A visit to the Catedral de Sal (Salt Cathedral) of Zipaquirá is an attraction not to be missed. This underground Roman Catholic church (about 48 km outside of Bogotá), built within the tunnels of a salt mine, was unlike any we have seen.
In the 1930’s,miners had carved a sanctuary in this halite structure for their daily prayers, asking for protection to the saints before starting to work.
The underground church was built inside this active mine in the 1950's and dedicated to Our Lady of Rosary, Patron saint of miners.
We opted for a tour in Spanish, with our companions as translators. As we entered the cathedral (which is technically not a cathedral since it does not have a bishop), we were awed by the solemn atmosphere and ambient lighting of violet, blue and pink hues. We were advised not to take pictures yet but only during the walk back as the energy fields inside the mine drained batteries quickly. It was so hard to resist! I risked a couple of shots despite knowing we were going back the same way. The shots were just waiting to be taken! The chapels carved in the tunnels for the 14 Stations of the Cross culminating at the main nave were simply dazzling. The kids were fascinated by the lights but were a bit bored after the 10th station.
The tour ended with a 3D movie of a robot (in an attempt to appeal to the kids and have a modern spin) which took us through the history of the mines from the Muisca to the current extractions of salt. The whole tour took under an hour plus another 10 or so minutes for the movie. After the movie, we walked along the tunnels where there were works of art on display, a coffee shop (of course!) and some souvenir stalls reminding us that this is a tourist spot indeed.
Another attraction was the mirror of water (brine, actually) whose surroundings are illuminated to reflect on the static water. The result was a fascinating optical illusion of swimming in a vacuum underground. The kids were drawn to this marvelous illusion and I kept urging them to move away. I wondered if I should have stopped to pray at each of the 14 stations just to make sure that they did not fall over!
After we had left the mines, we decided to eat lunch while on a train ride for a short tour of Zipaquirá. It was a nice break from the dark and cold, and a rest from our 2km walk inside.
The Catedral de Sal is amazing. Where else in the world (except in Poland) can you find such a magnificent piece of architecture where you can actually taste the walls?! Well, we did not miss the opportunity. The kids (and adults) did have a sample!
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