At the top is a monument of three large crosses; two with a height of 22 meters and the main one that is 26 meters high. You can visit the monument by car, although the ideal plan is to do it on foot and there are three different routes that you can take depending on which neighborhood in western Cali you are in.
You can get to the starting point of any of the climbs by MIO or if you go by car there are two of them, which I will explain later, that have private parking. The path that you walk on foot from the parking lots to the top has a distance between 1 and 2 kilometers. You must cross two rocky mountains during the climb before reaching the monument of the three crosses.
The first part of the hill has a medium slope with few rocky areas and is easy to walk. If you take the ascent through Granada you can choose to ascend the hill or take the stairs; If what you want is to exercise, I recommend the stairs because there are more than 100 steps to climb.
Then you get to the middle where there is a small descent that connects the first hill with the biggest mountain. This area is ideal for you to recover energy since there are small stalls that sell water, juices, homemade cakes, and fruits such as bananas, papaya, pineapple, watermelon, chontaduro, and even borojó. These kiosks belong to the inhabitants of the corregimiento who get up early every day from 5 in the morning to sell their products.
After half the wall continues, it is a rocky mountain with parts where you will have to use your hands to climb because it is a steeper slope. To take this route you must follow the path on the right after the middle; the path to the left is where you descend from the hill, although if you want to go up there you can also do it.
Once you reach the top you will find a rest area with bleachers to sit on and more stalls that sell natural products to consume. I recommend that you eat some fruit in the middle and the stalls above you try a delicious borojó juice with a banana or carrot cake. In that area, some short stairs take you to the highest part of the mountain where the statue of the three crosses is located and it is also where you can best have a panoramic view of the city of Cali. There is also an area to work out with weights and pull-up bars.
The descent is next to the rest area, where a road ends and just in front of the telecommunications antennas guarded by the police. The downhill route is rockier and slippery, so I recommend you go with tennis shoes with a good grip. Halfway back there is a giant rock where you can take a picture as it protrudes from the mountain, you can sit on it and you will have a panoramic view of Cali in the background. On the way back there are also some small black coal hills.
The ascent time is 45 minutes on average and the descent time is 60 minutes since you must be very careful not to slip. Unlike other tourist sites in Cali, such as the hill of Cristo Rey, visiting the hill of the three crosses is more of a sports plan to do in Cali than a tourist plan. That is why I recommend you wear very comfortable clothes, sunscreen because the sun is very strong during the day and go as early as possible because the police and merchants are there every days until noon.
If you want to know where to go up to the hill of the three crosses in three different routes and more information, continue reading this guide because I will give you more information in detail and I will answer most of the frequently asked questions that travelers have before visiting the three crosses in Cali.
Finally, if you're thinking of doing some different, fun, and sporty activities in Cali, then I recommend checking out this fun things to do in Cali Colombia from Local with a Friend.
How to get to Cerro de las Tres Cruces?
Cerro de Tres Cruces is located in the north-central area of the city. Although its address is Avenida 9a Norte with Calle 12 Norte, it is very close to downtown Cali, the El Peñón neighborhood, and between the Normandía, Granada, and Chipichape neighborhoods.
There are three routes to start the climb. The first is in the Normandía neighborhood, the second is through Bataclán in the Granada neighborhood, and the third climb is behind the Chipichape Shopping Center.
Normandy Climb
This climb to the hill of the three crosses is known as Altos de Normandía. It is located by the statue of the Gato del Río and the address is Carrera all 2 with Calle 2 Oeste. It is one of the entrances that have several private parking options; The hours are every day from 5 am to 7 pm and the cost is 4,000 Colombian pesos (1 dollar).
The distance for this climb is 1.8 kilometers from the parking lot to the top of the second mountain; It begins with a road climb that then connects with the mountain in a rocky area and ends up joining the path of the ascent of Granada.
To arrive by bus you must take the Massive transport to the MIO San Bosco station. There you must leave the station to take the A02 feeder, it makes a route where it first enters the city center and then goes to the El Peñón neighborhood to exit on Colombia Avenue and reach Parque del Gato. In the park, you get off and you must walk towards the first traffic light heading north, there you will see a street going up on the left side, that will take you to 2nd street, which is where the entrance to the hill is located.
Upload through Granada
This is the entrance that I recommend the most because the path is more pleasant, you have the option of going up the stairs and it is perfect if you like to get up early to exercise because the parking lot is available from 4 am. This route is through the Granada neighborhood and is known as Bataclán because there is an ecological park with the same name. Its address is on north 9th avenue with north 12th street.
The distance for this climb is 1.4 kilometers from the parking lot to the hill itself; it starts with flights of steps and then follows a flat path until it connects with the rocky area of the Normandy climb. The stairs that go to the middle of the hill are halfway.
Uploaded by Chipichape
This climb is called La Tripleta or Tres Tetas, it is the longest route because it has a distance of 4.3 kilometers. It is located behind the Chipichape shopping center and by the main entrance to the Spiwak hotel, it does not have private parking options. The direction where the route begins is at 6d north avenue with 36 north street and from there you must continue along the sloping road to the right, pass a stone crusher and continue along the uncovered road until you reach two pedestrian entrances on the left side with heading towards the mountain.
You must continue along the marked path of the second entrance which will take you behind the first hill of the hill, that is, where "half" is located. This road is the one with the least flow of people of all the other routes to the hill of the Three Crosses in Cali and it is common to find mountain bikers who also go all the way up the road to Golondrinas in Montebello.
Bike Climb
If you want to climb the hill of the three crosses by bicycle, you must take the ascent through chipichape and not deviate from the stone crusher but continue along the road towards Golondrinas Montebello. Once you arrive at the Kiosco el Mirador de Guacas, turn left and continue along the road until you reach the top where the monument is located. You have to go around the largest mountain where Tres Cruces hill is located.
Go by car to the hill
If you want to go by car to the three crosses you can take the same route that I described to go by bike up the climb behind chipichape. You can also take another route on the highway to the Aguacatal, which is located on Avenida 4 Oeste with Avenida 15 Oeste just after passing the park where the roof cat is. The route along this road is longer because you have to go through the Las Palmas corregimiento and cross the Montebello corregimiento to the Mirador de Guacas, which is where you take the detour to the three crosses. In addition, the road is very narrow.
Time to upload
Due to the quarantine, the hours were very restricted since you could only go up before 9 in the morning, but after September 2020 the hill of the three crosses is open at its normal hours. Now you can go up from 4 in the morning on the Bataclán climb until before noon. At this time, which is when the police are watching all the way.
The best days to go are during the week and try to do it as early as possible because the flow of people is not much compared to weekends and also the sun does not feel so strong.
Parking
The climbs that have parking are those of Normandía and Granada. In the first, the parking lots are open from 5 in the morning and the second from 4 in the morning. The cost of parking is on average between $2,000 and $4,000 for the entire stay.
Security
To promote sports and tourism, this site is guarded by police officers every day from 6 in the morning to noon. For safety reasons, it is not recommended to go up in the afternoon or at night if it is not with a large group of people.
Night Outings
Before the pandemic it was common to find groups of hikers who climbed the hill of the three crosses at night. The schedule of the night walk was every Tuesday and Thursday at 7 pm, the meeting point was behind the Chipichape shopping center to climb La Tripleta or Tres Tetas at night.
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