El Rito,, is an unincorporated community in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, United States. Its elevation is 6,875 feet. El Rito is located on NM 554, 18 miles northwest of Española and 15 miles northwest of Ojo Caliente. El Rito was one of the first Spanish settlements in the Jicarilla Apache lands north of Santa Fe, being settled about 1807. San Juan Nepomuceno Catholic Church is in the town, built between 1827 and 1832.