Celebrating Pahiyas Festival in Lucban

Pahiyas Festival, May 2016 Pahiyas Festival 2017 Schedule

A 4-hour bus ride from the metro, Lucban, Quezon is home for the famous Pahiyas Festival being celebrated every May of the year. Not only for the festival where you can find houses blooming of flowers and plants but Lucban, Quezon is also known for Pancit Lucban in which it has originated and derived its name.

I was invited by a friend to go with him together with another friend last May and without any hesitation I said yes because I also want to experience the festival. We actually did a day tour at Lucban and went home really exhausted due to long walking. Lucban is just a small town and can be toured in half day. During the festival, jeepneys and other large vehicles are prohibited from entering town so people and tourists do not really have a choice but to walk. So better wear shoes when you go there.

I will try to remember every detail of the trip to share our festive experiences with you which I think may be helpful if you are planning to celebrate Pahiyas Festival on May 2017.

So here we go.

1:00 am – Meet-up at Cubao (went to a bus station in Kamuning)

1.30am – Bus departed (I forgot the bus name. I am not sure if it was Jam)

5:45 am – Arrived at Quezon along national road

6:45 am – Arrived at Lucban via jeepney from the national road and walked for 10mins toward town proper

7:00 am – Started our morning walking tour, visiting colorful houses

7:45 am – Breakfast at Cafe San Luis

8:45 am – Attended Mass (we tried but it was too crowded), toured the town and visited shops instead

9:00 am – Coffee time at Ryu Cafe

1:00 pm – Kamay Ni Hesus

We were welcomed by this. Such a nice view.

We walked from here toward the town proper for about 10mins.

The houses in town bloomed that day. They put colorful flower ornaments in their houses, both real and paper flowers. There were also vegetables hanging.

You might want to dine here. I have read a lot of good reviews about Mustiola’s. Like us, we lined up but there were a lot of people that day so we ate at the nearby cafe.

We had breakfast at Cafe San Luis at the very center of the town. A bunch of diners waited outside including us. We also saw “Badjao Girl” strolling town before she became an internet sensation and seen on TV after that week. Cool.

After breakfast, we went to church to attend the mass but it was full and too crowded so we decided to tour and visit shops in the town instead.

San Isidro Church

After we visited shops and bought some souvenirs, we dropped at Ryu  toCafe not just for the coffee but also to use the bathroom and to relax our tired feet. The cafe is small but cozy. I think the only cafe of its kind in town. A must try for all coffee lovers out there.

The cafe opens at 9 am (we waited for the cafe to open, we came there early but customers were lining up already). We stayed for about an hour.

On our way out of town, we stopped by a stall and ate the famous Pancit Lucban or locally called Habhab. We also met Kuya Habhab (a cute guy selling Habhab). Lol.

Before ending our day tour, we decided to go to Kamay Ni Hesus as we went out of town. We climbed thousand steps to reach the top of the hill. No kidding. If you will do this, please do not forget to bring extra clothes because you will sweat like a pig. And that’s for sure.?

Kamay Ni Hesus

End of our day tour.

We left Lucban around 4 pm and reached the national road at 5.30pm because of traffic. We arrived in Manila at 10:00pm.

Total Expenses: P600

Transportation – Bus-P280 two-way,   Jeepney -P50 two way

Food – P120 breakfast, P100 coffee, Habhab merienda P50

Pasalubong – P200 (optional)

Candles at Kamay Ni Hesus – P50 (optional)

Check 2017 Schedule http://www.pahiyasfestival.com/2017/2017/04/09/schedule-of-events-2017/