Chiquinquira Basilica

The image is a painting on cotton cloth made around 1562 that deteriorated badly - the colours faded and the fabric tore - and was set aside in a farm chapel. In December 1586 a woman named Maria Ramos was praying before it when, according to the account, the colours returned and the tears closed. The report spread, pilgrimage began, and the shrine grew round it; the Virgin of Chiquinquira was declared patroness of Colombia and crowned in 1919. The present basilica, in neoclassical form, was built between 1796 and 1812 to hold the crowds. The image itself sits above the main altar. The town is otherwise small, and its economy runs substantially on pilgrimage and on making rosaries and religious goods.

What you actually see

• The 1562 image - above the main altar.
• A neoclassical basilica - built 1796 to 1812 for the pilgrimage.
• The national Marian shrine - patroness of Colombia since 1919.
• A town built on pilgrimage - workshops making religious goods.

When to go

Year round; 9 July is the feast and the peak. An hour.

Honest expectations

This is an active pilgrimage church, not a museum - behave accordingly. Feast days bring very large crowds. The town has little else. Services close the church to visitors periodically.

Nearby

Villa de Leyva is east; Tunja is south-east.