The Good Friday walk to Chimayó

Every spring during Holy Week, the shoulders of the roads north of Santa Fe fill with people walking. Some start in Santa Fe and walk 25 miles. Some start in Albuquerque and walk for days. They are heading to El Santuario de Chimayó, a small adobe church in the hills off the High Road to Taos, and the pilgrimage is one of the largest in the country.

If you live in Santa Fe you will see it. If you live in Pojoaque or Nambé, it goes past your door.

The church

El Santuario was built between 1813 and 1816 on the site where, by local account, a Penitente found a crucifix buried in the ground. The crucifix, Nuestro Señor de Esquipulas, is still on the altar. In a small room to the side there is a hole in the floor with dirt, the tierra bendita, that visitors take home in small amounts. The walls of the adjoining room are covered in crutches, photographs, and notes left by people who believe the dirt healed them or someone they love.

The chapel is open year round and is worth the drive any week. It is small, dark, and quiet, and it has been a working church for two centuries.

The walk

The pilgrimage happens on Good Friday, with many people walking on Holy Thursday and through the night. Tens of thousands make the trip each year. The common routes from Santa Fe follow US 84/285 north to Pojoaque, then NM 503 through Nambé and over the hill into Chimayó. Some carry crosses. Most walk in ordinary clothes, in groups of family and friends.

What to know if you plan to walk:

• Start early or walk overnight. The sun at 6,000 feet is strong by mid-morning, even in April.
• Water stations and first aid are set up along the main routes, run by volunteers and the State Police. Carry your own water anyway.
• The roads stay open to traffic. Walk facing it, single file, and wear something light-colored after dark.
• Parking in Chimayó is limited. Most walkers arrange a ride home from the village.

Chimayó the rest of the year

Chimayó is also known for two other things. Weaving: the Ortega and Trujillo families have woven blankets and rugs here for generations, and the shops are a short walk from the church. And chile: Chimayó red is a specific landrace, grown in small plots along the Santa Cruz River, and the restaurant up the road has served it since the 1960s.

The village sits on the High Road to Taos, about 40 minutes from the Santa Fe Plaza. Some people who move to Santa Fe end up buying up here instead, for the quiet and the price. We can show you both.