Convento de la Popa

Lonely Planet review

The Convento de la Popa is perched on top of a 150m-high hill, the highest point in the city, about 1.5km beyond Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas. Its name literally means the Convent of the Stern, after the hill's apparent similarity to a ship's back end, but it's actually the Convento de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria, founded by the Augustine fathers in 1607.

Initially it was just a small wooden chapel, which was replaced by a stouter construction when the hill was fortified two centuries later, just before Pablo Morillo's siege. A beautiful image of La Virgen de la Candelaria, the patroness of the city, is in the convent's chapel, and there's a charming flower-filled patio. The views stretch all over the city. The patron saint's day is February 2.

There is a zigzagging access road leading to the convent on the hilltop (no public transport) and paths cutting the bends of the road. It takes half an hour to walk to the top, but it's not recommended for safety reasons - there have been cases of armed robbery. Instead go by taxi.