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campsite per person COP$6000-12,000, r per person COP$15,000) This small, well-developed private nature reserve sits next to Río Pance amid secondary forest and a small farm growing fruit and flowers. There’s a four-room brick cabin and a four-room wood cabin, but the small two-story bohíos – tiny huts with mattresses lofted above with windows facing birdsong and forest – will appeal most to travelers. There’s a wood-fired stove in a basic kitchen where you can cook. You can camp with your tent or theirs, or just come out for the day (COP$3000). Serves budget meals all week long.

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Getting There & Away

A dozen buses per day leave from the bus terminal in Cali heading to Pance roughly every hour (COP$2000, 1½ hours). They run the length of Av Quinta.

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LAGO CALIMA

This manmade reservoir attracts kitesurfers and windsurfers from around the world for its year-round winds. The lake covers the flooded Darién valley of Río Calima, and was built in 1965. Some 86km from Cali, its temperate climate also attracts caleños looking to cool off on weekends. The green hills that surround that lake are populated with holiday fincas.

Every afternoon, around lunchtime, a brisk mountain thermal picks up, bringing wisps of cloud and a steady 18-knot wind down from the mountains. From July to September this can increase to 25 knots. Kitesurfing and windsurfing competitions are held in these months, when world champions in the two sports come to compete. Water temperature is a steady 18°C.

Most tourist activity stretches along the northern bank of the lake, from the small town of Darién (below) at the eastern end to the dam to the west. There are three kitesurf/windsurf schools outside the town along the shore. There’s no beach; launching points are from grassy slopes that lead down to the water.

Because transport is infrequent – most Colombian tourists come in their own cars – Lago Calima makes a difficult day trip. You’re better off coming for a day or two, especially on the weekend, when the many holidaymakers give the place a party atmosphere. Many kitesurfers end up spending weeks or even months here.

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DARIÉN

2 / pop 20,000 / elev 1800m

This small town has a few budget hotels, a couple of supermarkets, two ATMs, an internet cafe, and on the weekends, several lively discos. Most everything clusters within two or three blocks of Parque Los Fundadores, the main plaza. It’s a perfectly pleasant little town but is nothing special: a trip to Lago Calima is the drawcard.

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Information

Compu Calima ( 317 752 6758; Carrera 7 No 7-50; 8:30am-noon & 2-8pm; per hr COP$2000) Internet access; next to the gas station.

Tourist office (Secretaría de Cultura y Turismo; 253 3117; turismodarien@yahoo.com; Calle 11 No 6-25, Parque Principal)

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Sights

You’ll find a small collection of old pottery at the Museo Arqueológico Calima ( 253 3121; Calle 10 No 12-50; admission COP$2500; 9am-5pm Mon-Fri, 10am-6pm Sat & Sun).

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Activities

KITESURFING & WINDSURFING

Three schools offer classes and rentals. Expect to pay roughly COP$40,000 per hour for windsurfing instruction and COP$50,000 to COP$80,000 per hour for kitesurf instruction. Rentals go for around COP$40,000 to COP$50,000 per hour. If you’ve got your own gear, you’ll pay COP$20,000 to COP$30,000 for each water entrance.

Located in a big warehouse, Escuela Pescao Windsurf y Kitesurf ( 311 352 3293, 316 401 6373; www.pescaowindsurfing.com; campsite s/d COP$20,000/30,000, cabins for 6-10 people COP$150,000) sits right on the edge of the lake. The wheelchair-bound former champion kitesurfer will shout instruction through a megaphone. It offers accommodations in the warehouse in tents with mattresses and sleeping bags.

Considered by many to have the best water entrance on the lake is the private club Velas y Vientos ( 668 7642; www.velasyvientos.com). It rents an adjacent steep-peaked chalet-style cabin (COP$120,000