Philippine Hotels, Travel, Vacation, Real Estate and Maps, News

If you haven’t been gallivanting around Laguna, this Laguna native strongly encourages you to do so. We all know about Los Baños/Calamba and the hot springs. But there is so much more to Laguna than just being the default family outing destination during summer or Holy Week. Take Liliw, for example. It is an absolutely wonderful place to go to, especially if you’re the type to enjoy the journey as much as the destination. So let me convince you about Liliw, Laguna.

Liliw traces its history as far back as the early 1500s, where it was said to be named after the sound of the birds that frequent the area. At present, it is a municipality along the southern boundary of Laguna, bordering the Quezon province. To the West is Nagcarlan, and Sta Cruz lies to the northeast.

How exactly do I get to Liliw, Laguna?

The normal way is to commute, and while there are a number of ways to do that, the most logical (read: fastest commute) is to hop on a bus to San Pablo City, and from there take the jeepney route that goes specifically to Liliw. If it’s not your first time travelling, you’d probably know where to get a bus to San Pablo, but for the benefit of the first-timers, there are terminals in Buendia-Taft for starters. The jeep terminal in San Pablo going to Liliw is easily located in the city center, very near the church (as most things usually are).

Once you get there, there are a number of things that you can choose to do or spend time on. There are 2 prominent river-based resorts: The Liliw Resort (like, duh) and the Batis ng Liliw. You might start to think what the big deal is about, it’s just a river. I’ve experienced it, and let me tell you that the river is very good for bathing or even just for hanging out. The water is cool – I personally recommend you try this on a hot summer day.

Most people just hang around the town proper for one reason – shoes of Liliw Laguna. Yes, ladies, I said the magic word. Liliw, if you didn’t already know is home to a vibrant shoe industry to rival that of traditional shoe making capital Marikina. There are a number of big name Filipino brands that have their outlets here. But if you are really into shoes, you could spend your whole day going into the smaller mom-and-pop stores and just go gaga over footwear. There are some stores that carry men’s shoes, too, but who are we kidding, really? The place is an absolute black hole for women – time stops and they can’t seem to walk away for any other reason. Except maybe for…

FOOD in Liliw, Laguna

…which is our next point of interest. One of my barometers for a strange new place is the street food. I know, that sounds weird to some of you. But for me, going to a new place means new street food to sample from. In fact, you get the best stories and info from the manong on the street selling fishballs. The one I bought from had good stories about the old church in town – which is actually very camera-friendly. The church has this old Spanish aura about it. Moving on…

Liliw is proud of their native pastries – the uraro biscuits and other kakanin. You can find these being peddled on the streets all over the town center. Also, there is a “healthy” variety (pun intended)of all your normal Pinoy street food fare.

There are 2 famous food places in town. For pasta, pastries and other continental recipes there’s the Arabela Café and for the usual Filipino heart attack food, there is Kainan sa Tatsulok. Both come highly recommended, and it is but natural to fit these 2 places into your day when you visit Liliw.

Some things you may need to note when you visit. If you plan to have just a day trip, make sure to arrive early to maximize your time. Spend the day poking in and around stores and the sights, eat good food, and plan to leave by 6pm – that’s right about when the last jeep going to Sta Cruz leaves (your route out will be to Sta Cruz, where there are buses to Manila). If you miss the last jeepney out, you may have to stay overnight. For those who do plan to stay more than one day, the resorts stated above provide accommodations at very reasonable rates. Also, the town fiesta is held every 29^th of August, and that usually means more traffic going into town, and out of it. It can also mean a shortage of accommodations in said resorts.

All in all, Liliw is a good barkada destination for a day trip. Going there and spending the day reminds you that distinct feeling that yes, it’s great to be Filipino.