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Outside of the Salt Cathedral in Zipaquirá, there are a few interesting sights in town. You’ll find a couple of nice plazas with colonial buildings as well as an archaeological museum.
Plaza de los Comuneros
The main plaza, Plaza de los Comuneros, contains the city’s cathedral and is surrounded by a mix of colonial and European style buildings.
The cathedral is officially named the Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity and St. Anthony of Padua (Catedral de la Santísima Trinidad y San Antonio de Padua). Construction started in 1805 and it was finished on November 19, 1916. It was designed by Spanish Friar Domingo de Petrés (1759-1811), who also designed the Cathedral of Bogotá and the Cathedral of Santa Fe de Antioquia.
The municipality building is on one corner while on another corner to the right of the cathedral is another interesting building.
Independence Plaza
Independence Plaza (Plaza de la Independencia) is a short walk from the main plaza. It’s a lively place surrounded by plenty of restaurants and bars.
Our Lady of Sorrows
Just up the hill from Independence Plaza is a small church, Our Lady of Sorrows (Nuestra Señora de los Dolores). From a small platform in front, you can get fantastic views of Zipaquirá.
Quevedo Zornoza House Museum
The Quevedo Zornoza House Museum (Museo de Zipaquirá Casa Quevedo Zornoza) is a block south of the main plaza. It’s a 17th century home with 12 bedrooms and two patios. It houses a collection of household items used by several generations of the Quevedo family as well as items used by Colombian independence heroes such as Simón Bolívar. Colombian poet and politician Roberto Mac-Douall (1850-1921) was born in the house. It’s open daily and admission is COP$5,000 (as of February 2023). I didn’t visit.
Archaeological Museum
Finally, right at the entrance to the Salt Cathedral complex is Parque Villaveces, which contains the Zipaquirá Archaeological Museum (Museo Arqueológico de Zipaquirá). It costs COP$6,000 to enter (as of February 2023), or free if you have a ticket to the Salt Cathedral.
The museum is broken down into three galleries. The first gallery contains several simple tools and some statues and pottery.
The largest gallery displays artifacts made by indigenous people from all over Colombia. They’re nicely labeled with the approximate dates of the culture and their location.
Finally is a small gallery of Muisca artifacts. The Muisca were the indigenous group that populated the area around Zipaquirá.
Overall, there are lots of interesting artifacts in the museum but it’s not a must-see. It felt a little overwhelming.
Alma Llanera
We ate lunch at Alma Llanera. It looked like a friendly and inviting place, but we ended up getting ripped off. The prices and quality of the picada (plate of assorted meats) was fair, but the chicken and fish were overpriced and overcooked. Try to avoid this place.
Getting There
To get to Zipaquirá from Bogotá, take the Transmilenio to Portal del Norte and jump on a bus labeled for either town. The ride to Zipa takes 45 minutes.
On the way back to Bogotá, you might want to stop for a fun dinner at Andrés Carne de Res in Chía.
