How many steps at Bom Jesus do Monte? 573, by the count that matters

The short answer: 573 steps from the portico to the churchyard, according to the Confraria that owns the sanctuary, made up of 376 up to the Five Senses, then 104, then 93. The climb gains 116 m. There are a further 34 steps below the churchyard. Wikipedia says 583. I use 573, because the three flights add up to it exactly and because it is the owner’s own figure, and I say so rather than quietly picking one.

Official total573 steps

First flight376

Second flight104

Third flight93

Below the churchyard34 more

Height gained116 m

Why the number is disputed

Both counts are honest; they start and stop in different places. the Confraria’s own site gives 376 plus 104 plus 93, which is 573, and separately records 34 steps below the churchyard. Add some or all of those to the total, count a landing as a step or not, begin at the road rather than the portico, and you land somewhere in the high 570s or low 580s. English Wikipedia arrives at 583. Neither of us is lying and averaging the two would produce a number nobody has ever counted, so this site prints 573, names 583, and explains the gap.

I have climbed it several hundred times and I have counted differently on different days, usually because I lost track somewhere in the second flight. That is the honest state of the question.

The three flights, in the order you meet them

The Via Sacra. The first stretch, lined with chapels holding terracotta figures of the Passion. Eight primitive chapels were traced here in the 1700s and only the first two survive; what you walk past now is largely the later scheme.
The Escadório dos Cinco Sentidos. The zigzag everyone photographs, with a fountain at each turn for Sight, Smell, Hearing, Touch and Taste. Water comes out of the eyes, the nose, the ears and the mouth. It is not subtle and it is not meant to be.
The Escadório das Três Virtudes. Added around 1781, with a fountain each for Faith, Hope and Charity. Having cleaned up your senses, you climb through the virtues, and then you are in the churchyard.

Look at the parapets on the way: armillary spheres along the top and pyramids at the angles. The whole staircase is an argument you walk up rather than a route to a church, which is the part most visitors miss and the part a guide is genuinely useful for. There is more on the individual features on the what-to-see page, and on how it all came to be built in the history.

Insider tip

Climb in the order the fountains were designed to be read: bottom to top, senses then virtues. Coming down the stairway after riding up looks the same and means nothing, and 573 steps of descent is harder on the knees than 573 of ascent.

How hard is it

116 m of vertical is roughly a thirty-storey building, taken in three stages with flat landings and a lot to look at, on stone that is uneven in places and slick after rain. Most reasonably fit people manage it without difficulty and stop two or three times on the way. If that description worries you, the funicular covers the identical 116 m in under four minutes, and I have set out the other options on the accessibility page.

There is no charge for any of it. The stairway, the chapels and the churchyard are free and the grounds never close, which is the first thing the tickets page says and the reason it exists.

Walking it with somebody who can read it

The two-hour historical trail from €30 per person is the cheapest way to have the chapels and the fountains explained on the spot; note that it does not include transport to the meeting point. I have gone through it in the trail review.

Sanctuary only

Check dates for a guided climb

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure on most tours — book now, decide later.

Frequently asked questions

How many steps does Bom Jesus do Monte have?

573 from the portico to the churchyard, per the Confraria: 376, then 104, then 93. A further 34 steps sit below the churchyard. English Wikipedia gives 583, counting from a different start point. This site uses the official 573 and names the other figure rather than hiding it.

How high is the Bom Jesus stairway?

It gains 116 m from bottom to top, the same height the funicular climbs on its 274 m of track. In building terms that is about thirty storeys, broken into three flights with landings and fountains between them.

What are the fountains on the staircase?

The middle flight, the Escadório dos Cinco Sentidos, has a fountain at each turn for Sight, Smell, Hearing, Touch and Taste, with water issuing from the relevant part of a face. The upper flight, added around 1781, has one each for Faith, Hope and Charity.

Do I have to climb the stairs?

No. The 1882 funicular climbs the same 116 m in a few minutes for a couple of euros, and there is a road with parking near the top. The stairway is free, as is everything else on the hill.