olympic weightlifting medal winner * Gabriel Velasco, politician * Jhon Arcila, football player

References

External links

*Major's official website

*Estación de radio virtual online 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