Kuwebang Lampas Quezon Province

Kuwebang Lampas - Discovering a Nice Beach in Quezon

Thursday, December 22, 2011Ryan Mach

[Approaching Kuwebang Lampas]

The primary purpose of our trip in Candelaria, Quezon one sunny day in April 2011 was to attend a friend's wedding. Friends talked about plans of spending the night on a beach so I made sure I packed some extra clothes. The hotel we stayed at had a huge pool but it had some funny smell so we weren't really enticed to take a dip. It was a good thing that we had a friend who knew a few beaches in Quezon, or rather a friend who's friends with people who know a lot of beaches in Quezon. 
[Hotel in Candelaria]

 With a few choices given to us, we went for Kuwebang Lampas (or Kwebang Lampas). It sounded interesting. How far it is from here, we asked. One to two hours. Not bad. Do we spend the night there? No, we leave before dusk. A few chatter and we called it a night. The next morning ignoring our grumbling stomach, we left the hotel and boarded a bus bound for Bicol. 
All buses en route to Bicol pass by the town of Pagbilao so we didn't have to worry about getting lost. Being hungry was a far more pressing concern. In Pagbilao, we bought some food at the nearest grocery store. It's already past 9 when we got on a jeepney bound for the town of Iba. We asked our fellow passengers how to get to Kuwebang Lampas. They told us to ask the jeepney driver if he could take us there. After some negotiation, the driver agreed.
[Nice little swamp]

 He dropped us off in Brgy. Bantigue, where we hopped on a small boat which crossed a very peaceful swamp, transferring us to a rocky beach front. We played around and took photos while waiting for another boat to take us to Kwebang Lampas. 
The boat was too small it couldn't accommodate all of us so some of our peers decided to trek to the beach. I wasn't in the mood to hike so I stayed on the tiny boat. 

Kuwebang Lampas is known for its cove with beautiful limestone rock formation. Being a beach lover that I am, I was more enthralled to see the white sand beach, which was arguably the most scenic I've seen so far.
It's just about a kilometer stretch of white sand but my golly, it's a paradise for every beach lover. A little undiscovered paradise that is hidden by limestone cliffs at both ends. Never mind if there was a large swarm of people frolicking on the beach. Never mind if we vied for space to camp and eat. 

There were a number of small cottages that lined the beach. (Rental fee was around Php400 to Php500. Access to the beach was Php50 per person.) Some people had tents, others sprawled on the grass-carpeted ground. There's a small toilet at the far end where you can change although be prepared for the highly revolting smell. 

We asked the caretaker, a kind man in his early 50s, if they allowed overnight stays. They didn't. "Well, except for family friends and visitors," he told us. We learned that the beach is privately owned by some Chinese business man who's based in Lucena City. That explained the barbed-wire that surrounded the beach. The gate made of old rusty seams was kept locked and those who wish to enter had to holler really hard to be heard. 

Getting there
Take a bus bound for Lucena (Buendia or Cubao) then get off at the terminal in Lucena. Go to Pagbilao Market Terminal and ride a jeepney en route to Brgy. Polo. Ask the driver to drop you off at the terminal and rent a trike to Puting Buhangin. 

Alternatively, you can rent a boat in Brgy. Mantigue or at the Pagbilao Wharf. With lots of routes to Puting Buhangin, you'll never get lost.  

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