La Paz Grotto

The Gruta de la Paz is a sanctuary built into a natural limestone cavern in the canyon of the Apaqui river in Carchi, where a rock formation taken as an image of the Virgin has drawn pilgrims since the eighteenth century. The church is inside the cave itself, with stalactites overhead and the river running through the rock beneath, and a further chamber can be walked into. Thermal springs emerge at the canyon floor and feed pools used by visitors, and a shrine complex of lodging and stalls has grown around it. It is one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in northern Ecuador, busiest at the July feast, and the descent into the green canyon is a change from the paramo above.

What you actually see

• A church inside a cave - stalactites over the sanctuary.
• The river under the rock - water running beneath the shrine.
• Thermal pools in the canyon - hot springs below the sanctuary.
• July pilgrimage crowds - the feast that fills the complex.

When to go

Year round; the July feast is the peak and extremely busy. Half a day. Weekends bring pilgrims. The canyon is warmer than the highland above.

Honest expectations

It is a devotional site first and the commercial fringe of stalls is heavy. The road down is steep and narrow. Pool facilities are basic. Feast days make quiet visiting impossible.

Nearby

San Gabriel is north-west; Tulcan lies north.