church of the virgin of the holy water (nuestra señora del agua santa)

located in the main square, this old and colonial church offers u a view of all the miracles and votes that the virgin has made in the course of the time. definitely worth a visit

This church was the meeting spot for our group, but we were early and decided to go inside. A service was going on, and there were hundreds of worshippers, despite that fact that the excitement of 'festival' was going on outside. The altar was beautifully ornate, the columns (all done in small tiles) and the ceilings breath-taking. After the mass, the crowd followed the priest to the back down the centre aisle as they pressed him to sprinkle them with holy water. Beside in an adjacent entry were nuns dressed in their brown habits and beautifully manicured gardens.There is a row of shops directly in front of the church that sells religious items. In the middle of the shops where there is a little raised canopy, it is an entrance to underground bathrooms. Always good to know.

Beautiful church. The paintings and the stories they depict were great. The church seems to always be open. It's right in the center of town which makes it very convenient.

This basilica is very pretty, not so ornate as churches in Quito, and the paintings along the walls are lovely. There are many Masses each day as well as Saturday evening and Sunday, all with good attendance.

We just happened to be inside during a service, so we sat down and experienced the smiling faces of many indigenous people attending with us. Paintings of miracles that happened in Banos, many pertaining to those saved when volcano Turanghua erupted, are featured everywhere.

The outside of the church is fairly unappealing, though it certainly dominates the main square. I attended a weekday Mass at 11 a.m. and was surprised that the church was totally packed, everyone singing, atmosphere of genuine religious conviction, lots of indigenous people too. The fascination of this church is in the paintings on the wall - each recounts a different miracle, and the depictions are deliciously naif. True, they are only in Spanish, but they were not made for tourists. Use a dictionary or get a guide/helpful local to translate the explanations for you. Almost all stories relate to natural disasters, mostly the volcano erupting or earthquakes and miraculous escapes. My favourite story is one of a bridge being washed away and just one pole placed across the gorge where the river roared. A holy priest had been visiting another parish and came home in the dark on his mule, not knowing the bridge was no longer there..... well, he got home safe and sound and next day the amazed workers found mule hoof prints on the pole! But lots of other great illustrations of volcanic eruptions being deviated thanks to the intercession of Our Lady of the Waters, to whom the church is dedicated.

A very busy Church, with a full Mass schedule -- both daily and Sunday. While I don't speak Spanish, very friendly denizens and impressive ceremony. The artwork is quite nice, and the altar very ornate.

love the paintings in the sanctuary, they provide a good history of Banos, even if you cant read Spanish. Pretty courtyard, interesting to watch the activities outside the church during our stay, various ceremonies, artists, vendors, school children, funerals, etc.

Inside the church the arquitecture and art design is beautiful and if I'm not wrong they where doing maintenance. There is a museum which has a small fee ( like $1 adultos and 50cents for children). It's a nice and silent place. The good thing is, that you can pass by after or before lunch or as you keep going around the park at the center of baños. ( REALLY easy to get there, you won't get lost).

This is a beautiful church, I enjoyed visiting just to get a feel for the culture. We went at night which, I think, added to the beauty. My favorite part of the tour was seeing the prayer candles.

We went to see this church in the night. The church definitely looks better than most churches in the night. Worth to go have a look.

We had a shortstop at the church before visiting the small museum. This is really amusing and worth a visit!

Very nice Cathedral to visit even if you are not Catholic, beautiful paintings. we attended mass on sunday and the church was packed. worth the visit to know where the name of the town comes from>

Visit the church but do not pay for admission to the museum. It's not worth the $1 as there are no signs to explain what you are seeing. There are murals around the interior of the church telling stories of Banos but only in Spanish.

Not really appealing form the outside nor paticularly renomated, its paintings with text on the bottom are very intense and interesting. All together they form a kind of graphic novel of the history of Baños through the centuries.