The northwestern portion of Laguna is a rough agglomeration of two towns and five cities sandwiched between the southwestern shores of Laguna de Bay and the boundary with Cavite and Batangas. With the exception of Bay and Los Baños, it is the industrial hub of Laguna and part of the urban conglomeration extending from Metro Manila.
Understand
[edit]
This area guide encompasses two towns and five cities, namely:
- 1 Biñan - Now a large suburb of Manila, it was where Jose Rizal had his first education
- 2 Calamba -Hometown of Jose Rizal and a city of hot springs
- 3 Cabuyao - An out-of-the-way residential and industrial city, with some notable churches
- 4 San Pedro - A growing residential and industrial suburb not far from Metro Manila. Home of the Sampaguita Festival and the Shrine of the Holy Sepulchre.
- 5 Santa Rosa - A growing residential suburb and main gateway to Tagaytay, with an amusement park and malls.
- 1 Bay - Rural suburb of Los Baños with a Spanish-era church, ecotourism destinations, and the origin of the "Bay" in Laguna de Bay.
- 2 Los Baños - Suburb of Calamba. Home of hot springs, Mount Makiling, University of the Philippines Los Baños and the International Rice Research Institute
The region is part of the now-indistinguishable urban sprawl from Metro Manila, halted only by Mount Makiling in Los Baños, which in turn is undergoing its own form of urbanization through the expanding student and academic population of the University of the Philippines campus. This leaves Bay as the last predominantly rural town in the region, with rice fields extending further east into the rest of Laguna.
Get in
[edit]Southern Laguna is connected to Metro Manila by two parallel road arteries: the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and the Manila South Road, both of which run from San Pedro to Calamba. NLEX has exits in all the cities before turning south towards Batangas. The older, toll-free, Manila South Road, part of the Pan-Philippine Highway system, has a junction in Calamba with Calamba-Pagsanjan Road, which leads to Los Baños, Bay and the rest of Laguna. Alternate routes such as the Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX) and the toll-free Tagaytay-Silang-Santa Rosa Road connect Biñan and Santa Rosa with Silang and Tagaytay with Cavite, while an extension of Governor's Drive connects Biñan with Carmona, also in Cavite.
San Pedro is connected to Muntinlupa in Metro Manila by jeepneys. As commuter towns of Metro Manila, the individual cities are served by buses from the capital. Calamba, Los Baños and Bay are served by buses heading to the provincial capital, Santa Cruz. Vans also connect Tagaytay with the major cities of the region. From Batangas, jeepneys connect Lipa, Tanauan and Santo Tomas with Calamba.
Philippine National Railways operates trains running the length of northwest Laguna, but has suspended operations since 2024 pending rehabilitation of rail infrastructure.
Get around
[edit]By car
[edit]Driving in northwestern Laguna can be a nightmare, with urbanization also causing the same congestion problems seen in Metro Manila. A journey from Santa Cruz to Santa Rosa for example can take up to five hours thanks to traffic jams stretching from Calamba to Los Baños. Bottlenecks are also common on exits leading to NLEX during rush hour and on the Santa Rosa-Tagaytay Road, the latter being particularly notorious for traffic jams that can occupy the entire length of the road during weekends and major holidays.
By public transit
[edit]Jeepneys are the primary form of transit between towns, while within towns tricycles are used. Calamba is the terminus of a jeepney route originating from Calamba. It is also the transfer hub for jeepneys heading west towards San Pedro and cities in between.
See and do
[edit]For individual listings, see Biñan, Calamba, Cabuyao, Los Baños, San Pedro, and Santa Rosa.
Unchecked growth has led to the cities of northwestern Laguna tearing down most of its historic monuments in favor of commercial and industrial complexes, as well as middle-class resorts, amusement parks and gated communities. However, the region remains of interest for those trying to retrace the steps of national hero Jose Rizal, who was born in Calamba. His birthplace has been reconstructed in Calamba, while Biñan, where Rizal's relatives also lived, has made an aggressive effort to preserve its remaining heritage structures. Fans of Spanish-era churches go to Cabuyao, Santa Rosa and Bay.
Mount Makiling, an inactive volcano, provides hot springs and natural waters that sustain the resorts of Calamba, Los Baños, and Bay. Despite gentrification, Los Baños still makes for a stroll or a bike ride in its extensive forests and slopes of Mount Makiling, along with a vibrant student population. The one mostly unspoiled town in the region is Bay, a still definitively rural town with a Spanish-era church and rice paddies in its backwoods.
Buy
[edit]The towns from San Pedro to Los Baños have multiple malls, while Bay has a few supermarkets.
Eat
[edit]Being an virtual annex of Metro Manila, it will not be difficult to find restaurants of all kinds. Even Bay is being invaded by fastfood chains.
Drink
[edit]Sleep
[edit]There is an abundance of good lodging in northwestern Laguna. In towns around Mount Makiling, there are resorts offering swimming pools sourced from natural springwater and farm accommodations offering opportunities for ecotourism and agricultural excursion.
Stay safe
[edit]As part of the Mega Manila area, northwestern Laguna, apart from Bay, has the petty crime vibes of moderately-sized Philippine cities.
Stay healthy
[edit]Pharmacies, clinics and hospitals are found in every town, although the ones in smaller towns operate at a slower pace. Medical care is generally sufficient, but serious cases are referred to Metro Manila.
Go next
[edit]| Routes through Northwestern Laguna |
| END ← | W  E
|
→ Santa Cruz → Pagsanjan |
| Manila ← Alabang ← | N   S
|
→ AH26 exits SLEX and follows  → Santo Tomas → Lipa/Batangas City (via  )
|