Silang
Silang[dead link] is a rural municipality in Cavite, along Aguinaldo Highway. It shares a mildly cool climate with its southern neighbor, Tagaytay, but is somewhat off the beaten track.
Understand
[edit]Silang is bordered by Dasmariñas, General Mariano Alvarez, and Carmona to the north, General Trias and Amadeo on the west, Tagaytay to the south and by Laguna province to the east. It is a landlocked municipality with over 150,000 residents, scattered in 64 barangays.
Silang is rather overshadowed by nearby Tagaytay, but has a similar cool climate, and a few sights that can be visited within a day. The municipality has a large Korean community, who reside here as living is cheaper than in Tagaytay. The Seventh-Day Adventist Church in the Philippines is headquartered in this area, and they host an Adventist university along the highway between Santa Rosa and Tagaytay. Silang has many subdivisions housing some of the Filipino elites and some expats. Economic growth is making inroads through the real estate boom, so living costs slowly increases despite being rural.
Get in
[edit]By bus
[edit]- Erjohn and Almark. Bus station near Monteluce, on barangay Lalaan 1.
Silang is easily reached by bus through Aguinaldo Highway. It takes over 1 hour or even 2 from Manila due to traffic jams to the north, but can be short as 10-15 minutes from Tagaytay.
Other than from Erjohn and Almark, most buses passing through Silang don't have their own dedicated bus stations, but all the other companies serving Silang can drop you off anywhere along Aguinaldo Highway if you request. Most important for travellers are the stops along a stretch of Aguinaldo Highway that bypasses the town to the west (as Bypass Road).
By car
[edit]Two major highways pass through Silang. Aguinaldo Hwy (Rte 419 to the north, unnumbered at the bypass west of Poblacion, and Rte 410 to the south), a four-lane at-grade highway, serves the town proper and the western portion of Silang. Santa Rosa-Tagaytay Rd (Rte 420), which is being widened to four lanes, lies to the eastern side of the municipality.
From the northeast, there is the two-lane Carmona-Silang Rd (Kaong Road), connecting the town proper with Governor's Drive (Route 65) in Carmona, but it is a narrow road through villages and jungle.
Silang is the terminus of four-lane tolled Cavite-Laguna Expy (CALAx) as of 2021, but is only accessible from Laguna. The remainder of the expressway is still under construction. The existing CALAx exit (Silang East) is at Kaong, and will involve travel through narrow rural roads; Silang West exit, connecting with Aguinaldo Hwy, is under construction.
By jeepney
[edit]Jeepneys ply both highways, and is the only public transport option along Santa Rosa-Tagaytay Road.
Along Aguinaldo Highway, jeepneys run from Tagaytay down to Dasmariñas and Imus. Most enter the town proper, but some use the bypass instead.
On Santa Rosa-Tagaytay Road, there is only one route, the Balibago-Tagaytay route, which is unfortunately, operated by unfranchised and often crowded jeepneys. It is the only option to the eastern side of the municipality, and you'll likely have to take this if you travel via Santa Rosa by bus.
Get around
[edit]Tricycles are the primary mode of transportation through town and its barangays. Jeepneys are the most economical way to travel along the areas beside Aguinaldo Highway.
Most of Silang is in the countryside, dotted with barangays and crisscrossed by a network of local roads. Travelling by car is advisable if you want to avoid the hassle with tricycles, but watch out as roads are narrow and there are lots of pedestrian traffic through the barangays.
See
[edit]- Lucsuhin Natural Bridge (Cabag Cave, Lucsuhin Cave), Lucsuhin and Kalubkob (From the town proper: follow Silang-Banaybanay Road for about 1.8 km west from the Aguinaldo Highway and J. Rizal Ave. junction to the barrio of Lucsuhin, past the road to the Riviera Golf & Country Club, past the bridge over Ylang-Ylang River to barangay Calubcob. From Calubcob proper, take F. Belen Drive for about 400 m before turning right. From either point, hike.). It is a natural bridge formation between Barangay Lucsuhin and Kalubkob in Silang, Cavite. The formation crosses the Ylang-Ylang River and is the first, large natural bridge reported in the country. The bridge and cave is not a protected area.
- Silang Church (Our Lady of Candelaria Parish Church, Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria Parish Church), J. P. Rizal Street, Poblacion (Near the municipal hall). A typical Baroque church dedicated to the Virgin of Candelaria. The original parish church and its attached school was completed 1595 by the Franciscans, but were destroyed by fire in 1603. A new church was built in 1637-39, and dedicated in 1640, and its belfry was damaged by earthquakes in 1880 and repaired in 1989. It became a Spanish Civil Guard (Guardia Civil) outpost against a local uprising by Filipino general Vito Belarmino during the Philippine Revolution in 1896.
Do
[edit]- 1 Riviera Golf Course and Country Club, Biluso, ☏ +63 2 808-9089. M-Sa 5AM-7PM, Su 5AM-7:30PM. 36 holes, has a Korean restaurant. The course's terrain is flat, but challenging due to winds, but the weather is generally clear and temperatures are cooler.
Buy
[edit]- Acienda Designer Outlet, KM 48 Aguinaldo Highway, Lalaan Primero (near Balinsasayaw. Many southbound buses headed for Tagaytay stop here), hello@aciendadesigneroutlet.com. Opened 2018, this open-air outlet mall houses a collection of 100 designer clothing shops in four European-themed sections. It main catch is that most items are 70% off the tag price, all year round.
- Ilog Maria Honeybee Farm, 4118 Aguinaldo Highway (From Manila: Take Aguinaldo Highway toward Tagaytay. If you pass Santis, you've gone too far. From Tagaytay Rotonda: Take Aguinaldo Highway to Manila, if you pass the Adventist compound, you've gone too far). Large assortment of products sourced from the farm's honeybees such as soap, propolis and royal jelly, shampoo, and Honey Cider vinegar. Their throat spray is quite effective for smokers.
Eat
[edit]- Balinsasayaw, KM 48 Aguinaldo Highway, Lalaan 1 (Near Acienda). They serve good Filipino food inside bahay kubo cottages, with fly and mosquito netting, fans, and power outlets.
Drink
[edit]Sleep
[edit]- Marius B&B and Hostel, 9007 R. Asuncion Street, Tubuan 2. Rooms are air-conditioned, and the in-house restaurant has good food. ₱1300.
- Monteluce, Kilometer 48 Aguinaldo Highway, Lalaan 1 (Near the Erjohn and Almark bus station). There are four buildings, with all-air-conditioned rooms and an outdoor swimming pool. Parking is free. From ₱1500.
Go next
[edit]| Routes through Silang |
Continues to Dasmariñas as  ← |
N  S |
→ Tagaytay |
| Dasmariñas ← | N S |
→ Continues to Tagaytay as |