The Long Walk to El Santuario de Chimayó

Tucked into the hills north of Santa Fe, the little adobe church at Chimayó has drawn the faithful for two centuries. It is often called the Lourdes of America, and during Holy Week the roads fill with pilgrims walking, some for a hundred miles, toward its doors.

A chapel and its holy dirt

In a small side room, a pit of fine reddish earth is said to hold healing power. Pilgrims take a pinch, and the walls nearby are hung with crutches and photographs left in gratitude. Believe as you like — the devotion in that room is undeniable.

You don't have to share the faith to feel the weight of what's carried up this road.

The pilgrimage road

In the days before Easter, the shoulders of the highway from Santa Fe and beyond fill with walkers of every age. Volunteers hand out water; families walk together; some carry crosses. It is one of the largest Catholic pilgrimages in the United States.

Beyond Holy Week

Come any other time of year and Chimayó is peaceful — a village of weavers and heirloom-chile growers, its plaza shaded and its chapel quiet enough to hear the acequia running nearby.

Field notes

• Visit outside Holy Week for a contemplative, uncrowded experience.
• The village is renowned for its heirloom Chimayó chile and Rio Grande weaving.
• Dress modestly; this is an active place of worship.

However you arrive, the small church leaves the same impression: that some places are made sacred simply by the number of hopeful feet that reach them.