Basílica del Voto Nacional

Basílica del Voto Nacional

Quito, Pichincha, Ecuador

Ecuador-Galapagos 2018

05 February 2018

February 5, 2018 was my first real day in Quito. I woke up in my hotel in La Mariscal/Plaza Foch and did not have much on my agenda for the day. I made a reservation before I left the states for the Free Walking Tour Ecuador at 10:30 today and decided that even though they offered a shuttle from Plaza Foch at 10:00 that I would walk the few kilometers and start seeing the city.

I was making good time as I made my southward journey towards Quito Old Town. Basílica del Voto Nacional is just North of that area and would not be on the walking tour. For a small fee, you can climb up and get fabulous views of the city and the surrounding mountains and volcanoes.

As the towers came into view I decided to take this opportunity to get a great glimpse of the massive city that I would be in for a few days. 

Basílica del Voto Nacional translates to the Basilica of the National Vow in English. This Roman Catholic Church is the largest neo-Gothic basilica in the Americas. It has quite the timeline as the first idea proposal was in 1883 and wasn't consecrated and inaugurated by the pope until July 12, 1988.  We are looking at over 100 years here. And to top that off, it still actually isn't finished.

The style is similar to St. Patrick's Cathedral in NYC and Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. The most unique feature is the gargoyles, which represent some of the endemic and exotic animals of Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands.

Once in the main plaza area, I wandered around like a confused blue-footed booby until I saw a pair of people ordering tickets in a separate area from the Church. Hint - there is a ticket window just left to the bottom of the staircase in the photo below. The cost is $3.00 for tourists if I remember correctly, and $2.00 for Ecuadorian citizens.

Next you show your ticket to the lady and then you get to go inside the Church. Once again I looked confused and lost, so the other two people ushered me into the elevator with them. Upon talking to them, it seemed like the woman was from the United States and was getting a personal tour around Quito with a bilingual guide. Convenient for me to be there at the same time!

This is the first view point! Here you can see a statue on top of a hill. I had in fact already seen this statue on my walk to the Church. She is the Virgin of Quito on top of El Panecillo - Bread Loaf Hill and is very iconic to the city of Quito.

La Virgen de Quito is 41 meters tall, made of 7,000 pieces of aluminum. It was commissioned in 1976 to the Spanish artist Agustín de la Herrán Matorras. The wings are the most unique feature. Most people recommend taking a cab for a few $1 coins to the top of the hill as El Panecillo is known for thieves. There is also a staircase present too so run fast if you would prefer that option. I personally got my fix of the Winged Virgin María just by walking around Quito all day. She's hard to miss whenever you are facing her direction.

After soaking in those views, you get to go through the fun obstacle course to go higher. Once back inside just turn around and look here.

You get to cross this bridge that seems like it was constructed with the most modern building standards.

If you make it that far, you can proceed to climb this steep, narrow ladder.

Once you make it to the top alive, you can admire the stained glass right in front of you. Don't get too drawn in before you're successfully off the staircase or else you might fall backwards. Always keep two hands on the railing, unless you're taking a picture of course.

Had fun? How about doing it again? Just outside. Oh and then you have to turn after this first ladder for the second ladder.

But then you finally reach the top and can see your favorite Winged Virgin again.

Then when you look down you realize you have to go down all of those ladders. On marathon legs from the day before.

So you decide to linger for a little bit longer. The first picture of myself in Ecuador!

People leave locks here.

The views were great and pretty clear - definitely a good first experience in Ecuador. Time to go back down.

Once back to the original viewing area, there is a gift shop which then leads to the elevator and staircase. If you go up the staircase, there is a cafe in one of the towers where you can essentially drink a beer in a Church. It was closed when I climbed up so then I just took the elevator all the way back down. To anyone reading this that's going to Quito, have a Pilsener for me if the cafe is open when you go.

Back on the ground! They listed the Mass schedule in case you want to attend and/or see the inside of the basilica.