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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