Friday, April 13, 2012

Navigating Laguna Loop: Majayjay

Majayjay is a highland town situated in the foothills of Mount Banahaw. The town stands 1000 feet above sea level and surrounded by the towns of Magdalena in the north, Liliw in the west, Luisiana in the east, and Lucban, Quezon in the south. 

Based on ancient stories, the town has no adequate roads but there are curved slopes and roads going to the gorges. In order to solve that problem, the conquerors hired laborers and porters. However, these people were having a hard time going to the town and one of them sigh and said "hay, hay, hay" while climbing the slopes of Mount Banahaw. That is why, they called the place Majayjay: " ma" means many and "hay, hay" which refers to the sound of sigh. It became a town in 1571 and Gaspar Osorio was the first leader of this town. In addition, Emilio Jacinto, the Brains of the Katipunan died in this town in 1899.
The welcome arch of Majayjay. 
The historical marker of Majayjay.
I went to a ten minute ride to this town via tricycle from the town of Liliw. The first thing I did in this town is to visit the town central where you can found one of the oldest and tallest churches in the province and a National Culture Treasure, the St. Gregory the Great Parish Church which was built in 1571. It was originally made of bamboo at burned in 1576 and the church made of stone was created in 1616 until 1649. The high structure of the church was built with the help of Father Jose de Puertollano which was renovated from 1711 to 1734. The church is also adjacent to the municipal hall where you can read the historical background of the town.
St. Gregory the Great Parish Church
From the town center, I took a five minute walk going to the place which is a product of forced labor. It is called as the Tulay Pigue (Buttocks Bridge or Puente de Capricho). This bridge serves as a shortcut to other barangays which lead you to the neighboring town of Magdalena. It is a very narrow bridge and you can go there after you passed the cemetery and the dumpsite where you will walk through the grassy slopes.

Tulay Pigue
The most popular natural tourist attraction in Majayjay is the Taytay Falls. Located in Barangay Taytay and you can get there by twenty minutes from the town proper. Then you will going to take a long walk to the canopy trail which leads you to the falls. When I was walking to the falls, I heard the splash of waterfalls from far away. Then, I was amazed on how the Taytay Falls looks like. It is a two-storey waterfalls in a remote location in which vegetation is abundant and it has a clear water flowing from Mount Banahaw. Before, it is a hard task to reach the falls because there were no marked trails during that time. In 2008, the World Bank supported the promotion of tourism in Taytay Falls.
The trail to Taytay Falls.
Taytay Falls, the main tourist attraction in Majayjay.
A rice field in Majayjay
Women were able to have their laundry in the river.
Therefore, my travel experience in Majayjay is one of the most memorable travels I need to treasure. First, the roads that you are going to pass is risky but exciting because of ascending slopes and intense zigzag which feels like a rollercoaster trip, that is why you need to become careful in driving. Second, I appreciated the rural life and simple ambiance in the town because of verdant mountains and forests and the traditional way of living especially using horses in transportation and women who made their laundry in the river. Lastly, Majayjay is such a town where you can experience the simple and rural life in the highlands. Let's aim high to Majayjay!

20 comments:

tatess said...

lovely place .this is my family's favorite place to go to. just last month ,they've been there swimming.

Pinay Travel Junkie said...

I remember passing by that river and seeing women do their laundry too! I don't remember visiting Taytay Falls though, I reckon I should schedule a trip in the future.

Mavin Reyes - Nurse Critic said...

the falls looked really beautiful.... it is worth the visit

Teng said...

me ganito pala sa laguna :) nice place.

Franc Ramon said...

Hay... Di ko pa napuntahan yan. The falls looks amazing.

Edmar del Castillo Guquib said...

Aside from the beautiful places here, i love how the town got its name. :)

Maricel said...

This sure looks like an awesome place to explore. Starting your narration with a back story was brilliant, by the way.

dsfds said...

Naunahan mo akong pumunta sayang hehe!! Sayang talaga di ako natuloy.

markpogi said...

I recall passing by this town a few years back though we didn't stay there for long. Myabe I could recommend this as one of our ITs whenever time permits.

Budget Biyahera said...

Taytay Falls still looks promising! And it's very nostalgic to see women still doing their laundry in the river..

Manong Iskrambol said...

great trip.. i did not know this place in laguna.. I guess I have to check it one of these days

Teresa Martinez said...

We have been to this place a long time ago, purely by chance when we failed to find the place which we were actually looking for.

Ron said...

Great place. Love the scenery. Meron pa palang naglalaba sa river nowadays. Hope they can preserve their surroundings for many years to come!

Kalabasa K. Kamote said...

It's good to know that there are still scenic places like this. It's up to us to protect and preserve these places.

MissGennD said...

We had a tree planting activity back there in college. And we used to have our retreats for YFC in that town too~ So I'm a bit familiar with the place, I love the simplicity of life there.

athena said...

gosh. the bridge looks so scary and mukhang malayo-layo din ang lalakarin. pero at least it's a shortcut.

Anonymous said...

wweeee... very nice nung ambiance sa bukirin...

Unknown said...

great photos. parang napakasarap mg-relax! :)

Tricia - Keep Calm and Take a Shot said...

Beautiful place! I love seeing "that" side of the country because I've always been a city girl.

mommygiay said...

really love the Taytay Falls, been there several times.

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