Chapelle Notre-Dame at Bétharram

On the way to the Grottes de Bétharram, we spied an unusual church by the side of the road in Lestelle-Bétharram. So on the way back from the caves, we stopped to take a look.

The Chapelle Notre-Dame, which lies on the banks of the Gave de Pau, was built in the 17th century on what has been a popular site with Christian pilgrims for centuries.

The chapel’s unusual shape and blue-grey hue was eye-catching and intriguing in itself, but inside I was blown away by how opulent the road-side chapel was. It’s one of the most lavishly decorated churches I’ve visited.

The area around the chancel was filled with an elaborately carved gold display with lots of statues, while the walls and ceiling were painted teal with a gold star pattern.

There were marble columns, huge paintings framed in gold that looked as though they cost a fortune, as well as two ginormous crystal chandeliers.

It was amazing and looked like something that belonged in Naples rather than a small chapel in a rural town in the Pyrenees.

After our surprising experience in the main body of the chapel, we wandered down a corridor to another small chapel.

This chapel was much simpler and home to a shrine dedicated to St Michel Garicotis, featuring a plush gold and glass tomb just behind the altar (above).

Having seen all there was to see inside the incredible chapel, we ventured back outside to have a look at the shrine in a small building (above) to the right of the chapel.

Inside, behind locked gates, there was a marble statue depicting an episode from Jesus’s life.

We could see more of these unusual shrines dotted along a walking trail on the nearby hillside, so our curiosity piqued, we decided to follow the trail up the hill.

As we climbed up the hill, we came across more and more shrines, and realised the trail – the Way of the Cross – led all the way to the top of the hill.

We carried on until we reached the top, where we  found a simple church (above).

Opposite the church, there were yet more shrines, as well as three statues depicting the crucifixion of Jesus in front of a graveyard (below).

For the second time that day, we were stunned by the scene in front of us as we hadn’t expected to find such an elaborate display when we started out.

It was a little eerie on the mountain top as it was completely deserted, until a keep-fit class emerged towards the end of our visit.

I really enjoyed our impromptu hike up the hill and our visit to the Chapelle Notre-Dame.

The chapel was exquisite and the shrines oddly fascinating, and it was a wonderful, random and unexpected ending to our final day in Béarn.