Day Trips: High Road to Taos, Part 1 in a Series

Chimayo
The High Road to Taos brings the traveler up 284 North from Santa Fe, through Pojoaque (Po-wa-kay) to Nambe. There, it leaves the highway to travel through the distinct and stunning landscape of the ‘badlands’ between Nambe and the tiny but historically significant village of Chimayo. A stop at this traditional Spanish town is a must, for it holds many mysteries and delights for the visitor. Built of plazas and placitas, Chimayo is home to the oldest surviving fortified plaza in the Southwest.

Chimayo is also home to the “Lourdes of America.” El Santuario de Chimayo is known for the healing powers of the earth, small amounts of which are taken away by the more than 300,000 who visit this shrine each year. The Santuario also attracts thousands of pilgrims who walk dozens, and sometimes hundreds of miles each Easter week to give thanks and ask for blessings.

Chimayo’s history and attraction for the faithful are only the beginning of what this little village has to offer. Stop in at one of its numerous restaurants to enjoy the famous heirloom Chimayo chile, a mild, but extremely flavorful variety of chile which was so prized for medicinal as well as cooking purposes, it was once used as a currency.

Then a look through the many galleries featuring traditional arts of the region is in order. You will find tin-smithing, painting and wood carving. But Chimayo’s best known artists are the Ortega and Trujillo families, who have been practicing traditional Spanish weaving in Chimayo for generations. Their art would ultimately become so revered, that it is now known as the Chimayo style of weaving. You will find blankets, clothing, purses, pillows, furniture mats, seat covers, couch throws, wall hangings, and one-of-a-kind tapestries.

Set as it is in its beautiful high desert landscape, and built of traditional adobe architecture, Chimayo offers the visitor a wealth of fascinating history, as well as exceptional dining and shopping.

Read more about the historic Spanish settlement of Chimayo

Good Friday and Easter: The Miracle of El Santuario de Chimayo

Built on the site of a miracle, the Santuario de Chimayo is believed to be imbued with healing powers, and in fact, there is a long history of miraculous healings at el Santuario de Chimayo.

This beautiful mission style adobe chapel is the most visited church in New Mexico, despite its remote location in the tiny village of Chimayo, 30 miles north of Santa Fe. A small shrine was originally built at the site, but news of the miracles of healing spread so rapidly, that the larger mission style chapel had to be built almost immediately after finishing the original structure. The chapel which currently stands was finished in 1816.

A little well of holy dirt, “el Pocito,” is located in a small room next to the sanctuary. Dirt can be collected in a baggie, or can be purchased in small containers from one of the little shops nearby. Beyond this room is a testament to the miracles of el Pocito and the Santuario, a small sacristy completely filled with the crutches, handmade rosaries, before-and-after photographs, and gifts left behind by those who have been healed.

Following World War II, nearly 2,000 New Mexican soldiers who had served in the Philippines made a pilgrimage to el Santuario de Chimayo to give thanks to Santo Niño de Atocha. A manifestation of Jesus as the Holy Child, Santo Niño has a long history of ministering to the imprisoned. During the long siege of Corregidor and the Bataan Death March which followed, many New Mexican soldiers, some suffering internment in Japanese prison camps, prayed to the Santo Niño de Atocha. Many of these soldiers believed that they were spared as a result of his intervention.

This began the annual Holy Week tradition of walking to el Santuario de Chimayo in honor of the Santo Niño de Atocha. In 1956, the Shrine of Santa Niño de Atocha was built just a short walk from el Santuario de Chimayo, and the tradition of the Easter pilgrimage has continued to flourish. The pilgrimage has now grown to encompass tens of thousands of individuals of all faiths and all walks of life.

And so every year during Holy Week, in the darkness before Good Friday, the faithful line the highways north of Santa Fe carrying crosses and candles. By Easter Sunday tens of thousands of worshipers pass through the doors of el Santuario, taking away with them a bit of the sacred dirt. They come from Santa Fe and Albuquerque and many other destinations, to walk 10, 20, 30, or even 100 miles or more to reach Chimayo. ~Aimee

Learn more about the Miracle of El Santuario de Chimayo