Atalaya

Atalaya is a small town near Santiago built around a basilica holding an image of Jesús Nazareno that has been venerated since the eighteenth century, and on the first Sunday of Lent tens of thousands of pilgrims converge on it, many walking the last stretch and some the whole way from other provinces. The rest of the year the town is quiet and the church can be visited without ceremony.

What you actually see

• The basilica - the church built around the venerated image.
• The Nazareno image - the eighteenth-century figure the devotion centres on.
• The Lenten pilgrimage - tens of thousands converging on the first Sunday of Lent.
• The walking pilgrims - those arriving on foot from across the country.

When to go

The first Sunday of Lent brings the main pilgrimage and the town is overwhelmed. The rest of the year it is quiet. The church keeps daily hours.

Honest expectations

Outside the pilgrimage the town has little else to offer and an hour covers it. During the pilgrimage accommodation and roads are completely saturated. The basilica interior is modern rather than colonial.

Nearby

Santiago is east, and San Francisco de la Montaña is north.