PHILIPPINES. QUEZON. VILLA ESCUDERO.

VILLA ESCUDERO.

Villa Escudero is nestled in Tiaong, Quezon and a two-hour drive away from Manila. The resort has become a prime tourist destination for locals, overseas Filipinos and a wide array of visitors from all over the world.

It was founded in the 1880s by Don Placido Escudero and his wife Dona Claudia Marasigan. Originally created as a sugar cane plantation, the crop was converted to coconut by their son Don Arsenio Escudero in the early 1900s. A pioneering agro-industrialist, he built the country’s first working hydroelectric plant to supply his dessicated coconut factory and Villa Escudero, built by him and his wife Dona Rosario Adap in 1929. Their children opened the estate to the public in 1981. (Source: https://villaescudero.com/about-us/ )

WHAT AWAITS YOU AT VILLA ESCUDERO?

My first visit to Villa Escudero was back in 2015. My aunt brought my Austrian friends and me to this amazing place to give us a broad insight about the Philippines culture. In December 2019, my fiance and I came back for another visit and before I go more into detail about our day trip, I can tell you it was again absolutely worth it. We started our tour at the tourist centre, which looks like a huge bamboo hut. After purchasing the tickets and entering the venue, we were welcomed with authentic, home-made Filipino drinks. We were then escorted to the carabao-wagon station. A carabao is a domestic swamp-type water buffalo 🙂

First stop was the Escudero Private Museum, which looks like an old fashioned spanish church from the outside. Inside you can find huge variety of artifacts that have been collected over decades from all over the world. On the ride to the next stop, a couple of Filipino folk musicians joined and entertained us with traditional Pinoi songs.

The second stop was the Labasin Waterfalls restaurant, one of the center-pieces of Villa Escudero. Situated at the bottom of the aforementioned hydroelectric powerplant, a staircase leads to a traditional Filipino all-you-can-eat buffet, offering all kinds of meals – also kamayan style, if desired – and invites the guests to sit down and enjoy while cooling their feet in the shallow flowing water.

Kamayan style means using your bare hands to eat, but don‘t worry, cuttlery is also provided 🙂

To continue the tour, we just had to follow a pathway back to the top of the waterfalls, where we treated ourselves to drinks and the typical Filipino dessert „Halo-Halo“ in a nice cafeteria.

In the immediate vicinity of the cafeteria additional activities were offered, e.g. „Bamboo Rafting“ (paddle a native bamboo raft on still waters of the river), a generous swimming pool area or a lovely Filipino store, where you can get unique regional souvenirs for friends and family at home.

A last ride with a carabao-wagon brought us back to the tourist centre, where our journey started.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS.

Villa Escudero is truely a showcase for the Philippines’ rich cultural heritage. It offers all visitors a glimpse of its history, cuisine, dress, customs and natural beauty.

The Escudero private museum is full of various artifacts, but if you are not interested in stuff like that, just skip this spot 🙂

Although the Labasin Waterfalls are not of natural origin, it is a nice place to visit, especially on a hot day. The all-you-can-eat traditional Filipino buffet offers a lot of different dishes and is a great opportunity to taste the big variety of Filipino Food.

ALSO GOOD TO KNOW.

At Villa Escudero you can do a lot of activites and because of the vastness of the area , you should plan at least a whole day. If you prefer to explore the area for two or three days, you can book a nice accomandation at the Villa Escudero Resort.

JOY(NT) VENTURE TRAVEL TIP.

If you plan to travel through the Philippines and you are nearby, I can recommend Villa Escudero for a day trip. It is a nice combination of outside activities and delicious food.

IMPRESSIONS.