San Jose del Monte City, also known by its initials SJDM, is a city of 650,000 people (2020) in Bulacan.
Understand
[edit]SJDM was founded in the 18th century and was little more than a provincial town. This changed in the 1980s, when thousands of informal settlers from Metro Manila were relocated to San Jose del Monte. The city is home to some of the biggest resettlement areas in the Philippines like the Sapang Palay resettlement area spread over 36 barangays, Pabahay 2000 in Barangay Muzon and Towerville in Barangay Minuyan Proper. Most of the city's population come from former informal settlers along the creeks, esteros, riverbanks and railway tracks of Metro Manila.
There have been growing demands for SJDM to become a highly-urbanized city administratively independent from Bulacan; this has consistently been opposed by the provincial government, which fears a loss of important revenue once this happens.
Get in
[edit]San Jose del Monte is 65 kilometres (40 mi) from Malolos and 30 kilometres (19 mi) from Manila.
By bus
[edit]- Grotto Terminal, Santa Maria-Tungkong Mangga Road (In front of the Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto). The central transport terminal for San Jose del Monte. Transfers to jeepneys and tricycles available
There are many city buses heading to San Jose del Monte from Metro Manila, mostly via Quirino Highway. The most common route to San Jose del Monte is the NAIA-Grotto route, which ply EDSA, Commonwealth Avenue, and Quirino Avenue.
By train
[edit]San Jose del Monte is the terminus of the under-construction MRT Line 7 from Quezon City. The terminus will be far east of downtown, with a public transport terminal proposed there.
Get around
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See
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- 1 Kaytitinga Falls, Barangay San Isidro (a 1-hour trek). The way to Kaytitinga Falls is not well-developed that leads to non-accessibility of the trail. There are also no public toilets or showers in the area.
- 2 Angat Watershed Forest Reserve. A portion of the reserve extends into SJDM. The watershed is a popular birdwatching site and is a biodiversity hotspot containing most of the remaining closed-canopy forests in Central Luzon.
- 3 Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto Shrine (Graceville), Graceville. A privately operated pilgrimage site often visited by Roman Catholic devotees during Holy Week. It is not officially recognized as a Catholic pilgrimage site by the Diocese of Malolos.
- 4 Mount Balagbag, Barangay San Isidro. A 777 metres (2,549 ft) peak used as a stand-in location for films set in northern Luzon and one of the closest hiking destinations to Metro Manila.
- 5 St. Joseph the Worker Parish Church, San Ignacio Street, Poblacion I. SJDM's main Roman Catholic church, built in the 19th century and repaired to its original style despite being burned thrice in the Philippine Revolution, World War II, and the Huk Rebellion in 1950.
- 6 People's Park of San Jose Del Monte City, Santa Maria-San Jose del Monte Road, Sapang Palay Proper. SJDM's main recreational area containing an athletics stadium.
- 7 Padre Pio Mountain of Healing, Paradise III. A hilltop Roman Catholic shrine featuring a 50 feet (15 m) statue of Padre Pio accessible by climbing 150 steps.
- 8 River Park Esplanade, Norzagaray Road, Dulong Bayan (at the back of SJDM City Hall). A park with amphitheater along the San Jose River.
- 9 VS Orchids, Santo Cristo. The biggest orchids nursery and ornamental plants farm in Bulacan, measuring 1.8 hectares (4.4 acres).
Do
[edit]- 1 Grotto Vista Resort, Governor Fortunato Halili Road, Graceville.
- 2 Los Arcos De Hermano Resort, School Road, Tungkong Mangga.
Buy
[edit]- 1 Starmall San Jose del Monte, Quirino Highway, Kaypian.
- 2 SM City San Jose del Monte, Quirino Highway, Tungkong Mangga.
Eat
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