Catedral de Sal de Zipaquirá is an underground Roman Catholic church built within the tunnels of a salt mine an hour's drive from Bogotá in the town of Zipaquirá, Colombia. The importance of the cathedral is reflected in the cultural hereditary, religious and environmental values. It forms a part of the Parque de Sal de Zipaquirá, a thematic cultural park dedicated to mining, architecture and natural resources.
Our new Colombian friend Monika wanted to show us this impressive place last Sunday, and we are so grateful that she did!
To get in the salt cathedral everyone has to take a tour, which leave regularly from the gate.
The underground cathedral is very popular tourist attraction due to its marvelous and profound religious meaning. It is considered to be the most important sight of Colombia; some have even named it to be the
Jewel of Modern Architecture -- one of the seven wonders of the modern world.
The monuments and statues in the cathedral represent the birth, life, and death of Jesus, which are displayed with a beautiful array of lights.
An angel guards the way leading to the main altar.
The icons, ornaments and architectural details are hand carved in the halite rock. Some marble sculptures are also included.
The hip garment is made of genuine emerald, the green gemstone, whose biggest producer Colombia is in the world.
The gallery represents Via Dolorosa, the Way of Suffering, Jesus had to walk carrying his cross, on the way to be crucified. Jesus's last moments to the cross in Jerusalem are shown in five steps or in five different crosses in the cathedral.
Holy Family and Baby Jesus in his crib in the stable.
The cross at the main altar.
The powerful touch is called
La Creación del Hombre and it is based on Michelangelo's famous work
The Creation of Adam.
After the tour and a 3D movie about salt mining, we had delicious Colombian coffee 180 metres underground.
The walls of the hall on the way back change colour every few seconds.
Eucalyptus trees.
The vista over the town of Zipaquirá.
This cute boy flashed me a smile when he saw me taking out the camera. Eagerly he nudged me towards the little store over the street which I should visit. I told him I'd go after the very late and overdue lunch. And to the boy's delight, I did!
A typical small-town Colombian restaurant recommended by locals.
The drink was apple soda mixed with beer. Surprisingly delicious!
The lunch included meat, meat and meat with the side dishes of potatoes, guacamole, mature banana and
yuca, a potato like vegetable.
Since it was getting late the restaurant was nearly empty.
This is the store I "had" to visit.
We didn't stop to walk around the town because it was getting late but one could do a tour including the visit to the park. At the first quick glimpse we saw the tiny town looked charming.
When the locals hear that we are foreigners and new in town the first two things they ask are: "Have you been to the Cathedral of Salt?" And: "Do you know Andrés Carne de Res (a famous whimsical restaurant and a party place in Chia)?" If you do the mistake of saying "no", they roll their eyes and cant't believe what they are hearing. These are the two greatest must-sees outside of Bogotá that everyone has to see. Now after seeing one of them I can answer happily "Yes". And for the disbeliever's information: it
is definitely worth it to believe the locals.
The first stop was getting fueled up at the Alpina cabin. Sopó is actually more known for the local dairy producer Alpina founded by Swiss immigrants in the 1940s.
When we had purchased the snacks, the trip continued higher up, closer to the stars. On the way to the park we passed some modest houses. The village - or town - has over 21.000 inhabitants.
And we saw beautiful fields that remind us of home. As often in Latin America it seems to be a problem, also this time our bus was way too big for the tiny steep roads leading to the park. Somehow we managed, though!
The view is breathtaking, and both valleys and a lagoon can be seen from the top.
Our guide Don Luis accompanied us all the way, explaining about the nature and history of the park. Little did we know, what kind of an adventure was waiting ahead...
As you can imagine, with such a big group (25 people or more) the "hiking" was pretty slow as everyone was stopping to photograph the amazing nature.
Little school girls who come to visit the park make little bunny ears or conejitas from these soft leaves.
This plant is very sticky so the girls glue it to their ears as earrings.
If you squint your eyes, you might see the cross, which was our final destination.
The distance to the cross was not long but it was challenging for many people climbing down over slippery rocks. The way there was not completely paved or smoothed like it may first have appeared but for us - the experienced ones - after the hike done several years ago to Mittagspitze in Vorarlberg, Austria, this was a piece of cake!
Some Latino gentlemen insisted on helping. Haven't they heard how independent the Finnish women are? :D
Half way to the cross done so it's time for some posing.
This was the stone I was sitting on as seen from below.
Yey! We reached the cross! Getting settled for a group picture.
The highest point of the park is in 3.250 meters, which is over 600 meters higher than Bogotá.
Our new friend Daniela from New Jersey, Monika and I.
Monika and Lukas.
And another view of the stone many were sitting on.
In theory, the walk back from the cross was the same but as some were afraid going down the rocks, the guide led us through a bushy jungle where we also had to dig in with nails to get up.
This kind of a group trip would never had worked in Europe but we just thought it was fun!
Time for lunch!
And admiring the scenery.
While we were sweating up in the park, getting sun burn on our necks and enjoying the sunshine the whole morning and early afternoon, it had rained hailstones in Bogotá.
Lukas was even able to build a miniature snowman. :)
On the way home we found a cute little Swiss restaurant where we had cheese fondue for dinner.
The day was eventful and funny, it was nice meeting new people and getting to know the neighbourhood. Most importantly, we got to enjoy the beautiful Colombian nature!
