Kamay ni Hesus Healing Center

Posting on Facebook where you’re going proves helpful if you’re looking for a travel buddy. You don’t really have to say you need a company, they’ll ask to come with you.



In my case, I actually planned on going to Lucban alone. I just wanted to see Kamay ni Hesus Healing Center in Brgy. Tinamnan, and from what I have read, it’s a worry-free destination even if you’re alone.

But a friend named Rachel – who used to be a neighbor - saw the post and wanted to go. Why not? I love going to places alone but it’s always fun to have a friend for company.

So we met at the bus terminal in Alabang at 5:30 AM last September 12th. She had this Deuter daypack on her back and a Canon G10 slung on her neck. So posh. A far-cry from the Sandugo backpack and Kodak C813. LoL!

Anyway, our bus left Alabang at exactly 6 AM and arrived at Lucena Grand Terminal exactly 9 AM. The trip could have been shorter if not for the stops Manong Konduktor demanded to look at merchandise that fancied his eyes in the shops along the road of Sariaya, Quezon. Three times. Not to mention the slow downs everytime they’d pass a bunch of friends killing that early Sunday morning on waiting sheds. And they seemed to have as many friends as my Facebook account. (Okay, that’s exaggeration but it really felt like eternity waiting for the driver to finish talking to his friends and speed up.)

The jeepney ride to grotto (that’s Via Dolorosa grotto slash Kamay ni Hesus Healing Center) took just a little more than an hour. I was expecting more people than what we arrived to, actually, because of the internet articles that say the place is always crowded on weekends. The church was full and there were plastic chairs outside to accommodate churchgoers but it’s not really crowded as what was initially imagined. I’m kinda sure, though, that Holy Week attracts more people to this place so I think it’s not a good idea to go during Semana Santa, unless you have a vow or something.


Garden of Eden, entrance to the hill

You have to go find the Garden of Eden if you wanna go up the hill. And, of course, the garden won’t be complete if there’s no Adam and Eve:


Adam and Eve

Anyway, the hill looks high and the stairs look endless in pictures but it’s really not. I’m sure even my 70-year-old nanay would be able to climb to the top twice in a row.


Last Supper

The statues are so colorful it’s like being in a kids’ playground. They don’t have the church-ey quality of being carefully sculptured to look so holy. And perhaps it’s also the color palette that gives the playground feel. After all, it’s a favorite spot for field-trips of elementary and high school students. Oh, wait! My niece had her field trip here when she’s already in third year college in Adamson.


Statue of the Ascending Christ, third largest Jesus Christ statue in the world

The statue of the Ascending Christ at the top of the hill was impressive in its size. I’ve read somewhere that it’s the third largest statue of Christ around the world with its height of 50 feet.

Signs like “Bawal Mag-Date Dito,” “Bawal Kumain Dito,” and “No Smoking” can be seen at the little area behind the big statue. There were so many bawal signs that I thought the only thing missing was “Bawal Pumunta Dito.” (Now that would summarize all those bawal signs up.)

An hour was all it took for us to finish touring the place. And it’s not even lunch time when we found ourselves outside the gates of Kamay ni Hesus. Good thing Rachel was the kind of adventurous woman who’s always willing to go somewhere else that’s not part of the original plan. And where else we went that Sunday? Now that’s another story.

Check out my other pics of Kamay ni Hesus Healing Center here.

How to get to Kamay ni Hesus Healing Center:

* Ride a Lucena-bound bus and drop off at the Lucena Grand Terminal (fare for a non-aircon bus from Alabang is Php118.00).

* In the same terminal, ride a Lucban-bound jeepney and ask to be dropped off at the grotto (fare is Php30.00).

(transportation costs sited are as of September 12, 2010)

view from the top

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Mt. Romelo - Buruwisan, Old Buruwisan, and Lansones Falls

I woke up around 3:30 AM that August 1 morning, so excited to go to a waterfall in Laguna which boasts of its freezing-cold water. Gerald, the friend who went with me to Kwebang Lampas last month, was also supposed to go with me on that waterfall trip. I texted him before I took a shower telling him to get his lazy butt out of bed. We agreed the night before to meet at my house 4:30 AM so we could start early. Ever so excited, I was all set to go a few minutes before the agreed time. But when I checked my phone for his reply, I found none.

By that time, I kinda knew something was off. I started calling him to wake him up, thinking he overslept. I rang his phone over and over for 2 hours. Nanay left for church at 6 that morning and she reminded me not to leave if Gerald wouldn’t make it.

But then I was all set wearing my new Penshoppe shorts, and with my rucksack packed especially light, I didn’t want anything (read: being stood up) to get in the way of having an eventful Sunday.

So I left home to go out alone. It was already 6:30 AM and I didn’t have any specific place to go. I didn’t wanna go to that waterfall-with-freezing-cold-water anymore because I heard it gets so crowded with local tourists on weekends. Going there alone, in the midst of people having fun swimming and picnicking, would be so sad.

While commuting towards the bus terminal in Alabang (you can always start your waypoint at the bus terminal), I fished out my tickler which I always keep in the rucksack mesh pocket, and searched in my list of destinations (something like a wish list) that I have. And since it was supposed to be a waterfall day, I wanted to keep it that way. I have another waterfall on my list, and I heard not many people go there even on a weekend – the Buruwisan Falls in Mt. Romelo.

At 7:30 AM I boarded a bus to Sta. Cruz, Laguna. After two hours, I was already seated beside the driver of a jeepney bound for Siniloan (pronounced Si-ni-loo-an). It was almost an hour ride, passing by the towns of Pakil, Pagsanjan, and a couple others I’m not familiar with. At 10:30 AM, which was quite late considering I still have to climb a mountain to reach the falls, I was dropped off across the road from a Jollibee branch and boy, was I happy! I crossed the road deciding to have a quick brunch, but once inside the store, something on the other side of the road caught my eyes.

Sts. Peter & Paul Parish, Siniloan, Laguna

I was even happier because I wouldn’t have to ask the locals for direction to their local parish anymore. Across the road, actually it’s the side of the road where the jeep dropped me off, was the Saints Peter and Paul Parish of Siniloan, Laguna. I left Jollibee and went to the church first, almost forgetting my promise to visit a church first thing upon arriving at my destination.

After a quick round of the church, I immediately left, not dropping by Jollibee anymore because it was almost 11 AM.

Mt. Romelo Jump-off Point in Barangay Macatad

I quickly hired a tricycle to go to the jump-off point in Barangay Macatad. I thought it would be a problem getting a guide, but with my rucksack and all, people at the jump-off already knew where I was headed and they all offered to be my guide. I chose a 46-year-old man who was shorter than me but looked good-hearted and talked with much zest.

The ever-so-kind guide, Ray Suplado

His name is Ray Suplado. I actually thought he was kidding with the surname but eventually found out that it was real.

The Registration Area

Anyway, I’ve already read about the official mountaineer guides at the registration but was also aware that the locals ask for a cheaper fee so I decided to just hire someone from the jump-off.

Muddy Trek

I must say that I underestimated Mt. Romelo, with its 240+ MSL and being the mountain that newbie mountaineers climb. I actually thought it was an easy trek, but it was not. The mud was horrendous. What with the tropical storms that hit the country and the almost daily afternoon rains that that part of Luzon (including Metro Manila) gets? I wouldn’t wanna dwell, though, on the hard climb because it being my first real mountain climb (I also climbed a quarter of a mountain in Laurel, Batangas some 10 years ago and it was not a climb at all when compared to Mt. Romelo), I know I could go on forever detailing how hard it was to walk up a slope on a slippery mud and how harder it was to cling on those small cement posts they had put up on the very steep parts of the trek.

A Very Steep Descent to the Falls

After almost 2 hours of walking, I felt so excited when I heard sounds of the water rushing. I knew it was the falls. And after one very steep descent, I was rewarded with this view:

Buruwisan Falls

There were around 6-8 persons about, swimming and taking pictures. One group was rappelling. I wanted to try to rappel but I was informed by my guide that you have to bring your own rappelling stuff and do it at your own risk. So never mind that.

I told my guide that I wanted to finish touring the place before we eat lunch so we headed off to Lansones Falls by following the flow of the water from the Buruwisan Falls. A few feet from the Buruwisan Falls, there was another river that connects to the one coming from the falls. We trekked the side of that river, going against the flow of its waters.

The River Coming From Lansones Falls

Rock formations were so picturesque that I stopped numerous times to admire their beauty.

Lansones Falls

Arriving at Lansones Falls, I gladly found out there was not a single mountaineer in sight. Me and my guide were alone and he told me to swim even just for a bit. I didn’t wanna swim because I was so tired but realized it was better to swim there than at Buruwisan Falls where a group of photogs was present. LoL!

So I took all my valuables from my pockets and neck and put them at the mesh pocket of my rucksack. After swimming, I forgot to take my beloved Cherry Mobile phone from the mesh pocket and that’s how it got lost. Walking in the water, jumping from one rock to another, I so many times lost my balance, bending over and stuff and that’s how the phone fell from my bag. I really should have put on the rucksack's rain cover but it was already too late when I realized that.

Old Buruwisan Falls (My Sandugo sandals just have to make a cameo. LoL!)

My guide also took me to the top of the Old Buruwisan Falls. Coming from the Lansones Falls, we trekked back to where the Lansones river joins the Buruwisan river and followed the water until the drop.

The Camp Site on top of Buruwisan Falls

After that, we climbed back up the very steep path we descended earlier to have lunch at the sari-sari store situated at the camp site which was near the drop of the Buruwisan Falls, near the rappelling spot. The guide told me we could ask the tindera to cook for us, but to our dismay, there was no rice at that time. We just settled for four packets of Lucky Me Pancit Canton which cost 13 pesos each. How much was the price of having it cooked? Depends on how much you'd be willing to give. I asked if a hundred pesos was enough for the 4 pancit canton and a bottle of Mountain Dew that cost 23 pesos, and the store owner said it was. The canton and softdrink already cost 75 pesos. 25 pesos wasn’t bad at all for the cooking, plus plates and forks. I had Hansel biscuits in my bag and I gave two of them to my guide.

The Way to Batya-Batya Falls

I knew there was a waterfall called Batya-Batya on that mountain and I asked my guide to take me there. We tried, but the water was so deep we would have to swim. The guide tried to show me how deep it was. A few steps into the blue-green pool and it was already neck-deep. Swimming wasn’t a problem at all. The problem was my bag which I didn’t pack water proof. I would have done it, though, if I knew I would be mountain climbing that day.

There was a trek in the mountain going to Batya-Batya but it was so steep my guide was worried I wouldn’t be able to descend Mt. Romelo and get to Sta. Cruz in time for the last bus bound for Alabang. It was almost 4 PM that time. He, though, offered his house for me to spend the night if I really wanted to see Batya-Batya Falls and another one named Sampaloc Falls, but I declined. Nanay would kill me. There were no cellphone signals on that part of the mountains. No Smart, no Globe, no PLDT Landine +. I knew she’s already worried that I went out nature tripping alone, what more if I didn’t go home without even a text or call?

The descent from Mt. Romelo was a breeze. I was actually surprised to find a group of mountaineers resting in front of an abandoned hut on their way down.

The Mountaineer's Stop-Over

By 5 PM I had already cleaned-up at the Mountaineer’s Stop-Over which asks for a 20-peso-fee for the use of the toilet and bath. I wasn’t able to use the toilet, though, because look at what you would have to go through if you have to do number 2:

Anyway, by 5:25 PM I was already at the Siniloan town proper, in a jeep bound for Sta. Cruz. I reached the Sta. Cruz bus terminal by 6:30 PM and was in Alabang by 8:20 PM.

Perhaps I was really destined to learn the art of travelling alone that first day of August 2010. If Gerald had come with me and we went to that other waterfall with all the local tourists who wanted to swim in its freezing waters, I wouldn’t be able to climb Mt. Romelo and see 3 waterfalls all in a day.

Now I can say that I have travelled alone to a new place, and can again travel alone in the future if I have to. Travelling with a buddy is fun, but travelling alone also has its perks and advantages. For one, you can visit three different falls one after another before you even have lunch and no one will complain (the guide didn’t, anyway). Two, your time is in your hands. You don’t have to worry about going home early because your friend wants to. Three, you can go wherever you want. I have originally planned a Mt. Romelo climb but Gerald has asthma and it can attack him while climbing.

Posing at the Lansones Falls (Thanks to Kuya Ray for this pic)

How to get to Mt.Romelo/Buruwisan Falls (from Alabang):

* Ride a bus to Sta. Cruz, Laguna (fare of a non-aircon bus from Alabang is Php77.00). Drop off at the Sta. Cruz bus terminal which is the end-point of that ride.

* Across the road from the terminal, take a jeepney bound for Siniloan (fare is Php35.00). Ask the driver to drop you off in front of Sts. Peter & Paul Parish or Jollibee.

* Beside Jollibee are tricycles you can hire to go to Mt. Romelo’s jump-off point in Brgy. Macatad. Special ride costs Php60.00.

* At the jump-off, you have the option to hire one of the locals as guide (mine asked for Php250.00 one-way so I paid Php500.00 because I didn’t wanna descend alone). If you don’t want a local, you can proceed to the Registration Area to get one of the mountaineers there as guide.

* If you decide to get a guide at the Registration Area, just follow the road until you reach the Mountaineer’s Stop-Over. Facing it, turn left and follow the road lined with trees. You will reach a river, cross it and follow the grassy path until you see a small house (pictured above) that is the Registration Office. Pay Php20.00. They’ll give you an ID if you’re staying at the mountains overnight, and not if you’ll just do a day hike.

(If you’re from Manila, make sure to schedule your descent so you’ll have enough time to reach the Sta. Cruz bus terminal to catch the last bus going to Alabang at 8:00 PM. Tricycles that will take you to Siniloan town are owned by the locals so there’s no problem with that. I was told, though, that jeepneys from Siniloan going to Sta. Cruz are only until 7:00 PM.)

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Sts. Peter and Paul Parish, Siniloan, Laguna

I went to Siniloan, Laguna last Sunday and upon arriving at the town proper, I immediately looked for the local parish. It's one of my personal rules to first and foremost visit the local church of wherever my destination is, to give thanks for arriving there safe and to pray as well for the safety of those I left at home.

Since I wasn't really prepared for a Siniloan trip (I was scheduled to go to Majayjay that day), I wasn't able to search the net for its local church beforehand. Anyway, I was sure a local or two would be willing to give me directions to their local parish if I'd kindly ask.

I didn't have to ask anyone, though, because when the jeepney driver dropped me off in the intersection where I could hire a tricycle to go to my destination, it was in front of a church.


It's not facing the road, like most churches. It's turned sideways and is flanked along the road by all sorts of stores. It's still prominent, though, because it's way higher than the shops fronting it so you won't, by any chance, miss it when you're at the area.


When you get inside, the first thing you'd notice are the life size angels holding the Holy Water stoups.


The aisle is long enough for a descent bridal walk.


And the stained-glass windows give the lighting inside the church some drama.


I wasn't able to attend mass, though. I arrived at Siniloan around 10:30 am and the Sunday services were already finished. If it's in my local Taguig parish, that time would still be so busy with the church bursting with well-dressed ninongs and ninangs for the binyag.

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Kwebang Lampas and Lukang Beach

I had planned this trip for so long, but then things started happening that it got postponed for almost a month. I originally planned going to Pagbilao, Quezon June 27th, but Princess got sick and I had to bring her to the vet June 24th. Aside from the fact that my tight budget got even tighter because of the vet trip, I couldn't possibly embark even on a one-day trip because of Princess' meds. Both Nanay and Angel, the two women I live with, were both busy (and then there's also this issue of OC-ness).

I moved the trip to the 4th of July, while the US was celebrating their independence. But Angel started getting sick July 1st and even got confined on the 3rd to the 4th. How about that?

The week after that was a lazy one, and I realized my Penshoppe slippers was already so thin I was afraid I'd go home barefoot. So I bought this pair:

Then I thought it would really push through on July 15th, Thursday, but Typhoon Basyang hit the country and a massive brownout ensued. I told myself I'd go if the power would be back on before 4am of Thursday. But it didn't. It went back on 5am. LoL!

Anyway, I thought that perhaps the powers that be didn't want me to go alone so I looked for a travel buddy. 17-year-old Gerald was oh-so-willing to come so there, we left 4:20 am Sunday, July 18th, 2010.

We're already seated behind the driver's seat of a non-aircon bus by 4:25am at the bus terminal near Jollibee Alabang. I wanted the front seat at the other side but it's already taken so we just settled behind the driver. It's too late when I realized it was a wrong decision cuz there's this campaign poster at the wind shield blocking our view of the road. But anyway, that same poster also blocked the sun from where we're seated so it wasn't that bad at all. Never mind the road.

Bus left 5:24am, and the driver over-estimated the trip when he told me the trip to Lucena Grand Terminal would take 3 hours on a Sunday with minimal traffic. We reached the terminal at exactly 8am.

At the same terminal was the queue of Pagbilao-bound jeepneys. The first in line was still empty. We sat beside the driver to get the full view of the road. No campaign poster this time, just the small sign board blocking my view. The driver guessed where we're headed with my 40 litre backpack. He then told me his jeepney wasn't only Pagbilao-bound, but Polo bound as well. The internet-how-to's told me I should drop at the Pagbilao market to take another jeepney to Ibabang Polo and we could've been so lucky we wouldn't have to take another jeep to Polo, but then I remembered Pagbilao's St. Catherine Church was also in my list of places to visit.

The driver dropped us off in front of the church which was just a few feet from the Pagbilao arch. It was a Sunday and there was an ongoing mass.

It was kinda big in comparison to my local parish.

After church, we went looking for the the market and the terminal of Ibabang Polo-bound jeepneys. A barker we asked for the direction of the market discouraged us to go there saying it's too far and that jeepneys going to Polo were already full. He told us to just take the tricycle (parked nearby) to Polo for Php350.00. But of course the guides I'd read told me otherwise. It was still so early (9am) to run out of jeepney rides.

I told the barker that we had to visit the market anyway cuz we're buying something and headed for the direction he pointed at earlier. Finding the market was an easy feat. Lots of kind people around. A smiling man in his forties even pointed us to a shortcut to the terminal.

We're on the jeepney by 9:15am, which left after 32 minutes of waiting for passengers.

And yea, it was crowded not only by people, but of baggages as well.

Exactly one hour after, we reached the jeepney terminal at Ibabang Polo. When the driver learned that we were going to Kwebang Lampas, he told us not to get off just yet cuz he would take us to the gate of Sitio Banlisan. I realized eventually that he'd actually make a u-turn there, but still, I was thankful that we didn't walk that distance anymore.

Anyway, we didn't see the PNP detachment anymore cuz the jeepney already took us to this gate. But if you're going there and the jeep drops you off at the Polo jeepney terminal, just walk a little until you find the PNP detachment to ask, or just follow the road to the left of the detachment until you see that gate above.

It was an hour of walking. The road starts concrete, then soil and mud, then gravel. The road splits somewhere but just choose the road that stays close to the power plant (that is, choose right). When you see that wall at the right side of the gravel road pictured above, that means you're already near a little compound where you could park your car or bike or whatever for a fee.

We stopped here to ask for directions cuz the compound seemed the end of the road.

The men pointed us to the open portion of their fence adjoining the power plant's walls.

They also gave us an option to ride this man-powered boat for Php30.00 but I declined. From what I read, you still have to walk after the boat ride anyway, so we headed off after thanking the men.

We just stayed close to the wall (since there's no other way around but that) until we reached the power plant’s Gate 4 as per instruction by the men. Then since there’s no other way to go around, we walked the road away from the gate.

There's a man-made river/canal to our right streaming water with white-ish foam towards the sea. Power plant waste. I'm not sure but what else could it be?

We reached what looked like a dead-end. The front and right side of the road are the seas, and to the left was a rocky down slope.

Where else would we go but the rocks? I then noticed a couple of young men at the cliff not so faraway. As we got nearer, I noticed their clothes laid out on big rocks, and there were plastic bags strewn all around. I approached them and realized they were swimming at the sea below the cliff. Another man, older than the two, was in the water.

One of them walked with us a little to point to us the track in the bushes.

It wasn't a long walk until the track went down to an almost dry swamp.

Looking across, I saw a fenced walkway and from a picture I saw on the net, that was the path that would lead us to the gate!

We knocked on the improvised gate locked with big chains. A sign just inside the gate, but was placed to make sure the people outside would see it, told us it's a private property. Huwattt? But anyway, Mang Panyo answered our knocks after a few and informed us that entrance was Php50.00. Okay, so I read it was Php35.00, but whatever. Fifty for a peek of paradise? Who's complaining?

That triangular hole on the face of the cliff is Kwebang Lampas.

And that's my silhoutte against the bright sea at the other end of the cave.

My Sandugo sandals...

I wanted to wait for sunset even if the last jeepney from Polo to Pagbilao leaves at 4:30pm. I was willing to just hire a tricycle from the parking lot/compound mentioned above for Php300 (which I larned from the jeepney driver I talked to on our way from Lucena to Pagbilao). But my Nanay called my PLDT Landline + to tell me that it was raining so hard in Taguig and that from what she heard, it was also raining in the south. Mothers know best, as the saying goes. So we started packing by 3pm. Nevermind the sunset.

As we were packing, it started getting dark so fast and we noticed the sea waves got extra strong (beer? lol!). After 15 minutes, we were all packed and started searching for Mang Panyo to say goodbye. He also introduced us to Aling Divina who also takes care of the place.

We could have run if not for the heavy bag on my back, but we made the one-hour trek forty-five minutes amidst the lightning and thunder. Scary really. I had a raincoat with me and I gave it to Gerald. His dad would kill me if he got sick because of that trip.

Luckily, we weren't caught by the rain. We were already seated safely inside the Pagbilao-bound jeepney when it poured.

By that time, I had no idea where to get a bus to Manila aside from going back to Lucena Grand Terminal. And since it's free to ask, I talked to the driver about my little dilemma. I learned that buses from Bicol en route to Manila passes by Pagbilao, and the kind driver dropped us off at the waiting shed which was just at the side of St. Catherine Cathedral.

We left the Polo terminal at exactly 4:47pm and reached St. Catherine Church at 5:45pm. The rain had already stopped to a drizzle by that time. Ten minutes later, we were seated on a non-aircon QC-bound bus. It rained hard again while we were on the bus but the activities of the day started to wear me down. I was too tired to even care.

We reached Star Mall Alabang at around 9:20pm. Another jeepney and a tricycle ride and I was safely home by 10:53pm and playing with my Princess.

Summary of how to get to Kwebang Lampas:

*Ride a bus bound for Lucena Grand Terminal (pictured above)
*At the same terminal, look for the Pagbilao-bound jeepney (pictured above)
*Get off at the Pagbilao market which is also the end-point of the ride
*Look for the Ibabang Polo terminal (pictured above)
*At the Polo terminal, walk a little to the PNP detachment and follow the road to the left / or if the jeep took you to the Sitio Basilan gate (pictured above), you're lucky
*Follow the concrete road and if the road splits, just choose the one closer to the power plant
*When you arrive at the compound/parking area (pictured above), either hire the boat for Php30 or turn right like we did and follow the path close to the power plant's wall until you reach Gate 4 (pictured above)
(if you decide to hire a boat, the rest of this how-to is invalid. if you decide to just walk, read on.)
*Walk down the road facing Gate 4 until you reach the end of it
*Go down the rocky down slope to your left towards the direction of a cliff
*The path splits, right is to the cliff, left is to Lukang Beach. Choose left.
*Follow the path until you reach the part where it goes down a muddy swamp (pictured above), and you'll see a fenced walk at the opposite side of the swamp.
*Follow the fenced trail until you see the gate (pictured above).
*Knock and wait for someone to open the gate and you'll be rewarded with the view of a paradise.

Mang Panyo apologized for the state of the beach (dried leaves and stuff) because it had only been days since Typhoon Basyang hit them. But I think it didn't make the place less breathtaking, as you can see from the pics.

Spent Php1,097.00 for this trip (for the 2 of us, and including food and drinks).

Here's a "shaky" video of the walk from the "parking area" to Lukang Beach's gate:

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