Fodor's Expert Review Basílica de Suyapa

Overshadowing the smaller church is the mammoth white-and-gray gothic Basílica de Suyapa. The beautiful sky-blue stained-glass windows are inspirational, but the basilica's haughty air makes it far less intimate than the church. It was built in 1954 to house the Virgen de Suyapa and to accommodate the crowds who pay homage, but she is not fond of it. On many occasions she has left it at night, found back at her original perch the following morning. She consents to be displayed here on her feast day, February 3, when pilgrims descend on the town to honor her.