The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Pilar and the Castle of Lanhoso are located in Monte do Pilar, the largest granite monolith in the country, halfway between the Cávado and Ave rivers, in the municipality of Póvoa de Lanhoso.

The Sanctuary, of Marian devotion, has a Way of the Cross formed by five chapels similar to those that exist in the Sanctuary of Bom Jesus de Braga.

The Castle of Lanhoso, although nowadays is quite decharacterized, is one of the most important castles in Portugal and was classified as a national monument in 1910. The tradition says that in this castle, on two ocasions, has taken refuge the Countess Teresa de Leão, mother of D. Afonso Henriques, the first king of Portugal.

With the beginning of the modern era, the castle lost its importance and in the sixteenth century part of this was dismantled to begin the construction of the Sanctuary.