Pilgrimage sites to visit this holy week in Pangasinan

Being a pre-dominantly Catholic country, the Philippines holds lots of religious activities, one of which is the observance of Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection.

Lenten season or Holy week is one of the most sacred times for Catholics. This is the time that everyone performs sacrifices and religious vows through different traditions like going to different pilgrimage sites.

In Pangasinan there are various pilgrimage sites to visit where everyone can spend holy week.

Listed are the most popular:

Natividad Sky Plaza

Natividad Sky Plaza is a park built on top of a hill beside the Caraballo Mountains in Bachelor East Natividad, Pangasinan.

A chapel and a 287-step concrete stairway leads to a grotto of the Virgin Mary and a 30-foot Holy Cross on near the hilltop.

From the cross is a winding trail leading to the mountaintop, where a 40-foot statue of Christ the Redeemer, called “Ayat ni Apo Jesus” (God’s Love) stands.

Jesus Christ’s fiberglass statue, which was erected in June last year, is 1,108 meters above sea level, overlooking the town

Bani Calvary Hill

Bani Calvary Hill - Photo Courtesy of www.pangasinan.gov.ph

One of the most popular tourist attractions in Bani, Pangasinan especially during the Lenten Season is their version of Calvary Hill. The said place has a 1,000-step “Via Crusis” that leads to a gigantic cross.

The Redeemer's Cross - Photo courtesy of www.bani.gov.ph

The cross is perched on a plateau overlooking the West Philippine Sea. Bani’s Calvary hill also has other structures to be used for other religious activities on the site.

Mt. Zion Pilgrimage Mountain

Located in Brgy. Laguit Padilla, Bugallon, Mt. Zion Pilgrimage Mountain is a 52-hectare religious site that holds structures for pilgrims to perform their Lenten traditions.

Aside from the retreat house and the chapel, the said pilgrimage site’s life-size statues portraying the Passion and Death of Christ are the reason why it is one of the most visited sites in the province during the Lenten season.