Colorado’s Penitente Canyon is a Beautiful Place with a Dark Past

Colorado is a great place to live if you're a fan of the outdoors. There are plenty of places to go hiking, rafting, climbing, etc.

However, one popular climbing area for advanced climbers has an extremely dark past. This place is called Penitente Canyon.

Penitente Canyon is located between the Great Sand Dunes and the small town of Del Norte, and has attracted climbers for years.

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However, the canyon has not always been a destination for the outdoorsy type; in fact, it was once used by an extreme Christian sect that would perform brutal rituals on other humans in the area.

The group called themselves 'Los Hermanos Penitente' or 'The Repentant Brothers' and would reenact Christ's crucifixion in secrecy on actual human beings. It was a regular occurrence to nail men to a large wooden cross in the area under the cover of the night for roughly 60 years.

Check out the popular Colorado climbing canyon with a dark past:

Colorado’s Penitente Canyon is a Beautiful Place with a Dark Past

If you’re an avid rock climber in Colorado, you probably know about Penitente Canyon near the Great Sand Dunes. However, the canyon is said to have quite the dark past.

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Filed Under: Colorado History, Colorado Legends + Lore, Hiking in Colorado, Places in Colorado

Categories: Colorado News, Colorado Outdoors, Colorado Travel