Basílica del Voto Nacional, Quito

The Basílica del Voto Nacional, in Quito, is the largest neo-Gothic church in the Americas. Building work began in 1892 and to this day it is still technically unfinished.

I loved the gargoyles, designed to look like Ecuadorian animals.

You can climb both the two clock towers and the spire above the transept, and it’s here where you can see the building isn’t completed yet.


It also involves some slightly hair-raising ascents up very steep and very narrow metal ladders, which leave you suspended in mid-air while you wait for other people to descend the narrow steps.

But the views at the top are absolutely worth it.

The Basilica is open 9am-5pm and entry costs $2 per person.