Iriga
Iriga is a city in Camarines Sur, at the center of the Rinconada District where residents speak a unique variety of Bikol language called Rinconada.
Get in
By plane
Cebu Pacific and Philippines Airlines have many daily flights from Manila to Naga City airport (WNP IATA). Travel time is 35 minutes.
From the highway going past the Naga City airport, take a bus, van or a jeepney to Iriga City. Travel time is approximately 45 minutes.
You can also take a Cebu Pacific or Philippines Airlines flight from Manila to Legazpi City (DRP IATA) instead. Travel time is 45 minutes. On a clear day you will see the majestic Mayon volcano near the airport. From there, you can take a bus or a van which will take you to Iriga City.
By bus
- 🌍 Iriga City Central Terminal (ICCT). Opened 2005, it is a spartan structure serving all buses arriving at Iriga, as well as jeepneys coming from nearby towns. From there, you can catch a tricycle into the downtown.
Companies like Philtranco, Peñafrancia Tours, and Bicol Isarog Bus Lines operate daily trips from Manila, and takes about 9 hours, with stopovers for meals. Bus fare is about ₱700, including the charge for meals.
See
- Mount Iriga (Formerly Mount Asog). An extinct volcano, its last recorded eruption was January 4, 1614 which formed Lake Buhi. It has an elevation of 1,196 m (3,924 ft) with Ilian Hill sits toward the bottom a few kilometers above barrio San Nicolas.
- Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, Calvario Hill (above Iriga Plaza Hotel). Once the supposed home of a witch (aswang) later became the place where the reenactment of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in the hill of Calvary hence the name Calvario. During World War II, the Japanese Imperial Army took advantage of its strategic location of having a good view of the town proper, used it as a garrison. It is here where countless Irigueños who opposed their presence suffered imprisonment, torture and death.; The grotto provides a panoramic view of downtown Iriga and the surrounding barrios. In the early 1970s the hill was slowly developed, using the stone bricks from blasted boulders to build the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes to its present grandeur.
- Tinagba Park. Built to honor and commemorate the Lady of Lourdes. What was used to be the old children's park just below the church, became this beautiful park designed for everybody but more so for the children, the future of Iriga.
- New Social Hall. Local farmers sun-dried their rice grain prior to milling. Local and neighboring basketball teams competed every summer. Special events and social gatherings as New Year's Eve masquerade balls were held here for many years. But during the monsoon season one could almost go swimming.; This new, sheltered building, hosts the same activities and more, sporting activities, social gatherings, special events, seminars and workshops, except rice drying.
- Ilian Hill. At the bottom of Mount Iriga in Barangay San Nicolas, this promontory provides a panoramic view of Iriga City, Baao and Bato Lakes.
- Inorogan Chapel, Santo Domingo. The chapel was built by a local philanthropist to commemorate the miraculous escape from the death and destruction by inhabitants during Mount Sumagang's eruption in 1614. The miracle is attributed to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary whose image as Our Lady of Angustia was said to have been found at the present chapel site by Agta hunters.:
- Mount Iriga Crater and Gully. After its last recorded eruption on January 4, 1614, a 500 ft (150 m) deep gully from the summit was formed. Wild berries and local pine trees (agoho, pronounced ah-goo-HAW) grow abundantly due to the rather cold environment. Below is Mount Iriga and the gully as viewed from Lake Buhi.
Sleep
- Sampaguita Tourist Inn (Nabua). Check-in: noon, check-out: noon. Fan/a.c. single/double rooms with own bathroom and cable TV. From ₱300.
Go next
| Routes through Iriga |
| Naga ← Pili ← | N S | → Polangui → Legazpi |
| Lucena ← Naga ← | N S | → Polangui → Ligao |