El Carmen Alto church, Religious complex in Historic Center of Quito, Ecuador.

El Carmen Alto is a church with an attached convent and monastery in Quito's historic center. The building combines residential, operational, and worship spaces within baroque stone walls and elaborately decorated interior rooms.

Construction probably began in the last decade of the 16th century; Mariana de Jesús Paredes y Flores was born there in 1618. After her death in 1645 the house passed to the Discalced Carmelites, who occupied it by 1647 and made it a cloistered monastery on 4 February 1653 under the name El Carmen de San José. The name El Carmen Alto spread after nuns from Latacunga settled in Quito following the 1698 earthquake.

The monastery's museum, opened in 2013 in the two oldest cloisters and Mariana de Jesús's original house, displays pieces collected by the Discalced Carmelites over centuries. Its painting collection includes works by Hernando de la Cruz, Joaquín Pinto and Víctor Mideros.

The monastery sits within walking distance of pedestrian zones and local shops in the city center, making it easy to reach on foot. Visitors should expect narrow streets and uneven cobblestone surfaces that are typical throughout Quito's historic core.

The Carmelite community still lives and works in parts of the complex today, maintaining an active spiritual life. This continuous living use makes it one of the few functioning religious communities within Quito's World Heritage core.