Located at the western part of the “Summer Capital of the Philippines” – Baguio, the Lady of Lourdes grotto is one of the most popular pilgrimage sites during the Holy Week. The place is on top of Mirador hill and can be accessed by climbing a total of 252 steps. However, this is not such a hard task as there are stopovers and benches scattered along the way. For safety purposes, a rail has also been installed to help devotees on the way up. Getting there is also relatively easy as the site is popular, you only have to ask the driver to take you to the shrine.

The grotto was originally built to honor the visions by French girl Bernadette Soubirous of the Virgin Mary. The visions took place during the year 1858 in the town of Lourdes, France. Four years later (1862) the visions were deemed genuine by the Pope.

When reaching the top, devotees light up candles, offer flowers and pray upon the shrine. If you haven’t brought any with you, the candles and flowers can easily be bought in the assorted stalls also located near the site. The vendors also offer different religious relics and artifacts to remember a visit to one of the favorite shrines in the country.

An added bonus to the trip is the glorious view of Baguio that you can see from hilltop. If timed properly during the day – particularly when the sun is just starting to rise – the site that greets your eyes is enough to warrant all those tiring 252 steps!

After the visit, you can now drop by the other wonderful sites offered by the City of Pines, from the beautiful Burnham Park to the famous Baguio Cathedral. But of course, not before visiting and paying homage to the Our Lady of Lourdes.

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