Santa Elena is a Colombian township belonging to the municipality of El Cerrito, in the department of Valle del Cauca. It is known for its tourism and scenic value, and for the location of heritage properties within this township, such as Hacienda El Paraíso and Hacienda Pie de Chinche.
The township of Santa Elena borders the municipality of Ginebra to the north, the township of El Placer to the south, the townships of El Pomo and El Castillo to the east, and the municipal seat of El Cerrito to the west.
The territory of Santa Elena is located on the right bank of the Cauca River, flat in its area near the river valley and mountainous in the eastern region. It lies between the Amaime and Zabaletas rivers, has an average altitude of 1,100 meters above sea level, an average temperature of 22°C, and an area of approximately 24 km².
Santa Elena is located approximately 37 km from the city of Cali, 13 km from Palmira, 30 km from Buga, 30 km from Guacarí, 15 km from Ginebra, 157 km from Roldanillo, 107 km from La Unión, 126 km from Popayán, 156 km from Pereira, 152 km from Armenia, and 7 km from its municipality of El Cerrito.
The municipality of Santa Elena is recognized at the departmental and national levels for being home to the "El Paraíso" hacienda, where Jorge Isaacs wrote his romantic novel "María" and which was also the place where the author himself lived.
The "Pie de Chinche" hacienda is famous for being the site of some of the oldest sugar mills for processing and extracting sugarcane honey.
The "Tomb of María" is located in the Central Catholic Cemetery, a memorial to the work that made the town famous.
There is also the "Choza de Chuchú" house museum, a place that dates back to approximately 1910 thanks to Walter Belalcázar, who managed to recreate representative places of the town in his home, such as the first barbershop, the first store, the bar, and the movie theater, so that each space conveys the essence of the era thanks to its antique artifacts.
Electricity is provided through the National Electric Interconnection Service. Regarding public lighting, reports from the community indicate that it is very poor.