The Nemocon Salt Mine is a hidden gem nestled about 80 meters underground in the town of Nemocon, Colombia—just a short drive from Bogotá. With over 500 years of history, it’s the second-largest salt mine in the country, after the more famous Salt Cathedral of Zipaquira.
Visitors can explore 1,600 meters of tunnels carved through ancient salt deposits, where around eight million tons of salt were extracted between 1816 and 1968. Along the way, you'll encounter striking features like 28 brine mirrors that create surreal optical illusions, a 1,300-kilogram stone sphere symbolizing the Earth, and a heart-shaped salt crystal weighing 1,600 kilograms—carved by a miner in the 1960s.
The mine also houses a chapel, an ecological trail, a geology room, and even served as a filming location for the movie The 33, about the Chilean miners trapped underground. It’s a place where geology, history, and art converge in a truly magical underground world.
Access ramp to the entrance gate |
Entrance gate to the tourist complex |
Inner courtyard of the tourist complex |
Wearing a protective helmet |
Pedestrian path to the mine entrance |
Chapel of Our Lady of Mount Carmel |
Descending to the first level of the salt mine |
Receiving Chamber
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Santa Isabel Level «The entrance to the Saint Isabel and Saint Ursula levels is through an inclined section at 19 degrees and a distance of 100 linear meters which goes approximately 120 meters deep measured at the top of the mountain. Currently,these levels are flooded because of the dissolution of salt insito "in the same place" process carried out for the exploitation of salt from 1969 to 1992 being the last process of exploitation. Those levels present a natural filtration, being a risk of the possible flooding of the first level, in seasons and for general maintenance of the mine, the brine is pumped out from those levels and transported to the soda plant to be processed and commercialized. Production is natural and used without any negative environmental impact.» |
Santa Barbara Tank «Storage tank from the subway mining era. When the brine was completely saturated and purified, gravity filled this tank. It is one of the biggest with a storage capacity of 380,000 liters of brine, from this tank the brine was pumped out by pressure to the surface and sent to different local salt furnaces, where it was boiled to obtain grain salt or caldero salt; approximately 350 grams per liter of water at its maximum saturation. At the end of the 20th century, it was sent through the so-called brine pipelines to the old Alcalis soda plant in Colombia. It is considered one of the greatest natural subway brine mirrors in the world.» |
Halotherapy «Rock salt one of the richest in minerals, has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties, and provides health benefits, especially to the treatment of tonsillitis, scars, and respiratory conditions such as asthma and bronchitis. The treatment is through steam or superficial contact with the affected area, a natural therapy with vigua salt allows a direct and beneficial result, being nowadays the salt mine of Nemocon is a place visited for its health benefits for the body and mind also associated with energetic cleansing. Before performing any home treatment with vigua salt you should consult your doctor.» |
The Brine Mirrors «Salt extraction in mines is always carried out by dissolving rock salt in water to produce salt water or brine. This process is known as saturation. For this purpose, there are 28 L-shaped saturation tanks located inside the mine along two chambers. These tanks are built of concrete. One ton of rock salt (Vigua salt) dissolves in 2,700 liters of water to obtain a brine with 314 grams per liter of water and a density of 1.25 g/cm3. On average, 3 liters of brine are required to produce one kilogram of salt.» |
Polvorin «This Altar was made by the miners in the old Polvorin, here rests the image of the patron saint of perpetuo socorro carved in wood, a gift from the priest Ruperto Aguilera Leon to the miners, on the right side of the patron saint rests one of the greatest crystals of salt (NaCl) formed in the interior of the mine. The eucalyptus wood when submerged for a long time in brine results in the crystallization of the salt; by the attraction between molecules of opposite ions (NaCl) these are grouped by isolating themselves on the wood and create and orderly set in the form of a cube being named crystalline structures. In contrast to the wood found at the base of the altar, it is a process of absorption by the wood, which when it come into contact with humidity, petrifies and solidifies, becoming as hard as a rock. The salt diluted in water is an excellent electro conductor by constant movement of negative and positive electrons (NaCl) allows the electrical conductivity, this also depends on the concentration of salt in the water.» |
Phoenix «The scene recreated in this space shows the capsule used for the rescue of the miners, which arrived inside the mine on October 13, 2010 after 69 days of waiting. The design of the original capsule used for this rescue was made by the shipyards and workshops of the Chilean Navy (ASMAR) with the collaboration of NASA. They gave it the name Phoenix, reminiscent of the mythical bird that rises from the ashes.» |
The Lung of the Mine «Inside the mine, gases are naturally generated which accumulate and can be harmful to health. The tunnel seen in the background is responsible for the natural circulation of air and oxygen inside the mine, allowing exposure to the salty environment to be healthy and pleasant for our lungs, and also an excellent respiratory therapy. This tunnel also serves as an alternative entrance for people visiting the mine in wheelchairs or who have restrictions on going up the stairs. It would also be the main emergency exit because, in a few minutes, you can reach the surface without difficulty.» |
Wishing Well and Salt Waterfall «Due to the external nature of the salt dome, there are fountains of water that generate subway currents, some of them can pass through the saline rock generating the white outcrop, in this case, the formation extends along the wall taking the form of a majestic salt waterfall, when we keep in complete silence close to it, we can appreciate the sound of the filtration which indicates us that this waterfall is still growing. In this bridge, you can appreciate in detail the petrified eucalyptus wood and the formation of crystals at the bottom of the well; a natural well that was created by that same filtration that for the workers represented abundance; it would become a well of wishes, a place where miners put all their faith in a coin which they threw over their left shoulder into this well hoping that the desires of their heart would come true.» |
Events Hall «This chamber was used by the miners at that time to celebrate their special dates and different events which were accompanied by their families. The symphonic band of the town used to accompany these events, because of the sound of the instruments and the geological shape of the place, it was an indescribable scenario that generated peace and tranquility. At present, the same type of events are carried out along the mine. In November 2013 this place was used as the setting to film for 3 months the movie "The 33" based on real facts of an accident that occurred in Chile; a copper mine collapsed and trapped 33 miners, this news generated public concern unfortunately, it is impossible to survive this type of accidents but this is not the case all those miners were rescued after 69 days, this was an emotional rescue because after so many days all these people were rescued alive.» |
Chapel of the Patron Saint Carmen «The chapel of the Madonna of Carmen was built by the miners and opened to the public 22 years after its construction so that the visitors who arrived on the train of the Sabana to the town could know this sacred place in the depths of the salt mine. It was a place visited until 1992 which had to close due to technical risks inside. Being for a long time the tourist and economic motor of the town. The tradition of celebrating the day of the Madonna Carmen is preserved in memory of the faith of those people who dedicated their lives and work to the Nemocon salt mine. The original chapel was completely rebuilt; the representation of the Madonna of Carmen Levitating on a salt rock carved in the shape of a world was proposed by the architect Roswell Garavito from Bogota in 2003, would represent the protection of the Madonna of Carmen to all the miners of the world.» |
Nativity Scene |
Heartbeat Chamber «This place preserves with appreciation and respect the great love of a miner for his family. HALITA HEART: Greek hal- (salt) -ita (formation). It is one of the biggest salt crystals in the world, was found in the depths of the second level of Santa Isabel, and was created by the pressure and accumulation of salt is something that only occurs in the depth of the dome, where there is a purer salt, this crystal was found and preserved by a miner who for 3 years hand carved it in the shape of heart representing the love he felt for his family which would be located in the old chapel in the late twentieth century. "A pure crystalline heart beats with love from the depths of the earth for Nemocon and the whole world"; Being today is highly appreciated by lovers and a place, that represents eternal love since with great appreciation we always remember the great love of Miguel Sanchez for his dear wife to whom he gave this crystal, it should be kept in this place because of exposed to an external environment would disappear completely.» |
The Dream's Tree «The story goes that in the municipality of Nemocon, there once stood a Sabanero rubber tree under which one sunny day, Chief Nemequene sat down to rest after a hard day's work. As he fell asleep, he began to dream of a group of bearded white men wearing armor coming from the north toward his tribe. These men were traveling on large beasts, intent on stealing all the treasures they had collected over the years through bartering for salt. After such a terrifying dream, the Chief asked his tribe to store their treasures on a hill in the town called the sanctuary. Years later, what was considered a mere nightmare became reality. The conquistadors led by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada arrived in Nemocon, arriving in Colombia in 1537, crossing the Atlantic Ocean and the Magdalena River basin. Initially, Jiménez de Quesada's journey was intended to uncover the legend of El Dorado, or the City of Gold, belonging to the Incas. However, upon reaching the interior of our country, these conquistadors discovered that the tribe living in the center of the country engaged in a trade where they were given woven gold pieces and precious stones for white salt loaves. Motivated by their ambition and seeking to understand what was more important to the indigenous people than the gold itself, they changed their destination in search of the saline environments of the indigenous villages of Nemocon and Zipaquirá, located in the center of the Bogotá savannah, a place that Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada would later call "THE VALLEY OF THE ALCAZARES."» |
The Stalactite City «This chamber is one of the areas with higher water filtration, when it crosses the saline rock it dilutes and drags with it different minerals which by chemical precipitation (mineral solidification from a solution) solidify in a white and crystalline color forming speleothems that can take different forms depending on the behavior of the filtration. When the water drips the growth of the stalactite occurs, if the filtration is slow it can be longer because all the drops solidify in a single formation, if the filtration is faster the drops fall to the ground generating the growth of the stalagmites that grow in the opposite direction and simultaneously with the stalactite, this results in a connection of the two, called a column or stalagnate. These salt formations are weak and break off very easily, so it is not very common to find the origin of a column.» |
Humboldt Chamber «Around 1801, the German scholar Alexander von Humboldt, an important geographer, botanist, naturalist, and mining expert from the Feirbeg School of Mines, among other fields of expertise, arrived in Colombia. While in Santafé, today the capital of Bogotá, he undertook the task of meeting the botanical expedition of the scholar José Celestino Mutis, who for more than a decade dedicated himself to researching the flora of the Kingdom of New Granada. Already an honorary resident of the city of Santafé, this great naturalist was told that approximately 25 leagues from the capital (a league is an ancient unit of length that expresses the distance a person, on foot or on horseback, can travel in one hour; that is, it is an itinerary measure), there were salt deposits that are now the municipalities of Nemocon and Zipaquirá. These were being exploited by a system of compacting Loaves of Salt in clay pots and by taking advantage of the salt water springs that flowed out from the mountain.» |
San Juan Well «Well created due to the saturated brine stagnation, once the water crosses the saline rock it cannot filter again because of its density which changes the filtration process; by pressure of salty water on the rock provides a natural support to the pillar; this brine is saturated in its maximum level (30%) with a density of 1.24 kg/liters, the consume of this water can even cause you death or a direct contact with your eyes can make you blind. Looking at the well in detail, it gives the impression of not being deep, having, in reality, more than 3 meters, this visual effect is generated by the refraction of lighting, a loupe effect opposite to that of natural mirrors. The human body being of lower density does not sink and floats in this well due to the surface tension generated by the density of the brine, an effect similar to the Dead Sea.» |
Chuy Goméz Chamber «Some of the true protagonists of the construction of the Nemocon Salt Mine during the 19th and 20th centuries are the men who remained inside the mineshafts for days and nights, sometimes risking their lives due to the presence of gases or the handling of explosives to create what are today the mineshafts or mining chambers, which are known to mine visitors. José Maximiliano Chuy Gómez, a son of Nemocón, who during the first decades of the 20th century performed mining-related tasks and whose long history accompanies him, making him one of the strongest men Colombia has ever had.» |
Leaving the salt mine |
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