A 1930 Batangas Road Trip Guide
This page contains all the text from the Batangas Road Trip section of the 1930 edition of “The Official Road Guide1.” This guide was first published in 1911 as “The Philippine Motor Car Blue Book,” intended for motor enthusiasts in the country, probably mostly Americans. This edition offered guides for many destinations, but for obvious purposes, transcribed for this web site are only those about Batangas destinations.
A motor vehicle along Dewey Boulevard. Image credit: U.S. Library of Congress. |
Manila to Batangas
Via Calamba, Tanauan, Lipa and RosarioRoute 1 and Route 19
MAP ON PAGE 161
Kms. | Miles | |
55.2 | 34.3 | JUNCTION. Turn right at sign post on Route 1. |
56 | 34.8 | Pass left turn for Philippine Sugar Estates. |
57.7 | 35.9 | Fine view of Lake Laguna. High fill ahead. |
58.6 | 36.4 | Concrete Bridge on sharp turn left. Overhead railroad crossing. |
59.4 | 38.4 | Top of the grade between Calamba and Sto. Tomas. S curves ahead |
62.6 | 38.9 | Railroad crossing followed by sharp turn left. |
63.5 | 39.5 | Steel Bridge, L A G U N A - B A T A N G A S BOUNDARY LINE. End of asphalt section, luxurious vegetation, coconuts, mangoes, bamboo, etc. |
66.0 | 41.0 | Concrete bridge on S curve. |
67.7 | 42.1 | STO. TOMAS. Straight through town. |
68.1 | 42.3 | Turn left to ALAMINOS, Laguna. (Second-class road 12 Kms.) |
68.3 | 42.4 | Railroad crossing. |
69.9 | 43.4 | Road left to ALAMINOS. |
70.0 | 43.5 | Steel bridge on S curve. |
70.6 | 43.8 | TANAUAN. Follow main street, lined with two rows of big trees. Just beyond Kilometer Post 71, about 40 meters from this Km. post, turn left at sign board. The road straight ahead leads to TALISAY, 16 kilometers via AMBULONG. |
75.6 | 46.9 | SLOW. Railroad crossing; approaches invisible. |
83.9 | 52.1 | JUNCTION for TAAL VOLCANO. Straight ahead. Road to right to BALETE on Lake Taal 11.2 Km. |
86.9 | 54 | Curve right into LIPA. |
A road map published in the 1930 Official Road Guide. |
[p. 175]
of the town or villa, as it was then called, stands imposingly the stately cathedral and tower built of massive rocks and sand brought from the shore of Bombon Lake. It was said that even women participated in the building of the church. It was at this church that Colonel Navas with his brave Spaniards took his last desperate stand to uphold the sovereignty of Spain and surrendered only after he lost one of his arms and after his soldiers and women imprisoned in the church suffered indescribable hunger and exhaustion following two weeks of continuous battle against the Filipino revolutionists who attacked from all sides.
Kms. | Miles | |
87.4 | 54.3 | Turn square to left of presidencia at sign board. Gasoline and refreshments may be had at native tienda on corner. The road to SAN JOSE is second class. |
96.3 | 59.8 | Pass town of old ROSARIO on left. |
100 | 62.1 | ROSARIO. Concrete market on left of road. Artesian well in market site. |
100.1 | 62.2 | Right turn. (Left turn leads to Candelaria, Tayabas Province, via Bolbok, marked by sign board. Road is first-class from Rosario to Candelaria 32 kilometers). |
102.5 | 63.7 | CAUTION. T0 107.2 some narrow concrete culverts. |
107.6 | 66.7 | Two bridges on S curve. |
108 | 67.1 | Through IBAAN. Three artesian wells. |
108.5 | 67.4 | Turn to right in front of church. |
113.8 | 70.6 | Pass over Sabang Bridge. This is the highest concrete bridge in [the] Philippine Islands; 105 feet above sea leve. |
114 | 70.8 | Zig-zag up hill; 7% grade. Drive carefully. |
117.2 (110.9) | 72.8 | Left turn at junction of road from San Jose. From this point, the kilometer indications on posts are for distances from Manila via San Jose, i.e., the old route which is km. 6.3 less than via Rosario. |
119.9 (113.3) | 74.5 | Pass entrance to old CAMP MCGRATH, on to left. (Now abandoned.) |
120 (113.7) | 74.6 | Entrance to Provincial Capitol Building. |
121 (114.7) | 75.2 | Turn left. Right for Batangas-Bauan-Nasugbu Road. |
121 (115.5) | 75.7 | BATANGAS. |
[p. 176]
[p. 177]
Lipa to Batangas via San Jose
Kms. | Miles | |
87.8 | 54.6 | LIPA. |
88.87 | 55.2 | Pass right turn for Lipa station. End of first-class road. |
89.8 | 55.8 | Four railroad crossings ahead. |
93.9 | 58.3 | Railroad crossing. |
100 | 62.1 | SAN JOSE. Follow main street straight through town. From here on, road is wider and better. |
100.5 | 62.4 | Railroad crossing. |
107.6 | 66.9 | Railroad crossing, Mahabang-Parang Station on left. |
110.9 | 68.9 | Sign post. Junction of main road from Manila via Rosario on left. |
114.7 | 71.3 | Turn left (Right for Bauan-Nasugbu Road). Pass right turn for Batangas Station. |
115.5 | 71.8 | BATANGAS. |
Rosario to Candelaria
Kms. | Miles | |
100.84 | 62.7 | ROSARIO. |
101.2 | 62.8 | Narrow concrete culvert. Also at 101.6 |
102.8 | 63.9 | POOC |
104.4 | 64.9 | TIQUIAUAN. |
[p. 178]
Kms. | Miles | |
111.8 | 69.5 | ALUPAY. |
113.2 | 70.3 | PINAGSIBAAN. |
118.2 | 73.5 | PALAHANAN. |
119.3 | 74.1 | SICO. |
121.2 | 75.3 | CALICANTO. |
122.0 | 75.8 | MARAYKET. |
122.4 | 76.0 | BOLBOK. |
124.9 | 77.5 | New steel bridge at Malaking River replaces ferry. Toll. At this point, marking changes. Junction with Manila Main South Road at Km. 114.87 turn left for CANDELARIA, right for LUCENA. |
Batangas-Nasugbu
Route 17
Kms. | Miles | |
114.7 | 71.3 | Two railroad crossings ahead. |
114.7 | 71.3 | BATANGAS JUNCTION. Start from road junction at sign post. |
115.2 | 71.6 | Railroad crossing. |
121.2 | 75.3 | BAUAN. Careful; slow; narrow streets. Turn right through plaza, passing church on left. There is a gradual up-grade after leaving Bauan. |
121.5 | 75.5 | SLOW. Left. |
122.2 | 75.9 | CAUTION. Bridge on curve. Turn left for Mabini (road under construction). |
129 | 80.1 | Summit. |
129.1 | 80.2 | Pass first-class road on right beyond ALITAGTAG, Km. 3, and CUENCA, Km. 10. Road from beyond Alitagtag to Cuenca is first-class, and from Cuenca to Lipa second-class. |
[p. 179]
Kms. | Miles | |
137.3 | 85.3 | TAAL, plaza. Narrow streets with sharp turns. The old church on the plaza, the largest in the Philippines, is worthy of a visit. To continue trip west, at far side of plaza, turn left, passing municipal building on corner, down narrow street to sharp right turn. |
138.1 | 87.7 | Turn right for Pansipit fisheries, narrow road under construction. |
138.3 | 85.9 | Cross bridge over Taal River into |
138.8 | 86.2 | LEMERY. Follow main road through town |
140 | 87 | Enter causeway at Kilometer Post 140. |
142 | 88.2 | Sandy dirt road. |
143.3 | 88.9 | CAUTION. From this point for eleven kilometers, there are several streams to ford, with quick dips and short turns. Drive slowly. |
152.6 | 94.8 | CALACA. SLOW; narrow streets. |
160.0 | 99.4 | Steel bridge and sharp curve. |
162.6 | 101 | BALAYAN. |
171.5 | 106.6 | TUY. Junction of new road being constructed through Cavite-Batangas hills to connect with Cavite Road, via MENDEZ NUÑEZ and NAIC. Progress on this construction has been slow. |
175 | 108.7 | Beautiful view of hills and valleys. |
176.6 | 109.3 | Turn right for Cavite (road under construction). |
177,1 | 109.9 | Turn left for Lian and Calatagan (road under construction). |
177.2 | 110.1 | PALICO Bridge. |
186 | 115.6 | NASUGBU. First-class road to WAWA, 2 kilometers beyond, the steamer landing for the great Roxas estates. |
Notes and references:
1 “Official Road Guide, 1930 Edition,” published 1930 by the Sugar News Company, online at the National Library of the Philippines Digital Collectdions.
2 The word “eighteenth” was used erroneously. The period referred to was the late 1800s and, thus, was the nineteenth century.