A 252-step staircase climbs Dominican Hill on the western edge of central Baguio to a small Marian shrine built into a rock alcove — a replica of the famous grotto at Lourdes in France, established here by the Dominicans in 1907. Pilgrims pause on each step to say a Hail Mary, and most casual visitors give up halfway and rest on the benches under the pine trees.
The shrine at the top is modest: a statue of the Virgin in a niche of natural rock, with stations of the Cross around the perimeter. Candles burn day and night and you can buy them at the bottom of the steps. The view, however, is wonderful — Baguio in its bowl of pines, the silvery ribbon of Naguilian Road dropping toward the coast.
It is a steep climb at altitude; come early or late, and bring water.