Taal Road

Taal Road

Taal is historical with many preserved old houses. The massive Basilica sits up on a hill dominating the town and overlooking the Balayan Bay. Taal is also known for cloth embroidery. There are several museums and heritage homes that can be visited. We arrived in Taal shortly before noon but we wanted to stick to our lunch objective in Tagaytay so we were off again after a short prayer in the Basilica. There are several relatively good restaurants in Taal. Their speciality is the soupy and beefy bulalo and tawilis, a small fish which apparently only grows in Taal Lake.

Taal Basilica Doorway

San Martin

From Taal you enter Lemery and you will have the Balayan Bay immediately to your left. This road ends up in Nasugbu. There are 3 turnoffs after entering Lemery, the first backtracking to Alitagtag and Sta. Teresita bypassing Taal, the next going to Agoncillo and onto Talisay and the third in Calaca going to Tagaytay. The last turnoff is the one you wish to take. On a previous trip also with mom, we decided to take the Agoncillo road that hugs the coast of Taal Lake and ends up in Talisay below Tagaytay. This route is quite isolated but the close up views of the volcano island are spectacular. The road was very rough to non-existent and put my 4X4 to good use. Suffice it to say that mom, who was in good health then, almost had a heart attack. The drive took twice the amount of time as compared to using the regular route. It was awesome.

Taal Basilica Interior

Taal Basilica Facade

Cuenca Turnoff

Cuenca Road

Cuenca is a pleasant place to drive through. The terrain is hilly with denser forest cover. The view is dominated by Mount Maculot. About halfway through Cuenca, we found out what the sign at the turnoff was trying to tell us. The bridge on the main road was out. Fortunately, a local offered to ride with us and show us an alternate route through interior roads. He mentioned that there was a bit of rough road but assured us that our 4X4 could take it. Mom sat straighter in her seat and appeared to be making a silent novena. From experience, these locals have a tendency of understating road conditions and distances so I took this with a chuckle and a grain of salt. There is a related story when we get past Lemery later.

Mt. Maculot In Clouds

Leaving Cuenca

Star Toll Turnoff

Star Toll Entry

The first exit on the Star Toll is the Sambat Exit that takes you to the lakeside town of Talisay where there is a turnoff that leads to Tagaytay up a well paved but steep and curvy road. This is a good alternative when traffic is extra heavy on the traditional routes. After the climb you will find yourself close to the Tagaytay Picnic Grove. Talisay, by the way, is where you can hire boats to go to the Taal Volcano island. There are several resorts along the lakeside road including the Taal Yatch Club. You will emerge in Lemery if you follow this road to the end. I make reference to this route later approaching from the opposite end of the road.

Sambat Exit

Star Toll Road

The star toll is a pleasure to drive. It is well paved and traffic is always light. The road climbs and dips making driving interesting. The countryside also opens up in all its green glory. There are a number of exits to places unknown that are so tempting to explore but keep an eye out for the exit before the end of the toll way. You will want to take the Batangas exit and not the Lipa exit which will bring you to Lipa proper with its city-style traffic. There is a break in the road where you will have to make a short U-turn crossing the opposite lane onto the exit toll plaza bringing you back to the national highway on which you turn right going towards Batangas City.

Star Toll Exit

Lipa Road