Basilica of El Viejo

The Basílica de la Inmaculada Concepción at El Viejo holds an image of the Virgin traditionally said to have been brought by a brother of Teresa of Ávila in the sixteenth century and left here after storms prevented the ship leaving, and she became the patron of Nicaragua. The church is colonial in origin with later rebuilding, whitewashed and comparatively plain, and the image is the point rather than the architecture. On 6 December the Lavada de la Plata is held, when the silver of the sanctuary is washed by hand by hundreds of devotees in a public ceremony, and the following days lead into the Purísima celebrations that fill the whole country with singing and fireworks. Outside December the church is quiet.

What you actually see

• The patron image - the Virgin of El Viejo in her sanctuary.
• The Lavada de la Plata - the public silver-washing on 6 December.
• The colonial church - whitewashed and plainly finished inside.
• Purísima devotion - the December celebrations centred here.

When to go

Early December, around the 6th to the 8th, is when this is extraordinary; the rest of the year it is a parish church and takes twenty minutes. December is also dry season, so travel is easy.

Honest expectations

Outside the festival there is little to see. During it the town is packed and accommodation is in Chinandega rather than El Viejo. This is a devotional occasion, not a performance, and behaviour and photography should follow that.

Nearby

Chinandega lies southeast; Cosigüina is northwest.