Santuario Nuestra Señora de las Lajas      Newer Older
Church history from Viva Travel      One day in 1750 (more or
less), María Mueses de Quiñónez was walking from Potosí to
Ipiales. Upon her back she carried her young, deaf-mute daughter
Rosa. They decided to rest at Pastarán cave on the banks of the
Río Guáitra. When doña María awoke from a nap, she discovered
her daughter had wandered off. Upon finding her, Rosa said,
“Mamacita, the Mestiza called to me!” She pointed to an image of
a woman holding a child and two men.      Thus begins the story
of Santuario Nuestra Señora de las Lajas.A small adobe chapel
was built to protect the image of the Virgin in the shallow
cave, forming the “altar screen” of the temple. Over the
centuries it expanded to the impressive neo-Gothic structure
that now spans the Guáitra River. Many Colombians and
Ecuadorians make the pilgrimage to this site, beseeching the
Virgin Mary for her intercession. The cliff walls are covered
with thousands of plaques thanking her for mir