The Sanctuary of Las Lajas is located in southern Colombia in the department of Nariño, 7 km from the city of Ipiales and 10 km from the Ecuador border.
The Las Lajas Sanctuary was created in the 18th century and its construction was completed in 1949.
To get to this sanctuary from Ecuador we must go to the border with Colombia. But my journey started from the south of my country, so I arrived in Quito and after that I took on a bus to Tulcán, this route lasts 4 hours by bus and the cost of the ticket is $ 6.30, the buses leave from the Carcelén Terminal in Quito.
From the downtown of Tulcán to Rumichaca, which is the border with Colombia, the taxi charges me $ 3.50. Once here it is necessary to change dollars into Colombian pesos, there are money changers who do this procedure, as a recommendation if you are going to make purchases in Ipiales it is better to do it with a credit card because they give us the real value of the change and it is more convenient.
The Cable Car how to arrive there.
We can take small buses to the Sanctuary or a taxi that will take us for $ 20,000 pesos (approximately US $ 4.80). I chose this alternative and on the way, the Colombian police carried out checks on the cars that were circulating in the sector. To get to the sanctuary there are two options, the first by the cable car and the second by taxi to the parking lot of the place `so the taxi driver asks me if I wanted to go to the cable car after the indications that he gave me, I decided to stay in this place and I went down to the sanctuary by means of the cable car. You can make the round trip with a value of $ 18,000 pesos (US $ 4.30 approximately) or only the one-way trip with a value of $ 10,000 pesos (US $ 2.40 approximately). In my case, I took the downhill route until you reach the Sanctuary, there is a beautiful view of the entire place and its surroundings that excites you to see a beautiful landscape from above.
Once I got to the Sanctuary I dedicated myself to walk it, In this beautiful sanctuary at its bottom has a museum that can also be visited. As it was my first point of this trip I decided to thank God and ask for this new adventure, my family, and the health of my country.
Recommendation
As a recommendation, you should bring sports shoes, water, a coat, sunglasses, and your camera or cell phone because the photos you are going to take here are going to be incredible.
You will be able to visit the whole Sanctuary and you can walk along the river or even go to the waterfall where you will find rest places to eat and where the children can play.
A church that began to be built in a grotto and it has become one of the most beautiful sanctuaries in the world, when you visit this place, it filled you with a lot of spirituality, but my route was just beginning and I had to go to Ipiales to visit the city and complete this journey.
To get to Ipiales you can take a taxi with a cost of $ 10,000 pesos (approximately US $ 2.40) at the current exchange rate, but if you want to wait for more passengers inside the taxi, you pay $ 2,500 pesos (US $ 0.60 cents) approximately.
Ipiales is a city that Ecuadorians visit to shop, here you will find a large number of shops where you can get a large number of items such as clothing, appliances, the food at very good prices, there are places that accept dollars and you can buy without a problem, others only accept Colombian pesos.
Ipiales /Colombia a great place where to buy
I decided to spend the afternoon here so I looked for a place to have lunch. I found a restaurant called the Punto Antioqueño where I tried a soup called Ajiaco and grilled pork, definitely if you go to Ipiales and you are near the Plaza de Armas you will find this good place for lunch.
After this I was going to do some shopping for my nephews, I decided that it is time to go back to Tulcán but I could not leave without taste a beer in Colombia, the Poker beer refreshed my afternoon, I toast for this trip, I’m so happy to start it … Thanks Colombia I will come back for more.
If you want to check the complete video of this blog:
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7fcm3qFa5o[/embedyt]
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