World Art Utopia

Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá

The nave of the underground Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá, Colombia: blue-lit salt walls, rows of pews, a cross lit orange from behind and a green-lit floor relief in front.
Artwork FileZipaquirá, Colombia

Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá

OpenOct 2026

Roswell Garavito Pearl (architect) · Zipaquirá, Cundinamarca · 1995

Photo: Jonny Green / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0), as published on Street Art Utopia.

The Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá is an underground church in the salt mine of Zipaquirá, about an hour from Bogotá. The present cathedral, designed by architect Roswell Garavito Pearl, was inaugurated in 1995 after the first one, opened in 1954, was closed in 1992 for structural faults. Source Checked

Open Oct 2026: on 6 October 2026 the cathedral’s own site published its visitor programme for 5–12 October 2026. Source Checked

💡 4 things to know

  1. The second cathedralThe first salt cathedral opened in 1954 and was closed in September 1992 because of structural faults. Source Checked
  2. An architect’s designThe official history says the present cathedral, inaugurated in 1995, was designed by architect Roswell Garavito Pearl. Source Checked
  3. Three navesColombia’s tourism site describes three naves at the end of the route, for Jesus’s birth and baptism, his life and death, and his resurrection. Source Checked
  4. 180 metres downThe cathedral’s site and Colombia Travel put it 180 metres underground; Colombia Travel says 250,000 tons of rock salt were extracted to build it. Source Source Checked

📍 Where it is

Inside the salt mine of Zipaquirá, Cundinamarca, about an hour from Bogotá. Source Source Checked

Open in Maps

Opens a map at the photo’s camera position. The nave is underground, so there is no Street View of it.

🗓️ Sightings

  1. 1954

    First salt cathedral opened

  2. 1995

    Present cathedral inaugurated

  3. 20074 Feb

    Declared First Wonder of Colombia

  4. 20127 Jan

    Central nave photographed

  5. 20266 Oct

    Visitor programme published

Green stamps mark dated photographs; amber stamps mark records or reports; red stamps mark loss. Publication dates are not camera dates.

🗞️ In the sources

Catedral de Sal de ZipaquiráOfficial history

“en 1995 se inaugura la segunda y actual Catedral, diseñada por el arquitecto Roswell Garavito Pearl.”

In 1995 the second and current Cathedral was inaugurated, designed by the architect Roswell Garavito Pearl.

Read the source

✅ The facts

Architect
Roswell Garavito Pearl Source Checked
Inaugurated
1995 Source Source Checked
Earlier cathedral
Opened 1954; closed September 1992 Source Checked
Depth
180 metres underground Source Source Checked
Plan
Three naves Source Checked
Recognition
First Wonder of Colombia, 4 February 2007 Source Reported
Photographed
7 January 2012 Source Checked
Status today
Open to visitors (October 2026 programme) Source Checked

🔗 Related

All sources & image credits

Last checked: 5 November 2026. How we verify art