Holy Week Road Trip Itinerary/Route in Rizal, Laguna and Quezon Provinces

Stuck in Metro Manila in Holy Week, like Tutubi and also allergic to malls and usual trips? Herewith is a suggested itinerary for a day or two around the so called Laguna Loop route:

Old Churches of Rizal (Visita Iglesia)
Baras Church
Morong Church
Tanay Church

after visiting Tanay Church, you can proceed to the giant Mother Mary shrine in Rizal in Sampaloc, Tanay near Camp Capinpin and Marcos Highway called Regina RICA

the shade under the giant statue can seat about 70 people. there's an adoration chapel insde the statue, the only place where picture taking is not allowed. guests are requested to dress modestly and keep quiet

Old Churches of Laguna (Visita Iglesia) with coordinates for your GPS:

Pakil Church: St. Peter of Alcantara Parish
Paete Church: St. James the Apostle Parish
Longos Church (Kalayaan): San Juan Bautista (St. John the Baptist)
Lumban Church
Pagsanjan Church: Our Lady of Guadalupe (not old though, it's reconstructed)

In Pakil, you can trek up Mt. Ping-as to visit the Holy Cross where a viewpoint offers a magnificent vista of Pakil town and Laguna de Bay.

In Paete, you may opt to drive to the top of the hill for the Tatlong Krus,
similar to the biblical Three Crosses on Calvary Hill in Jerusalem

the three crosses taken about 6 years ago using Tutubi's then trusted Canon Ixus 30

After Reaching Pagsanjan, you can opt to turn left after passing Pagsanjan Church (Our Lady of Guadalupe) and Pagsanjan Municipal Hall towards Cavinti and Luisiana (where the old churches await) en route to Lucban ( to visit Kamay ni Hesus, an already popular pilgrimage site on the hillsides of the Sierra Madre



From Lucban, you can drive back to Majayjay and Liliw where two old churches again await.

list of old churches in Laguna (from the northeast of Laguna de Bay (Laguna Lake))

Pakil Church, Paete church, Longos Church, Lumban Church, Cavinti Church, Luisiana Church, Magdalena Church, Majayjay Church (beautiful earthquake baroque), Liliw Church (red bricks), Sta. Cruz Church, Pila Church, Bay Church, Los Banos Church, Calamba Church (where Jose Rizal was baptized)

So many places to visit and explore, you really can't do it in a day, suggest an overnight somewhere probably in Paete, with the moving saints during the Holy Wednesday and Maundy Thursday Procession and the Dapit on Good Friday including the Mater Dolorosa, which won for Mariano Madrinan a Gold Medal in the

Estimated travel time, via the main roads, not the highway (Manila East Road)
conservative approximations:

Antipolo to Teresa, Rizal: 20 minutes
Pakil to Paete: 15 minutes
Paete to Longos, Kalayaan: 15 minutes
Lumban to Pagsanjan: 10 minutes
Pagsanjan to Lucban, Quezon : 1 hour


GPS coordinates/waypoints:

Tatlong Krus: N14 21 53.7 E121 29 32.8
Kamay ni Hesus: N14 06 00.5 E121 34 25.6

Pakil Church: N14 22 50.9 E121 28 44.7
Paete Church: N14 21 52.3 E121 28 54.4
Longos Church N14 20 25.0 E121 28 52.7

related post:
Holy Week in Paete, Laguna