"Stairway to Heaven" in Lamego

We’ve had two days of touring around - one day, high on a hill in a biological park and the next day, low in the Douro Valley on a boat in the river. But right in the town of Lamego, there is a church set high on a hill with 686 steps going up to it. We wanted to do it, but just needed the right day and the right mindset. And do it, we did!

The excursion was actually really nice. We walked through town to the main park and walked up the 686 steps, via nine landings, to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Remedies, built in 1750. The staircase is enriched with tile panels, chapels, fountains, obelisks and statues at each landing. Apparently it took 100 years to build.

Close to the top there is a landing called the “Pátio dos Reis”, (Patio of Kings) which has carved images of the 18 kings of Israel on high pedestals. They are somewhat comical, like they were welcoming us to the top. “You guys made it up. Yay!”

The views over the town and the surrounding countryside were beautiful.

At the top, we went in to the Sanctuary where we saw Nossa Senhora dos Remédios (Our Lady of the Remedies) at her gilded and carved altar. It was too late when we saw the sign which said that we were not to take photos. Whoops. The inside of the church was fairly plain compared to many of churches that we have seen and not very big. There was a pipe organ in the loft and some beautiful stained glass windows as well as tiles.

On this upper terrace we saw a very old tree that had a massive trunk and was covered in ivy. We weren’t sure what kind of tree it was until I read that it is a chestnut tree that is more than 700 years old.

On our way down, we decided to take the walking trails through the park that is on either side of the staircase. Big old trees, ponds, grottos and lots of picnic tables made it a nice sheltered area to come to for an afternoon. We have heard that in the summer, the climb is harder because it is so hot.

Pilgrims have been coming to this hill and chapel for hundreds of years, as it is one of the most important Baroque pilgrimage churches in Portugal.

When we got to the bottom, we went to a bakery where we rewarded ourselves with a delicious Portuguese pastry and an expresso before walking home. A bigger reward waited for us at home - a bottle of Douro red wine. We deserved it!Read more