Antipolo Cathedral

The International Shrine of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage sits on the ridge at Antipolo, high enough that the view back over Metro Manila from the surrounding streets takes in the whole basin. The image it houses arrived from Mexico in 1626 and was carried on eight galleon crossings of the Pacific, which is where the Good Voyage title comes from - travellers still come to have journeys blessed, and the shrine was raised to international status in 2021, the first in the country. Its best-known custom is the Alay Lakad: on the eve of the first day of May and through the month, tens of thousands walk overnight from Manila up the hill to hear Mass at dawn, a tradition that has been going for generations. The cathedral itself is a modern building, wide and plain, rebuilt after the war. Antipolo around it is a hill town of viewpoints, restaurants and the Hinulugang Taktak falls, and the road up is a standard weekend escape from the city.

What you actually see

• The Marian image - the Good Voyage figure above the altar.
• The hill setting - Metro Manila spread out below the ridge.
• The Alay Lakad crowds - the May walking pilgrimage.
• The modern cathedral - the wide post-war shrine building.

When to go

Year-round; May is the pilgrimage season and the shrine is at its busiest and most interesting then. Weekends bring heavy traffic up the hill from the city.

Honest expectations

The building is modern and architecturally plain - the interest is the devotion, not the fabric. Traffic to Antipolo is slow at weekends, and the May crowds are enormous.

Nearby

Hinulugang Taktak is minutes away; the Rizal viewpoints and restaurants line the ridge road.