Cathedral´s History

This is an underground Roman Catholic church built within the tunnels of a salt mine 200 meters underground in a mountain near the town of Zipaquirá, in Cundinamarca, Colombia. It is a very popular tourist destination and place of pilgrimage in the country. The name "Salt Cathedral" is mostly to attract tourists ,while a functioning church that receives as many as 3,000 visitors on Sundays, it has no bishop and therefore no official status as a cathedral in Catholicism. The temple at the bottom has three sections, representing the birth, life, and death of Jesus. The icons, ornaments and architectural details are hand carved in the halite rock. Some marble sculptures are included. The mines were exploited already by the pre-Columbian Muisca culture since the 5th century BC. being one of their most important economic activities. The traditional halite mining was described by Alexander von Humboldt during his visit to Zipaquira in 1801. Years before the underground church was built, (around 1932) the miners had carved a sanctuary, as a place for their daily prayers asking for protection to the saints before starting to work. In 1950 the construction of a bigger project had begun: the Salt Cathedral which was inaugurated on August 15, 1954 and dedicated to Our Lady of Rosary, Patron saint of miners. It was compound of three naves and a monumental cross. Part of the galleries were actually carved by the ancient muiscas. However, as the cathedral was carved inside an active mine, so structural problems and safety concerns led the authorities to shut down the sanctuary in 1990. This construction cost over 285 million U.S. dollars. The building had 120 m length, 5.500 m² surface and 22 m height. It had six main columns, and a maximum capacity of 8,000 people.

About My Trip

To reach Zipaquirá had to take the Transmilenio to North Portal . Once there , I passed the street and look for intercity bus and took the fleet to Zipaquirá . On my trip I had to pay $ 4,000 pesos. The travel time is approximately one hour. When I arrived at the town of Zipaquirá had to walk some streets . First I was a bit on the main square of the village where you can see the church and the governorship , was very nice because the people are very friendly and the atmosphere is very quiet. then I walked up to the cultural complex "Parque de la Sal " .

If you want to visit the city, you can take the savannah´s train but in my case,I walked until the cathedral.for me, was a little difficult to walk because the day was very sunny and the road was very long.

The train is the most useful transport that you can take to visit the town and their surroundings.The train cost $3.000 pesos and it takes you to the parking near the cathedral.

When i arrived to miner square , I saw a huge sculpture as a tribute to these men. Overall the place is very beautiful also a fountain full of fish, a small restaurant, the salt museum and the ticket office. If you want enter to the cathedral, you should pay a plan of travel, each tour for the cathedral has a different price. I chose the basic plan It cost $20.000 pesos per person and it includes the water mirror, the miner tour and a spectacle of highlights but if you want pay a touristic guide it cost $60.000. its up to you.

This is the map of cathedral

The entrance One person check your ticket

This is a short tunnel before to arrive the church

The guide turistic explain the importance of the mine and each cross represent the viacrucis of jesus christ also He told us that in this church can do religious ceremonies as marriages. This cross represents one station of viacrucis.

This sculpture to symbolize the birth of jesus

The wonderful church where you can sit on the chairs and hear the mass with the religious chorus.

Im really impressed with this sculpture made in marmol,it calls " The creation of Adam"

Other beautiful statue carved in salt

The water mirror is a beautiful creation made when the salt is only mixed with water, if you put normal water in the site, you can't get the same optical effect .It´s awesome because you think that there is a gap on the floor, but this sediment has only 10 centimeters deep.

A close view of water mirror

The spectacle of highlights and sound was an awesome experience too with full color, you can see the nature and all colombian diversity of animals and flowers.

All walls are cover with natural salt.

These are some helmets of miners who worked in the mine and subsequently died as heroes.It calls "The hiking of miners"

Interesting Activities

If you´are interested in extreme sports,try to climb a big wall like this.

If you´re interested in art and archeology, you´ll love visit the Salt museum.

Also you can do "The miner route" where you´ll live the unique experience of be miner for one day.It´s an interesting guided tour, working with equipment and safety typical of a miner. Also you can know the geological layers and participate in the process of extracting salt.

If you like movies, you´ll love to see a fantastic historical movie on the cathedral auditorium about everything you need to know of this unforgettable place.

If you want walk outside, you can go to the tematic park and give special food to the fishes.

Shopping

There are some shops specially inside the cathedral , if you are interested to keep memories of this fantastic trip, you´ll love buy earings, sandals, necklaces,rings etc.

if you want something more valuable, you might like to buy some beautiful emeralds in stone or carved in rings,necklaces or earings. The muiscas beside the famous precious stone of emerald

Restaurant and Food

Finally you can find a wide variety of food as fast food : hamburgers or hot dogs but if you prefer healthy food, you might like a full luch. The price of food near the cathedral is about $8.000 until $18.000 pesos. I ate a delicious lunch after that i finish my tour for the cathedral in a famous restaurant of the town Zipaquira "Alma Llanera". It was the most exciting experience that i´ve ever lived and i want come back soon.