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Zipaquirá is where most tourists head to see the famous Salt Cathedral, but in the nearby town of Nemocón, it’s possible to get a much more in-depth look at the salt mining industry.
The Nemocón Salt Mine (Mina de Sal de Nemocón) is a former salt mine in use for over 400 years. The second biggest salt mine in Colombia, over 8 million tons of salt were extracted there between 1816 and 1968. It has since been converted to a museum and has some incredible things inside. The trail is about a 1,600 meters long and takes visitors 80 meters underground. It’s still on the touristy side but for us it was a much better experience than the Salt Cathedral in Zipaquirá.
Admission
Adult admission is COP$41,000 for foreigners (as of June 2023) and includes a 90-minute guided tour. There should be English speaking guides available at the entrance.
Museum
The first part of the tour is in the small museum. The guide talks about the formation of salt in the area and some of the animals that lived there in prehistoric times.
Entering the Mine
After the museum, guests are given a hard hat to wear inside the mine and escorted to the entrance. It’s a short and sometimes slippery walk down the mine shaft to the first tunnel and a quick orientation.
Natural Mirror
The natural mirror is the next stop. This small pool of water runs the length of the tunnel and makes a perfect reflection of everything around it. The colored lighting adds to the effect. Guests are given the opportunity to buy a photo of their group next to the pool.
Los 33
Continuing along, we were shown movie props from the movie “Los 33” starring Antonio Banderas. It’s about the 2010 Chilean mining disaster in which 33 men were trapped underground for 69 days before being rescued. Part of the movie was filmed in this mine.
Salt Features
Next, we were shown a salt cascade, a small salt church in which local weddings are sometimes performed, and a heart made out of solid salt.
The rest of the tour showed us how water was used to extract salt from the mine along with a small history of salt mining in Colombia.
Hornos de Sal
Outside the entrance to the mine are a few restaurants catering to tourists. We stopped by Hornos de Sal to have lunch after our visit to the mine. It has an interesting interior decorated like a salt mine, and another brighter dining room to the rear.
Unfortunately, the food wasn’t up to par. Each of us had steaks that were too rubbery. We wouldn’t eat there again. You’re probably better off trying your luck elsewhere in town.
