St. James the Apostle Parish Church
Baroque tuff church first built in stone in 1646, home to the Dans murals. National Cultural Treasure.
Explore in 3D →Ukit · Wood carvingCarved by hand, for four centuriesUkit is the Tagalog word for carving.
Paete's name comes from paet, the chisel. Carving is the town's oldest trade and still its best known: santos for churches and home altars, relief panels, furniture, and ornaments, worked by families who pass the craft down.
Work starts with the outline, then the background is cut away so the design stands up in relief. Fine lines like petal veins go in last.
- Known for
- Santos (religious images), relief panels, furniture, ornaments
- Title
- Carving Capital of the Philippines, since March 15, 2005
Drag across the wooden block to carve. The raised design stays and the background comes away. Switch to Rotate to look at the relief from the side.
Taka · Papier-mâchéPaper shaped over a carvingEvery taka starts as a wooden sculpture.
A carver makes a wooden form, the takaan. It is coated with wax or starch paste, covered in layers of brown paper or newsprint, and dried in the sun. Then the shell is slit open, the wooden form comes out to be used again, and the halves are joined and painted in bright colors.
Horses, carabaos and Maria Clara dolls are the classics, with Santa Claus and reindeer for Christmas. The first known taka is credited to Maria Bague in the 1920s. Production peaked in the mid-1970s and early 1980s.
- Made from
- Brown paper or newsprint, paste, a carved wooden mold
- Classic forms
- Horse, carabao, Maria Clara doll
Step through the four stages, then choose a color for the finished horse. Drag to turn it around.
Simbahan · St. James the Apostle ParishStone, earthquakes and a painted Heaven and HellSaint James the Apostle Parish Church, also called the Church of Paete.
Franciscans founded the parish in 1580, and the first stone church went up in 1646. Earthquakes have damaged or brought it down several times, including in 1717, 1880 and 1937, and each time it was rebuilt. The church is Baroque, built of volcanic tuff, with large buttresses along its sides to help it stand up to quakes.
Inside are José Luciano Dans's murals Langit, Lupa at Impiyerno (Heaven, Earth and Hell), painted with natural pigments mixed with volcanic ash, along with two San Cristobal paintings on wood panels and a Last Judgment mural from around 1720.
- Patron
- St. James the Apostle (Santiago Apostol)
- Fiesta
- July 25
- Heritage
- National Historical Landmark; National Cultural Treasure (2015)
Tap the numbered points to learn each part. Drag to walk around the church, and slide from dawn to night: the façade faces west, so it glows in the late afternoon. You can ring the bells from the bell tower.
Morning
Tatlong Krus · Mount HumarapA thousand steps to three crossesTatlong Krus means "three crosses."
Three crosses stand on the summit of Mount Humarap, a peak of the Sierra Madre above the town. They began as wooden crosses and are now concrete. During Holy Week, hundreds of pilgrims climb to pray and remember the suffering of Christ.
Hikers count about 300 steps to a fork, where a side trail leads to Matabungka Falls, then about 700 more to the top. It is an easy climb of roughly 45 minutes, from the edge of town to about 315 m above the lake. From the top you look out over Paete, Laguna de Bay and Mt. Sembrano across the water. The center cross carries a bronze figure of Christ.
- Climb
- About 1,000 steps, around 45 minutes, to roughly 315 m
- Side trip
- Matabungka Falls, from the fork
- Busiest
- Holy Week
Drag the Climb slider or press Play climb to follow the trail up the real mountainside. Switch on Holy Week night to see pilgrims climbing with candles.
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More of PaeteLandmarks and things made here
Tatlong Krus
Three concrete crosses on Mount Humarap, the town's Holy Week pilgrimage climb.
Climb in 3D →Matabungka Falls
A waterfall reached by the side trail at the fork on the way up to Tatlong Krus.
Laguna de Bay shore
Paete sits on the eastern side of the country's largest lake, between the water and the Sierra Madre.
Katipunan Monument
A town monument to the Katipunan, the revolutionary society that rose against Spanish rule.
Santos and relief carvings
Religious images, relief panels and ornaments, the work Paete's carvers are best known for.
Carve one →Furniture and woodwork
Carved furniture and decorative pieces from the town's workshops.
Taka horses and carabaos
The classic papier-mâché figures, painted in bright colors with flowers and simple patterns.
Make one →Seasonal and modern taka
Santa Claus and reindeer for Christmas, plus cherubs, toy soldiers, giraffes, rabbits and fruit.
Plan a visitWhen to go
- January 17Feast of St. Anthony the AbbotThe town's second patron saint.
- Holy WeekClimb to Tatlong KrusHundreds of pilgrims go up Mount Humarap. Expect crowds on the steps.
- July 25Feast of St. James the ApostleThe town fiesta, for Paete's main patron.
- Any dayWorkshops and the churchSee carvers and taka makers at work, then visit the church murals. Paete is about 102 km from Manila.