Nestled in the village of Chimayo along the High Road to Taos sits a national historic landmark, El Santuario de Chimayo. The sanctuary is notorious for the unusual legend of its creation and as a present-day pilgrimage site. It receives almost 300,000 visitors per year and has been called "no doubt the most important Catholic pilgrimage center in the United States.” It is also often called the “Lourdes of America” for it’s magical healing soil. In the small prayer room next to the sanctuary is a round hole filled with this soil. In fact, many come to the church in pursuit of this soil, hoping to find a cure for their afflictions.