The pews are jammed with the faithful and when a choir breaks into song ahead of Mass, the sound envelops the chamber.Ī worker looks for scratches at the Salt Cathedral in 2003. There is a basilica dome, chandeliers and an enormous, floor-to-ceiling cross illuminated with purple lights.
It's especially busy during Easter, with thousands attending services marking the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ.īut the cathedral is also an architectural wonder, built in the caverns and tunnels left behind by miners, who extracted millions of tons of rock salt starting two centuries ago.Īt the bottom, the temple opens up to reveal three naves representing the birth, life and death of Christ. But after a few hundred yards, the shaft gradually widens to reveal Roman Catholic icons, like the Stations of the Cross and Archangel Gabriel.Ĭolombia's Salt Cathedral is located about 600 feet underground, in a former salt mine in Zipaquirá, just outside Bogotá. It's dark and dank, with a faint smell of sulfur in the air. The tunnel leading to Colombia's most famous church feels more like a byway into the bowels of the earth.
The Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá is an underground church built inside a salt mine, and made entirely of salt.
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