Basilica Santuario de las Lajas: Ipiales (Colombia)

Basilica Santuario de las Lajas: Ipiales (Colombia)

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The Shrine of Our Lady of Las Lajas is a Roman Catholic basilica church built inside the canyon of the Guáitara River in southern Colombia. It has been a tourism and pilgrimage destination since the eighteenth century. The town of Ipiales sits on the river's banks, 9,500 ft above sea level.

Basilica Santuario de las Lajas

The Basilica de las Lajas (Basílica Santuario Nacional de Nuestra Señora de las Lajas) is located in the southern Colombian Department of Nariño, in the municipality of Ipiales and is built inside the canyon of the Guáitara River.

The Shrine of Our Lady of Las Lajas is a Roman Catholic basilica church dedicated to the veneration of Our Lady of Las Lajas Ipiales. It has been a tourism and pilgrimage destination since the eighteenth century.

The Las Lajas Sanctuary sits on a 40 m (130 ft) high bridge built over the Guaitara River. The neo-Gothic church was erected by worshipers between 1916 and 1953 and replaced a shrine first built in the mid-18th century.

According to popular belief, the Virgin Mary appeared to a woman and her hard-of-hearing daughter in 1754, where the church is now standing.

The first shrine in honor of the Virgin Mary was built a few years after the alleged appearance, according to the journal of a friar traveling the region between 1756 and 1764. Half a century later, in 1802, a more significant shrine was built, and worshipers erected the first version of the bridge allowing access to the church.

The church was built in a Gothic style between 1916 and 1949, taking up a time frame of 33 years. The name Laja (slab) comes from the name of a type of flat sedimentary rock similar to shale and slate.

Ipiales

Ipiales is a city and Catholic bishopric in Nariño Department, southern Colombia, near the border with Ecuador. It is on a high plateau called "Tuquerres e Ipiales" in the Colombian Andes.

The town sits on the banks of the Guáitara River, approximately 2,900 m (9,500 ft) above sea level and is known as the "city of the three volcanoes." Population estimate: 75,403 (2003).

The town's main attraction is the impressive architecture of the Las Lajas Cathedral, the episcopal see of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ipiales.

Ipiales is known as "La Ciudad de las Nubes Verdes" (The City of the Green Clouds) due to the greenish clouds that often appear over the city.

Ipiales is an important regional manufacturing center, producing woolen and cotton textiles, articles of sisal, and beer. Situated on the Pan-American Highway, 4 km (2.5 mi) from the Ecuadoran boundary, the economy is based on border trade between Ecuador and Colombia.

One of the most popular festivals is called the "Black and White Carnival." Through this event, the residents of Ipiales celebrate racial diversity. Participants paint each other with make-up and white soap called careoca. Many tourists travel to see this event from all over the country.