Nagcarlan Underground Cemetery

The Nagcarlan Underground Cemetery looks mighty historical and grand, with its manicured lush greens and uniform flower bushes. In person, the whole place is in smaller scale. Especially the underground itself. Nonetheless, it was very fascinating and educational.

Opening hours could extend up to 5PM, depending on the amount of guests on site. It is a museum after all. It took us around 2hrs drive from Manila via SLEX. We passed Calamba Exit to avoid traffic, and proceeded to Sto. Tomas Exit. From here, we passed by the towns of Sto. Tomas, Alaminos, and San Pablo. When you see SM San Pablo, you're in the right track. There's an intersection here, follow signs or jeepneys going to Rizal and Nagcarlan, or simply ask for directions.

The gates will be to your left, and very close to the road. Good thing there's a gasoline station on the other side of the road. Almost everyone's parked there. You can pay those manning the vehicles, any fee you like, basically.

We loved the old concrete tomb walls. What ruined the overall mood were the modern roofing and houses were peering behind. Still, they preserved everything they could within the compound.

It's a bit underwhelming if you expected several kilometers of old cemetery and landscaped gardens.

The chapel is focal point, from the gates, the brick pathway leads straight here.

It was raining when we visited. Try going when it's dry so the clear, blue sky can beautifully contract the facade.

The Nagcarlan Undergound Cemetery is declared a museum. Inside, the curator (who also helps sell souvenir/food items) will answer all your queries. According to her, all of these tombs are filled already and used to be available only for Nagcarlan born-and-bred, and those prominent personalities of the time.

Even with preservation programs, they admittedly cannot polish the whole structure as it would lose the authentic design and style. So if it looks this old and beaten, it's because it really is.

Inside, caretakers and the curator sells local delicacies and products.

There are postcards, fans, rosaries, etc..

Inside the chapel, a Black Nazarene lies at the altar. There are several pews for seating.

I think the small area of the chapel is same as the area of the underground cemetery. On the right would be the concrete stairs.

Tiles from original construction still lives.

From the basement, here's the view of the stairs going up. There are corner light bulbs installed.

This is the large chamber, or the one underneath the chapel. I was surprised there wasn't more of it, but people took their time taking photos and selfies anyway, at every corner possible.