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Zipaquirá

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    • The Craze for TravellingThe South American Odyssey
      2
      Day 146

      Inside the Salt Mine

      February 22, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

      We climbed onto the halite hill. The path leading up is through some nicely manicured lawns and the entrance is at the top. The ticket price of 55,000 COP for adult foreigners is extremely steep. Its not cheap for locals as well. One would need an id for entry as a local and still costs 35,000 COP. An honest opinion would be, its not really worth the money, but if one is in Bogota it is definitely worth a visit once. Included in the ticket is a tour guide. There are tours in Spanish and English, but the frequency of the English tours is quite less. We were lucky that the next English tour was at 1 pm. That gave us enough time to eat some quick food as lunch at the expensive restaurants near the entrance of the cave. The tour started promptly at 1 pm and our guide told us not to take pictures while we were with him as he wanted to do the tour in the given 30 min and that after the tour we would have time till 7 pm in the evening to go around wherever we pleased and take as many pictures as we liked. This was a good idea, as we could focus on listening about the history of the cave etc. and later there was no one pushing us to run while we took the pictures.
      Salt deposits in Zipaquira were formed around 250 million years ago, and were raised above sea level during the late Tertiary period, when the Andes were formed.

      The halite mines were exploited already by the pre-Columbian Muisca culture since the 5th century BC. According to records from the 1800s, Zipaquira had deposit bigger than the main halite mines of the time, such as those in Spain, Switzerland, Poland and the County of Tyrol with a calculated resource estimation of one million cubic meters.      Read more

    • The Craze for TravellingThe South American Odyssey
      Day 146

      End of the salt mine tour

      February 22, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

      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 Muisca. However, as the church was carved inside an active mine, structural problems and safety concerns led the authorities to shut it in September 1992. The building had 120m length and 22m height. It had six main columns, and a maximum capacity of 8000 people. The main nave included the monumental cross, which was illuminated from the base up, projecting a large cross-shaped shadow in the ceiling.
      In 1991 the construction of a new cathedral was undertaken, 200 feet under the older one. This new Cathedral was inaugurated on December 16, 1995. Its various corridors and sanctuaries were achieved by making small but significant additions to the caves left behind by previous mining operations.
      The tour actually lasted almost 45 min. Our guide left us at the end of the salt mine. There were many souvenir shops there. In fact, I have never seen that many souvenir shops in one place before. There were counters for salt figurines, salt jewelry, salt based bathing soaps, salt based body products etc. There were even emerald counters since Colombia is famous for its emeralds.      Read more

    • The Craze for TravellingThe South American Odyssey
      4
      Day 146

      The rooftop light show

      February 22, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

      Near the end of the cave, the was a room where there were colorful images being projected on the barrel shaped roof. The chairs were in the shape of lounge chairs pushed back in such a way that one could lie down and look up towards the roof where the various cultural things from Colombia were being projected. The show was for about 15 min. After that we went to the auditorium where a film ‘Guaza’ was being projected in 3D. The movie recreates the history of the salt dome formation and operating methods that lead to the construction of this majestic cathedral of salt, which is entirely man-made.
      From here, we retraced our steps all the way back towards the entrance of the cave.      Read more

    • Colombia
      1
      Day 2

      Zipaquira - Catedral del Sal

      February 17, 2019 in Colombia ⋅ 🌧 18 °C

      Am Sonntag wurden wir von Monica, ihrer Mutter und ihrem Bruder nach Zipaquira eingeladen, um die Salzkathedrale zu besuchen.
      In der ehemaligen Salzmine wurde in den Jahren von 1991-1995 ca. 250'000 Tonnen Salzgestein abgebaut, um die Kathedrale unter der Erde zu erschaffen.
      Während dem Besuch führt der Weg durch 14 kleine Kapellen bis auf 180m in die Tiefe.
      Ein sehr beeindruckender Bau. Ein Besuch lohnt sich auf jeden Fall!

      Nach dem anstrengenden Marsch durch die Kapelle, hatten wir uns dann auch ein richtig gutes Mittagessen verdient 😉      Read more

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    • The Craze for TravellingThe South American Odyssey
      Day 146

      The Salt Cathedral, Zipaquira

      February 22, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

      From the main square, we walked Westwards to the Salt Cathedral. By the time we reached the entrance, it was almost 12 pm.
      The Salt Cathedral is an underground Roman Catholic church built within the tunnels of a salt mine 200 metres below the ground in a halite (rock salt) mountain near Zipaquira. It is a very popular tourist destination and place of pilgrimage in the country. 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 also there.Read more

    • TravelerOne year one road
      112
      Day 322

      Catedral de Sal

      May 22, 2023 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

      Unglaublich diese Kathedrale im Salzbergwerk, und das ist alles riesig groß!

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    • annalovestraveling6 weeks Colombia
      Day 4

      Zipaquirá

      May 17, 2015 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

      Around one hour northeast of Bogotá, lies the small, colonial village Zipaquirá, which is famous for its salt cathedral. I went today with Lindsay, a Canadian girl from the hostel.
      Still really tired from the party the night before and not used to the sunday timetable, it took us first of all a while to find a Transmilenio station which was serving.
      The town is really cute and actually we liked it better than the actual attraction, since all around the cathedral there is a huge tourist area, almost looking like a theme-park. Also inside the cathedral, which rather looks like a mine, there were a bunch of people, making it almost impossible to walk normally. Despite this, it is a really cool place to go.      Read more

    • Peru, Nicaragua & Kolumbien
      Day 61

      Zipaquirá

      November 19, 2021 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

      Kolumbien verfügt über ein Weltwunder der Architektur und ist sehr stolz darauf, deshalb machen auch wir einen Tagesausflug dorthin! Es handelt sich dabei um ein rießiges Netzwerk aus Salzstollen, in welche 200 Meter unter der Erde eine Kathedrale in den Salzstein geschlagen wurde.
      Wir machen zunächst einen Stop am schönen Stadtplatz der Stadt Zipaquirá, dann geht es weiter zum Eingang des Wunders. Über einen unterirdischen Kreuzweg in den Salzminen führt der Weg zur großen Kathedrale. Alles ist wundervoll beleuchtet und in Szene gesetzt. Das Gangsystem ist weitläufig, es scheint unfassbar, dass dies alles von Menschenhand gemacht wurde. Es ist ein mysthisch-magischer Ort und hat seinen Ruf als Wunder der Architektur definitiv verdient.
      Auch unseren dritten Tag und Abend in Bogotá haben wir sicher überstanden. An den Straßenecken des Zentrums und des Ausgehviertels La Candelaria stehen überall Polizisten und Wachmänner und so haben wir uns relativ sicher gefühlt. Natürlich ist Bogotá kein Ort, wo man mit Handy und Geldbeutel in der Hosentasche herum läuft. Auch etliche Leute, die wie treffen, erzählen uns Geschichten von Überfällen. Und so waren auch wir vorsichtig und Abends nur mit dem Nötigstem unterwegs. Alles in allem hat diese Stadt aber definitv Charme und ich würde sie jederzeit wieder besuchen!      Read more

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    • The Craze for TravellingThe South American Odyssey
      Day 146

      The Stations of the Cross

      February 22, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

      At the entrance of the church, there are 14 small chapels, representing the stations of the cross, which illustrate the events of Jesus' last journey. Each station has a cross and several kneeling platforms carved into the halite structure.Read more

    • TravelerColômbia 2018
      Day 4

      Catedral de Sal de Zipaquirá

      September 1, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

      Hoje fomos visitar um lugar muito especial que fica a cerca de 50 km de Bogotá: a Catedral de Sal de Ziquipará.
      A Catedral de Sal é uma catedral construída no interior das minas de sal de Zipaquirá, na Savana de Bogotá, na Colômbia. Este santuário católico, que faz memória do Via Crucis de Jesus Cristo, é um dos mais célebres do país. A importância da Catedral radica no seu valor como patrimônio cultural, religioso e ambiental.
      Pegamos um ônibus em Bogotá até o local e de lá subimos até a mina.
      A volta foi em um ônibus que misturava turistas e locais e que estava tão lotado que tivemos que sentar ao lado do motorista, eu em cima do motor.
      Foi uma aventura, mas curtimos muito.      Read more

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    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Zipaquirá, Zipaquira

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