Ascensor Mariposas, Historical funicular railway in Valparaíso, Chile

Ascensor Mariposas is a funicular railway in Valparaíso whose track runs 177 m up Mariposas Hill, from a lower station on Gaspar Marín street to an upper station facing Paseo Barbosa. Its rails rest on the hillside on wooden ties, and Baquedano street passes over the tracks. Each car carries 10 passengers.

Inaugurated on 14 May 1906, Ascensor Mariposas has the longest route of the funiculars built in Valparaíso. It stopped running in September 2009 along with the Florida and Monjas lifts because of poor profitability. In 2012 the Chilean government took over its maintenance after buying it with nine other funiculars to restore them. It was declared a Historic Monument by Decree No. 866 of 1 September 1998.

The name Mariposas refers to the hill the funicular serves, Cerro Mariposa. Its upper station opens onto Paseo Barbosa, a secondary street of that hill, and Baquedano street passes over the tracks. The car holds 10 passengers, and the ride ends at a street lined with houses and shrubs.

The lower station sits at the western end of Gaspar Marín street on the plan de Valparaíso, and the upper station opens onto Paseo Barbosa on Mariposas Hill. Baquedano street crosses over the tracks, so look up as you ride. Each car holds 10 passengers, and the climb covers 46 m of elevation difference.

It was the only funicular in Valparaíso originally built with three rails on its track bed. Baquedano street crosses over the tracks, so pedestrians pass above the cars. Its upper station opens onto Paseo Barbosa, a side street of Mariposas Hill.