Road Trip to Lucban in Quezon Province

Lucban, Province of Quezon

08 February 2016

We left Paranaque at 0505H and traveled down south to Lucban in the province of Quezon to visit "Kamay ni Hesus" shrine. We were five. We took the SLEX.

The road was clear and there was no traffic at that time. I was supposed to hike at Mt. Pulag up north however, due to the DENR restrictions I decided to join the team for another road trip.

We had light conversations as we enjoyed the lush green scenery along SLEX. At 0631H, we had a rendezvous at Petron gas station for breakfast.

MAJAYJAY CHURCH

At 0735H, we reached the province of Laguna and decided to visit Majayjay Church and drop by at the souvenir shops. The place is known for its quality shoes and slippers. We were lucky that the church was open at that time.

 

 

 

According to  to Wikipedia, The San Gregorio Magno Parish Church (Filipino: Simbahan ng Parokya ni San Gregorio Magno; Spanish: Iglesia Parroquial de San Gregorio Magno), also known as Majayjay Church and St. Gregory the Great Parish Church, is one of the oldest Roman Catholic churches in the Philippines located in the municipality of Majayjay in Laguna. It is recognized by the National Museum as a National Cultural Treasure (Level 1). The current parish priest is Father Robin A. Dagala.

The Romanesque church of Majayjay is 60 metres (200 ft) long, 17 metres (56 ft) wide and 16.5 metres (54 ft) meters high. Its façade has three levels, each level scaled proportionally and topped by a triangular pediment with a circular window. The central nave consists of a huge wooden door of the main portal, choir loft windows and saint's niche. The interior contains a retablo mayor and four other minor retablos with intricate designs. The floor is tiled with azulejo and the walls have been preserved with some alterations. The five-storey square belltower with a conical roof and ballustrated windows on each polygonal level is connected to the langit-langitan, a cat-walk above the ceiling which leads to the crossing over the transept. The belfry has arched windows each with a bell trimmed with finials and a large antique bell on top. It also has a large side door on the right side of the church.

Today, the church contains antique images of santos, reliquaries and century-old liturgical objects.

KAMAY NI HESUS SHRINE

From Majayjay, we traveled further down south towards Lucban, Quezon. Along the way, we passed-by the Lucban Church. At 0928H, we reached the shrine.

It was cold and drizzling at the area. We had planned to attend the 1000H mass however, we learned from the parish office that the parish priests were on retreat and so there was no mass on that day.

 

From the church, we took the 300+ steps stairway towards the ascending Christ statue atop the hill. It was wet.

 

 

 

We had to queue along the stairway. Standing atop the hill beside the statue, one can see the beautiful landscape of the surroundings.

 

Beside the hill is a park with a museum. The parish office is located beside the park and shaped like an ancient ark.

 

 

LUCBAN CHURCH

At 1140H, we left the shrine. We were back at Lucban town proper at 1155H. It was still drizzling. We parked at the plaza facing the church. I had a chance to take few photos of the centuries old structure and I was hoping to see the interior however, the church was closed at the time.

 

According to Wikipedia, Franciscan priests Father Juán Portocarrero de Plasencia and Father Diego de Oropesa de San José, known as the Apostles of Laguna and Tayabas, established the visita of Lucban in 1578 and started evangelizing the people of the town. It was elevated as a parish in 1595 under Father Miguel de Talavera alongside the construction of its first church made of wood, dedicated to Saint Louis of Toulouse.

The first church was ruined in 1629 and a second church was established on the present site. Construction of the second church, made of stone, masonry, and nipa, proceeded from 1630 to 1640 and the convent was finished in 1650. Church roofing was changed to tiles in 1683 under the supervision of Father Francisco Huerta.

Fire destroyed the building in 1733. That same year, Father Pascual Martinez began construction of a third building, the present one, which was completed in 1738. The rebuilt convent was completed in 1743. On April 4, 1945, the day American soldiers liberated Lucban during World War II, the church was partially damaged by a bomb. It was immediately reconstructed under the supervision of Monsignor Antonio Radovan.

In July 2014 Typhoon Glenda destroyed the roof over the altar, causing flooding inside the church.

The church follows the baroque design. It has a three-storey facade. The second level features semi-circular windows flanked by Corinthian columns and niches containing statues of saints. The church also has an octagonal, three-story belltower standing on a square base.

We decided to have a lunch at the town and we looked for a famous restaurant. We found the restaurant beside the plaza with the town marker however, it was full. Instead of waiting, we decided to try the famous "Pansit Hab-Hab" instead.

 

The pansit was served on a square green banana leaf. According to the locals, "Hab-Hab" means to eat without the use of spoon and fork. It was my first time to try that famous pansit of Lucab and I must admit that I liked it. It tastes insanely delicious and for P16.00, we had a complete Pansit Hab-Hab meal. We left Lucban town proper at 1217H.

TAYTAY FALLS

On our way back home, we saw a signage going to Taytay Falls. It was approximately 3 kilometers away from the main road. NRV insisted that we should see the falls. According to the locals, it is the second most famous falls in Laguna after Pagsanjan.

 

From the main road, we turned left towards the falls. The road leading to the falls is paved and surrounded by lush green forest. At 1250H, we reached the jump-off point. From the jump off point, we walked for another 1 kilometer to reach the falls.

At that time it started to rain. The trail going to the falls is paved and well maintained. Beside the trail is a crystal clear fresh running water from the mountain.

 

At 1316H, we reached the waterfalls. The water was crystal clear and very cool. There is a camp site at the area. 

One thing that I noticed was the concrete barrier that was built in front of the water falls such that the water coming from the falls will be contained to form like a swimming pool. The natural flow of the water was somehow unnaturally modified. Nevertheless, it is a very nice waterfalls.

NAGCARLAN UNDERGROUND CEMETERY

From the waterfalls, we traveled north and reached Nagcarlan in Laguna at 1450H. At Nagcarlan, I was reminded of the Underground Cemetery which I visited three years ago with a friend and then we saw the signage. We didn't realize that we were just few meters away from the cemetery. We parked at a gas station located just in front of the cemetery and then we walked towards the half-opened iron gate.

The church, which is the entrance to the underground cemetery, was closed at that time and so we just took photos at the gate.

 

ISDAAN FLOATING RESTAURANT, CALAUAN LAGUNA

From Nagcarlan, we proceeded to Calauan to see the Isdaan Floating Restaurant. I missed to see the Isdaan Floating Restaurant in Tarlac when we visited Monasterio de Tarlac and so I was so happy to be at the place.

 

 

The place is nice. We had a sumptuous "boodle fight" late lunch.

From Calauan, we traveled back to Manila. We were back home at 2016H.

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Explore the Underground Cemetery in Nagcarlan

Nagcarlan, Laguna

07 January 2012

I invited an office mate to see the Underground Cemetery in Nagcarlan, Laguna province. I've seen this place from famous blog sites and travel magazines including newspapers as one of the top tourist destinations near the capital.

In fact, many of the friends that I met on the trail have also recommended this place a must see one.

On a Saturday morning, we left Manila onboard a bus from Gil Puyat - Taft Avenue bound for Batangas at 0630H. We asked the driver to drop us at at San Pablo City in Laguna where we can take a jeep bound for Liliw.

We alighted at a junction in San Pablo City and from there we took a jeep bound for Liliw and asked the driver to drop us at the gate of the Underground Cemetery.

At 0918H, we were standing infront of the cemetery main gate. At the site, we were told by the administrator that the Underground Cemetery opens at 0800H and closes at 1600H. Photos are allowed for personal use only and no flash photography inside the chapel the crypt below it.

From the gate, we started to explore the site and walked towards the chapel. The cemetery chapel reminded me of the "Simbaan a Bassit" (small church), also a cemetery chapel in Vigan City. 

The cemetery is very old and of Baroque architecture in circular and with an area of at least 1 hectare in my assumption.

 

It is surrounded by stone walls made partially of bricks, red tiles with iron-wrought grills.

The main entrance gate is made of an arch with two iron grill gates. From the main gate, a pathway made of red bricks (not cobble stones) across a green landscaped space leads to the entrance of cemetery chapel. 

Below the chapel is an underground graveyard. According to Wikipedia, the underground graveyard consists of at least 36 tombs arranged in four walls. 

 

 

 

The crypt and chapel is connected by two flight of steps. The first nine steps lead to a Spanish inscription that reads

Go forth, Mortal man, full of life

Today you visit happily this shelter, 

But after you have gone out, 

Remember, you have a resting place here, 

Prepared for you. 

The last six steps lead to the underground crypt. 

The cemetery has 240 apartment-type niches on the walls where each side of the chapel contains 120 niches. Overall, there are 276 niches.

 

The cemetery administrator told us that no more burials are allowed inside the cemetery. The complex is owned by the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Pablo and managed by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines. 

 

 

We enjoyed exploring the place and there were no other visitors yet at that time, As a National Historical site, we were so happy to see that the place was clean and very well maintained in general.

We left the place at 1145H and traveled to our side trip destinations nearby.

NAGCARLAN UNDERGROUND CEMETERY HISTORY according to Wikipedia.

The Nagcarlan Underground Cemetery (Filipino: Libingan sa Ilalim ng Lupa ng Nagcarlan) is a national historical landmark and museum in Barangay Bambang, Nagcarlan, Laguna supervised by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines. It was built in 1845 under the supervision of Franciscan priest, Fr. Vicente Velloc as a public burial site and its underground crypt exclusively for Spanish friars, prominent town citizens and members of elite Catholic families.It is dubbed as the only underground cemetery in the country.

Establishment of the Underground Cemetery

Fr. Vicente Velloc supervised the establishment of a cemetery in Nagcarlan in 1845 below Mt. San Cristobal. Unlike the traditional Spanish cemeteries at that time, Fr. Velloc decided to build it away from the town's center. The cemetery is planned to serve as a public resting place for the people of the town while the underground chamber below the chapel of the cemetery will only house remains of Spanish friars and prominent people. It was built together with the construction of the expanded St. Bartholomew Parish Church and rectory. The cemetery is built with a chapel where funeral masses was held and directly below it is an underground crypt.

As Meeting Place during the Revolution

During the Philippine Revolution, the cemetery served as a meeting place of revolutionary leaders of the Katipunan in 1896. Pedro Paterno and Gen. Severino Taiño of the "Maluningning" command held a meeting at the cemetery where they planned the historic Pact of Biak-na-Bato in 1897. It also served as hideout for Filipino leaders during the Philippine-American War and of guerillas in World War II.

Declaration as a Historical Landmark

The Nagcarlan Underground Cemetery was declared as a National Historical Landmark by virtue of Presidential Decree no. 260, dated August 1, 1973 with amendments by Administrative Order 1505, dated June 11, 1978. Since the declaration, no more burials were allowed in the cemetery. It underwent renovations before it was again opened to the public during the unveiling of the marker in October 24, 1981. The oldest tomb is dated 1886 while the last interment was in 1982 when it was formally declared as a National Historical Landmark.

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