Las Lajas Shrine is Colombia’s Most Picturesque Church

By
Mark T
-
Photo by Cristian Borrero on Unsplash

Colombia is home to many hidden sights you wouldn’t expect to find in this country—including the charming church Las Lajas Shrine. This stunning Gothic cathedral is regularly popping up on Instagram pages dedicated to Colombia, but is it actually worth the trip?

What makes the National Shrine Basilica of Our Lady of Las Lajas so impressive is its unusual and secluded location? It was built inside the canyon of the Guáitara River, between 1916-1949, and its dramatic setting transformed it into one of Colombia’s most Instagram-friendly spots.

View this post on Instagram

The National Shrine Basilica of Our Lady of Las Lajas is a basilica church located in the southern Colombian Department of Nariño, in the municipality of Ipiales, and is built inside the canyon of the Guáitara River. The present church was built in a Gothic style between 1916 and 1949, taking up a total time frame of 33 years to build. The name Laja comes from the name of a type of flat sedimentary rock similar to shale and slate. The inspiration for the church's creation was a purported miraculous event in 1754, when Amerindian Maria Meneses de Quiñones and her deaf-mute daughter Rosa were caught in a very strong storm. The two sought refuge between the gigantic Lajas, when, to Meneses' surprise, her daughter Rosa exclaimed "the Mestiza is calling me" and pointed to the lightning-illuminated silhouette over the laja. This apparition of the Virgin Mary instigated popular pilgrimage to the site and occasional reports of cases of miraculous healing. The image on the stone is still visible today. The existence of a shrine in this location was recorded in the accounts of friar Juan de Santa Gertrudis' journey through the southern region of the New Kingdom of Granada between 1756 and 1764. The first shrine was built here in the middle of 18th century from straw and wood. It was replaced with a new, larger shrine in 1802, which in turn was extended and connected to the opposite side of canyon with a bridge. The current church was built between January 1, 1916, and August 20, 1949, with donations from local churchgoers. It rises 100 metres (330 ft) high from the bottom of the canyon and is connected to the opposite side of the canyon by a 50 metres (160 ft) tall bridge. #architecturehistory #historyarchitecture #colombianarchitecture #catholichistory #colombianhistory #catholicarchitecture #gothicstyle #gothicarchitecture #gothicrevival #architecturepicture #nationalshrinebasilica #architecturehunter #architecturestudent #historicarchitecture

A post shared by Architecture and history (@arch.history.hunter) on

Las Lajas Shrine should be on your bucket list if you’re planning a road trip around South America, but it’s not that easy to reach it unless you’re traveling by car. The closest major town in its proximity, Ipiales, is located close to the border with Ecuador, and it takes hours to reach it from each major Colombian city.

If you’re lucky enough to figure out a way to visit Las Lajas Shrine, keep in mind you can enter it every day between 9am-6pm. The church may not be open after that, but you should still consider sticking around because it looks really impressive in the evenings, when all the colorful lights are on.