Chiquinquirá

Chiquinquirá is a town and municipality in the Colombian Department of Boyacá part of the subregion of the Western Boyacá Province. Located some 115 km north of Bogotá, Chiquinquirá is 2570m (8432 ft) above sea level and has a yearly average temperature 58°F.

Chiquinquirá is constituted by two zones: the urban zone or town which is formed by approximately 40 neighborhoods between the strata 1 and 4, and the rural zone which is divided in 17 sub zones located around the city.

Chiquinquirá is considered to be the religious capital of Colombia. It is home to the Basílica de Chiquinquirá, which houses the image of the Virgin de Chiquinquirá, the patroness saint of Colombia. Chiquinquirá is a major point of religious pilgrimage (source: Colombia Lonely Planet Guide, 2nd Edition, 1995).

Chiquinquirá Virgin:

Our Lady of the Rosary of Chiquinquirá or the Virgin of Chiquinquirá is a title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in the northern Andean region of South America. She is the patron saint of Colombia, the Venezuelan state of Zulia, and the town of Caraz in Peru.

In Colombia, her painted image rests in the Basílica of Our Lady of the Rosary in Chiquinquirá, where thousands of pilgrims arrive not only for the Feast Day on July 9, but also every Sunday, when they celebrate masses and processions. On July 3, 1986, Pope John Paul II visited the sanctuary and prayed for peace in Colombia at the feet of the Virgin Mary's image. The title given to the Virgin is from the city of Chiquinquirá, where the first of the Virgin's miraculous manifestations occurred, and where the original image from the sixteenth century is kept.

An image of the Virgin of Chiquinquirá can be found at the Basílica of Maracaibo, in Maracaibo, Venezuela, where it is also called La Chinita. Every November 18, the city celebrates the traditional Feast of La Chinita with masses and processions in honor of the Virgin.

Hoteles en Chiquinquirá