Which Colombian mine contains an underground cathedral carved from salt?

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The Colombian mine containing an underground cathedral carved from salt is the Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá.

Located near Zipaquirá in Colombia’s Cundinamarca Department, the church occupies tunnels in a halite mountain roughly 200 metres underground. The site developed from miners’ devotional practices: workers had carved a small sanctuary in the mine around 1932 so they could pray for protection before beginning work.

A larger first cathedral opened in 1954, but structural and safety concerns led to its closure in 1992. A new cathedral was then built in a separate section of the mine and inaugurated on December 16, 1995. Its spaces include Stations of the Cross chapels, a dome, and three interconnected naves, with architectural details and religious imagery carved into the salt rock.

Despite its popular name, it is not a cathedral in the formal Catholic sense because it has no bishop or cathedral seat. It is nevertheless a functioning church, pilgrimage destination, and major tourist attraction. Nemocón is a nearby salt-mining site, but it is not the Colombian mine identified by this question.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Sept. 2026

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