The country’s most famous salsa spot, Cali is the place to go for all-night hip swishing. Dress to impress in the salsa clubs, which get going at 0200 and don’t stop until 0600. During the day explore the historical centre or visit the bizarrely modern shopping malls.
Education is free and compulsory for five years in Colombia. Illiteracy is declining, having dropped from an estimated 90% at the end of the 19th century to an estimated 8.2% in 2000 (males, 8.2%; females, 8.2%).
Roman Catholicism was the country's official religion until the adoption of the 1991 constitution. The law states that there is no official or state religion but adds that the State is "not atheist or agnostic, nor indifferent to Colombians' religious sentiment."