Wender·Vista
Las Lajas Sanctuary
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileColombia
above the Guaitara River canyon, near the Ecuadorian border

Las Lajas Sanctuary

— — a cathedral built into the gorge.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“A Gothic Revival basilica spanning the Guaitara River gorge in southern Narino, ten kilometres east of Ipiales. The current church, the third on the site, was built between 1916 and 1949 in pale grey and ochre stone with darker trim. The shrine rests on the rock face where, according to local tradition, an image of the Virgin appeared in 1754. A stone footbridge crosses the canyon at the level of the nave. from the studio

from the studio
Las Lajas Sanctuary
— bring it home

Las Lajas Sanctuary, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Las Lajas Sanctuary

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Las Lajas Sanctuary stands above the Guaitara River canyon in Narino Department, southern Colombia, about ten kilometres east of the border town of Ipiales and seven kilometres north of Ecuador. The current church, designed in the Gothic Revival style by the Pasto architect Lucindo Espinosa, was built between 1916 and 1949 in pale grey and ochre stone. It is the third sanctuary on the site, set into the rock face roughly 2,600 metres above sea level. A stone bridge carries the nave level across the gorge.

— informed by Wikipedia
— the stone

The basilica is built directly onto the cliff, with the apse anchored to the bare canyon wall. Its three naves and twin spires rise about thirty metres above the bridge deck and another fifty metres above the river below. The exterior is dressed in local andesite cut from quarries near Ipiales; the interior columns are darker basalt with white stone trim. The wall behind the altar is unworked rock, kept exposed as the surface on which the original image of the Virgin is said to have appeared.

— informed by Wikipedia
— the visit

The sanctuary is open every day, free to enter, with the busiest period around the September 16 feast of Our Lady of Las Lajas. A funicular and a long footpath both connect the canyon rim to the church; the descent on foot takes about fifteen minutes. Buses run from the Ipiales terminal for around the cost of a small coffee one way. Pilgrim traffic peaks in Holy Week and on Marian feast days. The interior holds quiet between morning and afternoon mass.

— informed by Wikipedia
— where
Colombia · Ipiales, Narino
— elevation
2,600 m · 8,530 ft
— position
0.8064° N · 77.5856° W
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
10 km W
Ipiales
border city
17 km SW
Rumichaca Bridge
border crossing
30 km W
Cumbal Volcano
volcano
N
Las Lajas Sanctuary
Ipiales
Rumichaca Bridge
Cumbal Volcano
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Las Lajas Sanctuary — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

The current Gothic Revival church was built between 1916 and 1949 to a design by the architect Lucindo Espinosa. Two earlier chapels stood on the site, the first dating to the late eighteenth century.

Local tradition holds that in 1754 a deaf-mute girl, Rosa, saw an image of the Virgin Mary on the cliff face above the Guaitara River. A chapel was raised at the spot; the present basilica grew around it.

The nave deck sits about fifty metres above the Guaitara River. The bridge that carries the church across the gorge spans roughly fifty metres between the cliff walls and serves as the main approach.

The sanctuary is ten kilometres east of Ipiales in Narino Department, southern Colombia. Local buses and shared taxis run the route in about twenty minutes from the Ipiales city bus terminal.

The feast of Our Lady of Las Lajas falls on September 16. The sanctuary holds open-air masses across the canyon rim that day, and pilgrim numbers run into the tens of thousands across the long weekend.

— about the piece in your home

Las Lajas is one of the most beloved sites in southern Colombia, photographed and remembered by most who have travelled near the Ecuadorian border. The Medium or a framed Large carries the recognition well.

The stone greys, ochre, and dark trim sit well with European traditional, mountain modern, and warm-neutral library interiors. The Medium hangs well above a console; the Mural anchors a longer wall.

Yes. Architectural pieces in stained-glass colour, framed in stone, sit at the centre of the current return of traditional and European-classical interiors. The vertical composition reads cleanly in panelled rooms.

A single Large covers a console; the four-tile Mural sits well above a standard sofa; the nine-tile Mural fills a wider feature wall above a sectional or a long credenza.

Yes. Order Dura Satin or Matte for wet rooms. Both are scratch-resistant, hold colour cleanly under steam, and clean with microfibre and water.

Yes. Every WenderVista tile is painted in-house by Reid Wender, the curator. The studio does not license art in or out, so what you see on the tile exists nowhere else.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.