Cuenca (Batangas)

Cuenca is a town in Batangas, on the southern coast of Taal Lake.

Understand
Cuenca formed part of nearby San Jose during the Spanish era until it was separated in 1872. It gets its name from the Spanish word for watershed.

The town's major tourist draw is Mount Maculot. Cuenca has a growing number of private resorts, mostly mid-range to splurge.

Get in
Jam and DLTB provide regular bus trips between Buendia (Pasay) or Cubao (Quezon City) and Lemery. Fares are about ₱178-196 (₱142-157 for students or seniors). You can also request stops on other spots around town, especially if you will stay in any of the resorts outside Poblacion (downtown).

There is regular jeepney service between Lipa and Lemery, and Cuenca is on the highway used. Among other places, the jeepneys can be found at stands in front of Robinson's in Lipa and next to SM in Lemery.

Get around
The town is small enough to be easily walkable, though it is often uncomfortably hot.

See
There is little to see in town.

Climbing Mount Maculot will give you a fine view of Taal Lake with its volcano.

Buy
There is one central market, the at B. Laqui Street. Across the highway beside the market is a lone 7-Eleven store, the only location to buy any fast food. At the start of the Rocky Road trail is a store catering to hikers.

Outside town along the highway to Lipa, there are a number of shops. The larger ones specialize in either plants or pottery; these will be of little interest to most travellers, but those who live in the Philippines may find better prices here than in the cities.

Some of the smaller shops along the highway sell the region's barako coffee; prices are higher than in town markets. However if you are taking coffee overseas, Customs may be more ready to accept the sealed packages with nicely printed labels that you get here than the unlabelled plastic bags with twist ties from the markets.

Eat
There are numerous eateries serving local dishes, especially the famous Batangas lomi. Cuenca has no fast food chains yet, to avoid competition with eateries and restaurants.