Procolombia | Promoción de Exportaciones- Inversión- Turismo- Marca País
![logo_proco]()
![logo_proco]()
You are in:
Content publication date
With over 500 years of catholic tradition, Colombia offers unforgettable experiences for tourists who wish to combine retreat and rest while discovering rich architectural, artistic and cultural heritage around the religious theme throughout the entire country.
Destinations like Popayán, Cali, Mompox, Buga, Ipiales, Tunja, Chiquinquirá, Zipaquirá and Bogotá represent the diverse package Colombia has to offer for the so-called Holy days. Numerous sanctuaries can be found in the country, where the faithful revere miraculous images, majestic churches, religious works of art and a variety of imposing expressions of faith.
Compelling processions fill the Holy Week, considered as the most important celebration of the year in the so called “white city” of the country. The high degree of devotion of all who participate during these religious festivities creates an essence of fervor that is unique to Popayan, the capital city of the provincial department of Cauca, located in the southwest of the country.
All six of Popayan’s Holy Week's emblematic processions were declared Works of Art of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Mankind by UNESCO on September 30th 2009.
During the Catholic Holy Week there are other activities taking place in Popayan, like smaller processions for children between 6 and 12 years of age, and the Religious Music Festival, which congregates groups of this genre, coming from different places in Colombia and the world.
The city offers its visitors a trail through the beautiful churches of different styles, where they can appreciate majestic works of religious art. These temples provide an unforgettable experience of faith and retreat.
Recommended places to visit:
This year, PROCOLOMBIA will support "Cali, Ciudad Divina – El Valle te llena de Gracia” (Cali, Divine City, Valle fills you with Grace), a touristic, religious, cultural and commercial promotion campaign intended to highlight the attractions of this naturally sweet, kind and warm region.
The campaign will invite tourists during Holy Week to enjoy a variety of programs, including large processions, La Misa de Mi Pueblo (My People’s Mass Service), the Cali Arts Festival, the salsa show with Delirio, and presentations by the Valle Philharmonic Orchestra, among others.
Cali, the capital city of Valle del Cauca, has several churches going back to colonial times, which have great architectural and historical value.
Recommended places to visit:
Cali also has a Religious and Colonial Museum with over 350 pieces of religious artwork and other types of colonial artistic expressions. The city, located in the southwest of Colombia, was recommended by The New York Times as one of the destinations to visit in 2011.
It is located 73 kilometers away from Cali. It was declared a National Monument thanks to the preservation of its colonial and religious architecture.
This is one of the most representative towns for religious tourism in Colombia, as it is the home to Basilica del Señor de los Milagros, residing in a grand temple named Basilica by Pope Pius XI because of the numerous miracles and the number of pilgrims who visit.
Every year, Buga receives about three million tourists who are there to visit especially the Santuario del Señor de los Milagros.
The Basilica shelters the moving image of Santisimo Redentor (Holy Redeemer), 2.5 meters tall, made of cast iron, and placed in between two beautiful towers.
Located on the shores of the Magdalena river, 248 kilometers away from Cartagena, Mompox's architectural beauty can be clearly seen on its colonial streets and its temples. Thousands of people visit the city to observe or participate in events and processions that take place during Holy Week.
Mompox’s religious celebrations date back to the times when the wealthy donated their jewels, altars and holy images, seeking to purge their sins and achieve perpetual salvation.
Every year during Holy Week, the inhabitants of Mompox wipe the dust off their jewels to decorate their Saint’s figures, which then parade in long processions down the streets to commemorate the death of Christ.
The following four churches are part of a historical and cultural legacy.
Tunja is the capital city of the provincial department of Boyacá, and is located 157 kilometers away from the city. Thanks to the preservation of its historical center and colonial architecture, it was declared a National Monument in 1959.
Holy Week in Tunja is one of the most traditional celebrations in the country, and its activities are supplemented by interesting events like sacred music concerts, religious art exhibitions, pontifical mass services, conferences, children's processions, spiritual retreats and trails around temples and churches.
The temples in this beautiful colonial city preserve valuable religious treasures.
Located in the provincial department of Boyacá, Chiquinquira shelters an impressive, neoclassic, Doric style Basilica, and baroque style altars. Its impressive sandstone facade is outstanding.
On the inside, visitors will see a beautiful painting of the Rosary Virgin, which at one point was abandoned and, once recovered by a devout of the place, miraculously restored.
The famous Sanctuary is visited by swarms of pilgrims from the country and abroad, thanks to the numerous miracles attributed to Our Lady of the Rosary, also known as the Virgen de Chiquinquirá.
The Virgin of the Rosary was consecrated by the National Government in 1916 as the Patron of Colombia.
The capital city shelters two of the main pilgrimage temples in the country. The Santuario del Señor Caído de Monserrate, and the Iglesia del Divino Niño, located in the 20 de Julio neighborhood, to the south of the city.
The Santuario del Señor Caido de Monserrate is visited every year by millions of people. It is located above one of the hills of Bogotá, 3,152 meters above sea level.
At the end of the temple is the beautiful and worthy image of “Santo Cristo Caido a los Azotes y Clavado en la Cruz”, a masterpiece by the local Pedro de Lugo y Albarracín.
The Santuario del Divino Niño is probably the place where the most members of the congregation do pilgrimage in the country. Thousands of people visit daily, especially on holidays, since this is the holy image with the largest number of worshipers in Colombia. The image of the temple is inspired on the Holy Child of Prague, as requested by Italian priest Juan del Rizzo, and its worshipers approach it to ask and thank for its favors.
In addition, Bogotá has some of the most traditional churches that can be visited at any time of year, which consolidates it as a religious destination. The capital has a variety of temples built back in the colonial days, with beautiful architecture and astonishing ornaments inside.
Some of them are:
Zipaquira is a small town located 50 kilometers north of Bogota, which shelters the overwhelming Salt Cathedral, which has been declared the First Wonder of Colombia. This pristine sanctuary commemorates Christ's Way of the Cross (Viacrucis) and is one of the most famous and visited tourist attractions in Colombia.
The most astonishing part of the place is its architectural ingenuity in creating a solemn and majestic 8,500 square meter temple under the earth's surface in an old salt mine. The most outstanding items in its trail are the Way of the Cross, the Dome and the enormous 16-meter cross sculpted in the main auditorium.
The Salt Cathedral is part of a large theme park called "El Parque de la Sal" (the Salt Park), a 10-hectare complex located between the salt mountains of Zipaquira, which shelters the Salt Cathedral, the Miner’s Square, the Brine Museum, stores, cafés and ecological trails through natural footpaths.
Seven kilometers away from the city of Ipiales, in the provincial department of Nariño, in the southernmost part of the country, visitors will find the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Rosary of las Lajas, one of the most visited sanctuaries in the entire continent, where thousands of pilgrims, both local and foreign, visit throughout the entire year.
The place holds the image of Our Lady of the Rosary, imprinted on a Laja stone, which was discovered by a humble Indian and her deaf-mute daughter back in 1754, when they were seeking cover from a terrible storm. The Vatican gave it the Canonical Coronation in 1951.
History has it that when the image was discovered, the little girl was cured from her illness and, since then, countless miracles have been attributed to it.
The current cathedral began to be built in 1916 on grey and white Gothic-style stone. It has been acknowledged as a bold and original architectural work, as it is inlaid in the mountain on an abyss atop the Rio Gaitara canyon, reason why it is also known as “the miracle of God atop the abyss”.
More tourist options in Colombia can be seen in www.colombia.travel.
