Religious, Spiritual sights in Ecuador
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Churches
Two blocks east of Plaza de San Sebastián stands the bare, 19th-century Church of San Cenáculo (cnr Bolívar & Montalvo). One block north of the church is Gran Colombia, the main handicraft and shopping street in Cuenca. The street's landmark building is the Church of Santo Domingo (cnr Gran Colombia & Padre Aguirre), which has some fine carved wooden doors and colonial paintings inside. Although it looks older, the church was built in the early 20th-century.
Although its doors are rarely open to the public, the Church of El Carmen de la Asunción (Mariscal Sucre near Padre Aguirre), founded in 1682, is one of Cuenca's prettiest sights, thanks to the colorful flower…
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Monastery of San Francisco
Walking from the old town's narrow colonial streets into the giant cobblestone plaza reveals one of the finest sights in Ecuador - the whitewashed walls and twin bell towers of Ecuador's oldest church against the backdrop of Volcán Pichincha. Completed around 1600, the interior of the monastery boasts exquisite original tilework and spectacular Baroque carving.
The Monastery of San Francisco is Quito's largest colonial structure. Its founder, Franciscan missionary Joedco Rickie, is credited with being the first man to sow wheat in Ecuador. He is commemorated by a statue near the raised terrace at the front. Although much of the church has been rebuilt because of…
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Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Agua Santa
Within the town itself, the Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Agua Santa is dedicated to the Virgin of the Holy Water (the same one with a shrine over by the waterfall). This illustrious lady is credited with several local miracles. Inside the church, paintings depict her wonders with explanations in Spanish along the lines of: ‘On January 30, 1904, Señor X fell off his horse as he was crossing the Río Pastaza bridge. As he fell 70m to the torrents below, he yelled “Holy Mother of the Holy Water” and was miraculously saved!’ Other paintings show people being spared from exploding volcanoes, burning hotels and other misfortunes. The Virgin is particularly good at warding off…
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Monastery of Santa Catalina
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 21 nuns inside have only one hour to talk to each other or watch TV. But they make all sorts of natural products (shampoos, wine, hand cream, elixirs and more), which you can purchase from a rotating door that keeps the nuns hidden.
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Church of San Francisco
The Church of San Francisco, originally built in the early 18th century, was burnt down in the devastating fire of 1896 that destroyed huge swathes of the city, then reconstructed in 1902 and beautifully restored in the late 1990s. The plaza in front contains Guayaquil’s first public monument, a statue of Vicente Rocafuerte, Ecuador’s first native president, who held office between 1835 and 1839. (Ecuador’s first president, Juan Flores, was a Venezuelan.)
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Catedral de la Inmaculada Concepción
Parque Calderón is the city's main plaza, dominated by the Catedral de la Inmaculada Concepción, the 'new cathedral,' whose giant sky-blue domes are visible mainly from the rear of the church. Inside, the marbled interior is rather stark. Construction began in 1885, and the cathedral was supposed to be much taller than it is - an error in design meant that the intended bell towers could not be supported by the building.
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El Sagrario
This stark-white 'old cathedral' goes almost unnoticed thanks to the stunning Catedral de la Inmaculada Concepción nearby. Construction began in 1557, the year Cuenca was founded. In 1739, it was used as a triangulation point by La Condamine's expedition to measure the shape of the earth. More recently, it was renovated for the 1985 visit of Pope John Paul II to Ecuador.
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Cathedral
On the west side of Parque Bolívar is the cathedral. The original building on this site dates from 1547, but - as is common with most of Guayaquil's original wooden buildings - it burnt down. The present structure was completed in 1948 and renovated in 1978. The front entrance is extremely ornate, but inside it is simple, high-vaulted and modern.
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‘Old Cathedral’
The whitewashed ‘old cathedral’ is also known as El Sagrario. Construction began in 1557, the year Cuenca was founded, and in 1739 La Condamine’s expedition used its towers as a triangulation point to measure the shape of the earth. It is now deconsecrated and serves as a religious museum and recital hall.
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Basilica
Parque La Libertad (Primera Constituyente at Alvarado) is anchored by its neoclassical basilica, famous for being the only round church in Ecuador. It was designed, built and decorated mainly by locals, making it a great source of civic pride. It's often closed; try Sundays and evenings after 18:00.
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Church of El Carmen de la Asunción
The stark, white Church of El Carmen de la Asunción, which was founded in 1682, contrasts beautifully with the colorful flower market held on the small Plazoleta del Carmen out front.
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Church of La Merced
The Church of La Merced dates from 1938 and has a richly decorated golden altar; the original wooden church built in 1787, like most of Guayaquil’s colonial buildings, was destroyed by fire.
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Church of Santo Domingo
Two blocks south of Parque Central, on the Plaza Santo Domingo, the interior of the Church of Santo Domingo is adorned with religious paintings.
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Guápulo
If you follow Avenida 12 de Octubre up the hill from the Mariscal, you'll reach the Hotel Quito at the top. Behind the hotel, stairs lead steeply down the other side of the hill to the historic neighborhood of Guápulo. The views all the way down are magnificent. Ramshackle houses stand interspersed among colonial whitewashed homes with terra-cotta-tile roofs, and the odd bohemian café makes for a welcome break.
At the bottom of the hill stands the neighborhood's centerpiece, the sanctuary of El Guápulo, a beautiful church built between 1644 and 1693.
The best views of Guápulo are from the lookout behind the Hotel Quito, next to the statue of Francisco de Orellana (…
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