Shrine · Other

Las Lajas Sanctuary

Ipiales, Colombia

"The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Las Lajas is one of the most architecturally dramatic pilgrimage sites in the ..."

Highlights

1One of the most architecturally dramatic sanctuaries in the world — a neo-Gothic basilica spanning a canyon
2The image of Our Lady is reportedly painted on the rock face of the canyon wall — not engraved or added The canyon walls are covered with thousands of ex-voto plaques from pilgrims across South America The basilica spans 45 metres above the Guáitara River — a bridge-basilica unique in Catholic architecture The devotion has been continuous since 1754 at the site of the reported apparition

Getting There

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Address

Calle 4a #3a-08, Las Lajas, Ipiales, Nariño, Colombia

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Directions

Ipiales is 80 km south of Pasto in Nariño, Colombia, and 1 km from the Ecuadoran border. By bus from Pasto (1.5h) or Quito, Ecuador (4h). The sanctuary is 7 km from Ipiales town centre by road or a scenic canyon path.

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Timings

Current time — Bogota Time (COT)

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When	Hours	Note
Sanctuary	7:00 AM - 7:00 PM

Major feasts Extended hours The walk down the canyon steps from the road is scenic and takes 20-30 minutes. The bridge approach to the basilica provides the best view. Modest dress required. Ex-voto plaques can be purchased and attached to the canyon walls.

Masses & Events

Daily Mass

7 AM, 11 AM, 5 PM

In the main basilica

Lady of Las Lajas

September 15

The principal feast; pilgrims from

Colombia and Ecuador Holy Week

Multiple special liturgies

Major pilgrimage period

Must See

The Canyon Approach

Path from the road down to the river [OUTDOOR] The approach to Las Lajas involves descending into the canyon on stone steps. With each step, the basilica reveals itself more fully across the void

Gothic towers above, the river far below, the mountains of Nariño rising on every side. This approach is one of the great pilgrim arrivals in South America.

The Bridge Crossing

Bridge over the Guáitara [OUTDOOR] A bridge crosses the Guáitara River directly in front of the basilica, offering the most photographed view: the neo-Gothic towers rising from the canyon wall, reflected in the river below. At dusk the stone glows and the waterfall sounds drift up from below.

The Miraculous Image

Behind the high altar The rock face bearing the image of Our Lady with the Child Jesus is visible through the glass behind the altar. The image is reported to go several centimetres deep into the rock, rather than being applied to the surface. Pilgrims gaze at it through the altar glass.

The Ex-Voto Canyon Walls

Along the canyon cliff faces around the sanctuary Thousands of ceramic and metal plaques cover the canyon walls: En Agradecimiento (In Gratitude), followed by the miracle received and the name of the pilgrim. Cures, accidents survived, marriages restored, children born. The canyon is a record of the answered prayers of the Colombian poor.

The Waterfall Below

Guáitara River, visible from the bridge [OUTDOOR] The Guáitara River rushes through the narrow canyon below the sanctuary. The sound of the water accompanies all prayer at Las Lajas. At high water the roar is overwhelming. At low water, the green of the canyon bottom and the Gothic spires above produce one of the most beautiful landscapes in Colombian pilgrimage.

Intentions

Carry these intentions into the Basilica with you — pause at each sacred spot and lift them to God.

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For Colombia and the people of Nariño department

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For the indigenous Quechua communities whose devotion originated this shrine

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For those who have been healed at Las Lajas

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For Ecuador and all the peoples of the Andes

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For those whose prayers are plastered to canyon walls — that God reads every name

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For the poorest pilgrims who make the long journey from distant provinces

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For an end to violence and division in Colombia

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For awe — that the human spirit may still be moved by beauty and by faith together

Reflection

A woman named María Mueces and her deaf-mute daughter were caught in a storm on a canyon path in 1754. The child said she heard a voice calling from the stones. This is the origin of Las Lajas. The image appeared on the rock. The canyon walls filled with gratitude. A basilica was built across the void. All of it — the architecture, the art, the ex-votos, the prayers — began with a mother and daughter in a storm, and a child who heard something in the rock.

Suggested Scripture — Psalm 40:2

He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.

Read in full on Bible Gateway →

A Pilgrim's Prayer

Our Lady of Las Lajas, you appeared in rock and you have been answered in rock — the canyon walls covered with the gratitude of the healed and the saved. Let me add my name to the stone. Let my prayer go deep into the rock face of this place. And let me stand on the bridge above the river and understand that the deepest things are built on the most precarious places. Amen.

The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Las Lajas is one of the most architecturally dramatic pilgrimage sites in the world. A neo-Gothic basilica spanning the Guáitara River canyon in southern Colombia near the Ecuadoran border, it was built between 1916 and 1949 on the site of a reported Marian apparition and clings to the canyon walls 45 metres above the river. The combination of Gothic tracery, Colombian mountain landscape, and the roar of the Guáitara below creates an experience unlike any other shrine on earth.

The Apparition

The apparition tradition dates to 1754, when a Quechua woman named María Mueces and her deaf-mute daughter Rosa were caught in a storm on the canyon path. Rosa reportedly said: “Mother, the Lady is calling me from among the stones.” An image of the Virgin Mary with the Child Jesus was subsequently found painted — not engraved — on the rock face of the canyon: an image that could not be removed or painted over, and that endures to this day behind the basilica’s high altar.

A Wall of Intercession

The cliff walls surrounding the sanctuary are covered with the plaques of answered prayers — thousands of ex-votos from grateful pilgrims, affixed directly to the canyon stone. The result is one of the most visually powerful expressions of popular devotion anywhere: the canyon itself becomes a wall of intercession, covered in gratitude from floor to ceiling.