Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Ecuador Quito Garcia Moreno Prison Museum
Garcia Moreno Prison Museum is permanently closed.

This entry remains in the Atlas as a record of its history, but it is no longer accessible to visitors.

Garcia Moreno Prison Museum

An abandoned Ecuadorian prison that once held ex-presidents and notorious con artists is now a carceral museum.

Quito, Ecuador

Added By
mnkitson
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
  mnkitson / Atlas Obscura User
Up to 20 people lived in one small cell.   mnkitson / Atlas Obscura User
The outside of the Garcia Moreno prison   mnkitson / Atlas Obscura User
The center of the panopticon prison   mnkitson / Atlas Obscura User
  mnkitson / Atlas Obscura User
  mnkitson / Atlas Obscura User
  mnkitson / Atlas Obscura User
Tours of the jail take place twice a day Monday to Friday and once a day on Saturdays.   mnkitson / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

On a tour of the abandoned Garcia Moreno prison, you can still see the belongings of the former incarcerated people: an odd sock, an outdated magazine, old clothes. There are images of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary alongside messages designed to uplift on the walls. The only thing missing is the people.

The infamous 140-year-old prison, converted to a museum after it was shut down in 2014, has changed little since then. It now offers visitors a glimpse of the less-picturesque side of Ecuador. 

From corrupt politicians and escapees to a con man who once posed as the son of the Costa Rican president, the squalid cells have been home to many dramas and colorful characters. On the 2-hour tour through the facility's dirty rooms, the museum guides—many of them former guards—run you through the highlights. 

There was the time General Eloy Alfaro, the former president of Ecuador and revolutionary hero, who was dragged from his cell and burned in a nearby park. Or the incident in 2003, when 16 people escaped through a 25-meter tunnel. Serial killer Juan Fernando Hermosa, a 15-year-old kid who killed 22 men, spent time at Garcia Moreno, as did Daniel Camargo Barbosa, a notorious Colombian murderer.

The facility is located in the San Roque neighborhood in the south of Quito, an area where sex work, drugs, and crime deter most tourists, though the museum does see plenty of curious visitors come through its doors. Garcia Moreno was shut down due to rampant overcrowding in 2014, and its 2,000 incarcerated people were transferred to prisons across the country. The tour ends with photos from one of the new facilities in Latacunga. They are smiling and learning how to sew and use computers, the strange happy ending image the authorities would like to leave you with. 

Related Tags

Prisons Museums Crime

Know Before You Go

Museum/prison has been closed to the public for well over a year. 

Atlas Obscura Adventures

Wild Galapagos: An Ecological Wonderland

Darwin's legacy, snorkeling, volcanic landscapes & conservation insights.

Book Now

Community Contributors

Added By

mnkitson

Edited By

shirley3david

  • shirley3david

Published

December 19, 2017

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Garcia Moreno Prison Museum
Vicente Rocafuerte
Quito
Ecuador
-0.217535, -78.520828
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Museo Franciscano del Padre Almeida

Quito, Ecuador

miles away

La Virgen de Quito

Quito, Ecuador

miles away

El Panecillo

Quito, Ecuador

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Quito

Quito

Ecuador

Places 13

Nearby Places

Museo Franciscano del Padre Almeida

Quito, Ecuador

miles away

La Virgen de Quito

Quito, Ecuador

miles away

El Panecillo

Quito, Ecuador

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Quito

Quito

Ecuador

Places 13

Related Stories and Lists

15 Places Improbably Frozen in Time

List

By Jonathan Carey

Related Places

  • Globe, Arizona

    The 1910 Gila County Sheriff's Office and Jail

    A historic jail preserves etchings from over a century of incarcerated people in a town with a rough and tumble past.

  • Old Prison of Trois-Rivières

    Trois-Rivières, Québec

    Old Prison of Trois-Rivières

    This historic Canadian jail was once the longest operating prison in the country and is now open for people to incarcerate themselves.

  • The cells featured escape-proof windows.

    Monterey, California

    Old Monterey Jail

    This remarkably simple jail went over a century without an escape.

  • Sam the Prisoner.

    Folsom, California

    Folsom Prison Museum

    This museum looks at the history of one of America's most famous prisons and most beloved albums.

  • Littledean Jail

    Littledean, England

    Littledean Jail and Museum of Crime

    A 200-year-old prison that now houses a peculiar crime museum.

  • Heidelberg Studentkarzer

    Heidelberg, Germany

    Heidelberg Studentenkarzer

    A preserved college lock-up that recalls a clubhouse approach to discipline.

  • The fading padded walls on dispay in a cell of the prison.

    Taipei, Taiwan

    National Human Rights Museum

    This abandoned prison is now a museum chronicling the oppression of political prisoners in the not-so-distant past.

  • Steinwache from the outside.

    Dortmund, Germany

    Steinwache

    Former Gestapo prison turned memorial museum.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.