WHAT: A visit to the an underground Salt Cathedral; a great day excursion from the hustle and bustle of Bogotá WHERE: 49 kilometres north of Bogotá. For more information http://www.catedraldesal.gov.co/ HOW LONG: At least six hours. It takes about 2 hours per way to get to the mine. The visit itself will cost you at some 1,5 hours. HOW MUCH: Buses depart every 15 minutes from Portal del Norte and cost 5,000 COP, less than 2 USD (45 minutes ride), you can walk the rest in Zipaquirá to the cathedral (20 min). Admission to the cathedral is rather expensive though with 50.000 COP p.p. The entrance fee includes a guided tour.
While in Bogota, our hostel owner told us about an underground constructed cathedral, a small trip away from the capital. Since we’d never heard of such a thing, much less of one being in a salt mine, we decided to spend half a day visiting the site. Even though we had only two days in Bogotá, the trip was certainly worth it.
Located in the north of Bogotá, the Salt Cathedral is the centerpiece of a halite mine that has been active since the 5th century b.c. (legend has it). Up until this day mining activities are still ongoing, although you won’t notice a thing, since the miners are working on the other site of the area.
In 1932 miners started carving out a sanctuary in a small part of the mine, as a place where they could pray in order to ask the saints for protection while extracting the salt. Later, when the mine was partially exhausted, several miners worked for years to reinvent the place; they were carving the walls in cross like shapes and filling the multi-level cavernous spaces with statues. As of 1995, the Salt Cathedral was inaugurated and the site has been run by the municipal government since that time.
Now, the Salt Cathedral isn’t actually a cathedral, but it’s called as such to draw the attention of the public. Sneaky right? Though it’s indeed a functioning church it has no bishop and therefore no official status as a cathedral according to the Vatican. Nonetheless, the Salt Cathedral receives around 50.000 visitors each month and is ranked as one of the most visited tourist and religious sites in all of Colombia. If you come on a Sunday, you can join another 3000 visitors for the mass. A visit from Monday to Saturday can be crowded too unfortunately, so go early in the mornings if you want to have the place for yourself.
As you descend the 180 meters into the mining voids, it’s incredible to realize that this monumental architectural piece has been built by people. While entering the first tunnel, you can already smell the salty air and minerals. A set of lights uncovers the carved rock and the areas that house the Stations of the Cross. At the end are three naves representing Jesus’ birth and baptism, his life and death and, finally, his resurrection. The tour guide (included in admission; Spanish or English speaking) will explain you how long each section took to make and how many miners were involved per piece of the cathedral.
Though a visit might sound like a claustrophobic experience, the ceilings are high enough to be impressed by the sheer size of the site. In some places the walls are almost as tall as with your regular cathedral. The 3d movie is skippable and if you’re in a hurry, so is the light show. The guide leaves you at the end of the tour near the enormous shopping area, a market that would fit right into the merchandise strategy of the Vatican. From there you can slowly walk back yourself to explore the site once more. You could also just ditch the tour from the beginning onwards and keep going by yourself if you prefer that, the guide probably won’t even mind.
If you have the time, breath in some fresh air in the little town once you get out of the mine. Zipaquirá is actually quite cute. Writer and Nobel Prize winner Gabriel García Márquez used to live here too, just saying. Buy an ice cream or a milkshake at take a rest at the main square while gazing at the terracotta roofed and balconied buildings surrounding the plaza. And just be plain happy you can finally see the sun again after some underground hours.
