Monastery of Santa Catalina

Lonely Planet review

Due south of San Agustín stands the Monastery of Santa Catalina, a fully functioning convent and monastery that opened to the public in 2005. Since its founding in 1592, entering nuns have spent five cloistered years in solitary cells. To this day the 20 nuns inside have only one hour to talk to each other or watch TV. But they make all sorts of natural products (shampoos, nonalcoholic wine, hand cream, elixirs and more), which you can purchase from a rotating door that keeps the nuns hidden.

A tour of the monastery and its interesting museum lasts over an hour - and it's a gruesome hour at that: 18th-century religious paintings depict virgins and saints presiding over the fires of purgatory while devils grind the bodies of sinners on spiked wheels. One painting shows a thirsty flock of sheep slurping up rivers of blood pouring from Jesus' wounds, while another depicts cherubs plucking the flesh from Christ's ribs after a session of brutal self-flagellation.

Supposedly, secret underground tunnels connect Santa Catalina to the church of Santo Domingo three blocks away.