Untitled Document
  • APOLINARIO MABINI SHRINE
  • TAAL LAKE AND VOLCANO
  • TAAL CHURCH
  • LADY OF CAYSAYSAY CHURCH
  • MT. MACULOT

The national shrine is a memorial to the nationalism of Philippine hero Apolinario Mabini, known as the Sublime Paralytic, whose moral convictions and political principles illuminated the Filipinos in their search for national identity. It houses the remains and personal belongings of the late revolutionary hero who is also considered as the Brains of the Katipunan, the 1896 Filipino revolutionary movement against Spain.

 

 

Southern Luzon’s centerpiece attraction is Taal Lake and Taal Volcano in Batangas. The gateway for most visitors is through Tagaytay City, from the ridge where a panoramic view of Volcano Island can be seen. The volcano is known to be the smallest in the world. Surrounded by a lake, it is situated on an 8.8-kilometer islet, lapped by the 27-kilometer-long lake. Both the lake and the volcano are situated on the crater of an extinct volcano.

 

 

San Martin de Tours is the patron of Taal, in whose honor a fest is celebrated every November 11. The church was first built by Father Diego Espina in 1575 in San Nicolas. It was destroyed when Taal volcano erupted in 1754, rebuilt at the present site in 1755, and once more destroyed by an earthquake in 1849. Construction of the present church was started in 1856.

 

 

This church is one of the province’s distinct cultural artifacts for some of the priceless relics of the Spanish colonial period. Among the relics are the 27-centimeter image of the Virgin which was fished out of the waters in 1603, the Augustinian emblems engraved on the communion rails, the ornately carved holy water receptacle, and the few baroque motifs which remain on the external frieze.

 

 

One of the highest and most prominent mountains in the province, Mt. Maculot is one of the favorite sites of mountain trekkers. It is said that the mountain was the last stronghold of the Japanese in the province before they were defeated. Several tunnels built by the Japanese soldiers are present in the area.