The Province of Albay is home to some of the country's century-old Churches. Some of them have not survived the test of time the wrath of Mayon Volcano while others who were partially damaged has withstood various catastrophes and still stand proud for everyone to see.The town of Daraga, which is just adjacent to the capital City of Legaspi has two famous churches with different fate. The more popular Cagsawa Church (to be featured next post)was buried beneath rocks and lava spewn out of Mayon's mouths and what remains today is the top portion of a belfry. The other one is the scenic Church of Nuestra Señora de la Porteria more popularly known as Daraga Church.
The Daraga Church was built in 1773 by Franciscan missionaries. Daraga was just a barrio of the town of Cagsawa back then. The catastrophic eruption of Mayon Volcano on early 1800s destroyed this Church and only the belfry remains. The Church then was slowly rebuilt maintaining its true form back then. It was declared a National Cultural Treasure by the National Historical Institute in 2007.
The interior of the church is nothing to rave about because it is somewhat modernized and the ceilings do not have much ornaments but the facade of this Church is so magnificent that I made sure to go back here on my second day in Albay just to shoot the facade in the morning where the rays of the sun illuminates the facade. Here are some shots of this historical Church on my Day 2 visit day.
To go to Daraga, there are jeepneys plying the route from Legaspi City to Daraga. Travel time is just a little above ten minutes. Ask to be dropped-off at Daraga Market and you can just walk-up to Daraga Church.
Let me share this Church and Volcano to all my friends at My World. To see other amazing places around the globe, please click here.
The Cagsawa Ruins on my next post.
42 took the journey:
i really have to see that mayon volcano up close! nakita ko lang yan ng slight from plane pa nung nag cebu kami.
Ang ganda naman, kakakita ko lang nito sa isang movie recently eh. Such an amazing and beautiful place.
Wow naman! ganda talaga pagmasdan ang church at ang volcano... astig!
LS: Amazing place to visit and take photos, so nicely captured.
I've been to Albay only once, but I wasn't really able to enjoy it because it was a work-related trip. At least I've seen Mayon Volcano up close!
Love this scenery! Beautiful.
I really want to see Mayon Volcano up close, I want to experience this majestic volcano and i want to brag this to friends as well. Ang ganda ng kuha mo!
huwow. ang ganda ng church. that's way, way better than the manila cathedral. na-disappoint ako nung nakita ko yun a few weeks back.
fantastic photos. i like the addition of jeepney on the foreground in that mayon volcano image.
很用心的部落格 路過留言支持 .................................[/url]...............
gusto ko ito makita ng malapitan
yes! muli ko na naman nasilayan ang lugar ng aking mga magulang!..:)
the facade of this church is beautiful, and those steps are so romantic...perfect for those wedding shots.:p i wonder why it has a plain interior. you got great shots of Mayon--mine was cloudy, i barely saw the tip of the cone. tanghali na kasi.:(
GENIUS ang mga kuha sa larawan...ang galing!How I wish makapunta ako jan...
i like the first and last shot. yung last buti hindi ka nahuli nung binasag mo yun. hahaha
Ang ganda nga ng simbahan, astig pa ang kulay ng sky. Parang ang sarap ikasal dyan.
when i saw the picture of mayon. just wow! just like mountains on chinese ninja movies.
I like the sight of the Mayon Volcano!! : )
The views are simply breath-taking. That would be the perfect place for a picturesque wedding. OMG.
@ princess_dyanie - you should see it up-close, mayon is a sight to experience at leaast once in this lifetime.
@ d fat man - anong movie? i bet marami nag sho-shoot doon kasi napakascenic talaga ng place.
@ i am xprosaic - korek ka jan bro.
@ fishing guy - thank you, one of my country's pride.
@ the gasoline dude - that's cool, you can almost always see mayon wherever you are in albay... that is, if does not hide into the clouds. :)
@ regina - thanks, really one of the Philippines awesome sight.
@ sheng - maraming salamat, you should go on a bicol trip in the future. :)
@ the scud - isa sa pinakamagandang facade ng church na nakita ko. di ko pa nafe-feature ang manila cathedral, maybe someday pag wala na malibutan.
@ photo cache - nakapark lang ang jeep byaheng legaspi to daraga :)
@ rafter - byahe na :)
@ pamatayhomesick - ang ganda talaga ng lugar ng mga magulang mo :)
@ luna miranda - plain lang yung interior nya pero grabe naman sa ganda ang facade. swerte nga eh kasi nagpakita ang tip ng mayon although on most cases eh nakatago sya sa ulap.
@ jag - salamat. byahe na. it's just 10 hours away from manila.
@ dong ho - thanks bro. maingat ko binasag yun para di makagulo sa misa lols.
@ vinzent - pasakal, este pakasal ka na :)
@ gillboard - perfect cone kasi talaga no? awesome.
@ foongpc - thanks. you should include this in your itinerary when you visit philippines.
@ vanessa - ayun oh, si vinzent gusto din ikasal dito. pakasal na kayo, ako kunin nyo photographer lols. kiddin'.
I like the last shot too. Is the church well maintained?
That's quite a dramatic photo! I love the juxtaposition of the church with the volcano.
OMG. Ikasal ba ko bigla? Sino ba si Vinzent Hahaha.
So beautiful. You take good pictures. Wish I could visit this place someday.
Thanks for the visit
what a view---what a backdrop. definitely one of the most picturesque church in the Philippines....
What a beautiful place. That church is amazing and the mountain backdrop is magnificent.
What a spectacular view from this church on the hill. Great shot!
It's a miracle that it is still standing !
困難的不在於新概念，而在於逃避舊有的概念。............................................................
人生有如洶湧的波濤,如果沒有岩石的阻擋，怎能激起美麗的浪花？............................................................
last shot is nice!
parang familiar yang DAraga, pero i checked my photos, wala ako so probably di ko napuntahan. hehe
the phillppines has so many beautiful sights! I'm envious of u guys living there.
Philippines is definitely an awesome place! :D I'm planning to visit this place this year... Sana matuloy! Haha!
How creative to have shuttered through the broken glass. One of the very few words that I learned during my stay there was "magayong daraga". I like its meaning.
Looks like a nice place. Beautiful shots.
@ uno - thanks. the church is well maintained. other than few broken glass windows, everything seem to be ok.
@ kathiesbirds - thanks, lots of history between the two structures.
@ vanessa - check him out hehehe
@ eden - thanks, hope you could visit the place too.
@ pusang kalye - korek ka jan, one of my fave church in albay so far.
@ hip-chick - thanks for the visit.
@ pat - thank you :)
@ gattina - yup. i agree. this one survived the wrath of lava flows.
@ chyng - you should check this out next time, maganda yung church lalo na sa umaga.
@ stan - come visit us anytime, we have lots of beautiful sights to offer and would make you go WOW.
@ traveliztera - good luck, and enjoy your travels :)
@ witsandnuts - teka. magayon means beautiful so i guess that means Beautiful Daraga. May meaning ba yung daraga?
@ evelyn - thanks. the place is truly beautiful.
It could be frustrating to always find churches which are well-restored from the outside and yet very modern inside. But thanks for sharing this. I'm not much of a Bicol region adventurer yet for one reason or another but the thought of exploring these areas more cross my mind every once in a while.
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