Ipiales

Southern Colombian border town near Ecuador, chiefly visited for the canyon-spanning Las Lajas Sanctuary.

Ipiales is a border town in the far south of Colombia, right on the line with Ecuador. It has the feel of most border crossings — busy, transactional, not somewhere you'd linger by choice. The Rumichaca Bridge to Tulcán is the main land crossing between the two countries, and most travellers pass through quickly in one direction or the other.

The reason to stop is Las Lajas Sanctuary, seven kilometres outside town. Built into the walls of a river canyon, this Neo-Gothic church spans a bridge 50 metres above the Guáitara River. It looks like something that shouldn't exist — an elaborate European cathedral wedged into an Andean gorge. Whether you're religious or not, it's one of the most extraordinary buildings in South America and worth the detour from whatever route you're travelling.

Guide

Getting There

Ipiales is in the far south of Colombia, near the border with Ecuador. The main reason most travellers arrive is to cross into or out of Ecuador at the Rumichaca border crossing.

By air, there are direct flights from Bogotá to San Luis Airport, which serves Ipiales. The journey takes about an hour and avoids the gruelling overland route through the Andes.

By bus, the overland route from Pasto takes around two hours. From Bogotá or Medellín, the bus journey is a long and winding affair — 20 hours or more from the capital — that passes through some spectacular Andean scenery but demands a commitment. Most travellers choose to fly to Ipiales if coming from elsewhere in Colombia.

From Ecuador, the most common approach is by bus from Quito to Tulcán (around 3 hours), then across the Rumichaca border on foot or by taxi into Ipiales. The crossing itself takes 30 minutes to an hour depending on traffic and queues.

Guide

Things to Do

Ipiales has one unmissable sight — the Las Lajas Sanctuary — and little else that demands extended attention. Most travellers treat it as a transit point or a day trip from the border crossing, which is the appropriate approach for this particular town.