Manaoag Church and Hardin sa Paraiso in Pangasinan

After 25 years, I visited the Our Lady of Manaoag in Pangasinan. The last time I visited the church was in college, as part of our field trip. For pilgrims like us, we had lunch at the famous Hardin sa Paraiso after our church visit.

The Minor Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Manaoag

Commonly known as Manaoag Church, pilgrims visit the Lady for various reasons. Some go there to ask for clarity, to bless their new cars, for Mama Mary's intercession for the sick and needy, and for thanksgiving. As a family, we went there to thank God for all His blessings.

We left Manila on a Saturday morning. Traffic was fast since the long weekend holiday already started the day before so a lot of travelers already left the Metro.

The trip is now shorter because of the new expressways that were developed in the last 2 decades. From Manila, we took the NLEX (North Luzon Expressway), SCTEX (Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway), and TPLEX (Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway). You will need both Easytrip and Autosweep RFIDs to pass all these highways. 

Since our car has only Autosweep and does not have an Easytrip RFID yet, we took a stopover in Petron Lakeshore in Pampanga for breakfast and installation of the RFID. The table of Easytrip is located near BonChon and the pasalubong stalls. After filling out the form, their staff installed our RFID on the windshield. Unlike the installation of our Autosweep where we loaded it first before installation, with Easytrip, they had to install it first before we could load the account.

From TPLEX we exited at Binalonan Exit, took a left turn, and continued the road to the church. It took around 15 minutes to travel from Binalonan Exit to Manaog Church. There was a slow traffic already as we approached the Church Proper.  From Lakeshore, our travel to Manaog Church was only 2 hours.

There was no parking inside the church as the area was used for vehicles that queued for the blessing of their cars. Do note that they have cut-offs and they close the gate once the area has been filled. I heard there's a schedule as well. 

There's a small alley at your right near the church's gate and just before Mang Inasal. At the sides of the alley are vendors but if you go straight on that alley, there are parking spaces for rent (search "Manaoag Parking Space" on Google Maps). The man who assisted us in parking sold us candles for Php100. The man who was manning the parking said that the parking fee was 50 pesos. From the parking area, it was just a few minutes walk going to church. 

We went inside the church 5 minutes before 12 noon, the scheduled mass. Great timing!

There are pews at the side of the church where you can still hear mass
even if the basilica is already full inside

Ceiling of Manaoag Church

After the mass, everyone was asked to stay near the aisle as the priest and lay ministers administered the blessing to the crowd.

After lighting the candles in the Candelaria area, we left for lunch. We were not able to check the museum or the plaza, maybe next time.

Hardin sa Paraiso

Before our travel, I was tasked to check out the restaurants near the church. The one restaurant that the church visitors recommended was Hardin sa Paraiso Grill and Restaurant along Urdaneta-Manaoag Road. There were a few videos about it on YouTube so we decided to try this for lunch.

About 13 minutes coming from the church, you can find the restaurant on the left side of the road. There was a security guard who assisted us in parking at the side of the road and helped us cross the road to go to the restaurant.

From the gate, you need to take a few stairs to go down the main area. The restaurant has a main dining area at the center of the property and nipa huts at the sides. We really wanted to dine at the huts but there was none available. In fact, the place was already jam-packed with people when we arrived. Luckily, we were able to score a small table at the main dining hall.

There are benches around the area. They also have a deck to view the creek

Main Dining Hall

Washing area

Si Malakas at si Maganda

Main dining hall (right) and nipa huts/kubo on either sides of the main hall

After ordering, we were advised that the serving time could take up to an hour. During weekends and holidays, the serving time for lunch usually takes that long because of the number of diners. Good thing we weren't that hungry yet but when we were served our lunch just about before 2PM, we suddenly got hungry. Haha!

We ordered two of the Barkadahan Platter which is good for 4-5 persons and includes a platter of rice. We also got Buko shakes for everyone.

Barkadahan Platter No. 4 (Php 995): half chicken, sweet and sour fish fillet,
 Pancit Canton, 10 pieces Lumpiang shanghai, 1 platter of rice

Barkadahan Platter No.2 (Php 995): Pork BBQ, grilled liempo,
quarter chicken, Pancit Guisado, 1 platter of rice

Buko shakes

Their restrooms were okay and were clean. There were handwashing areas, a swing, benches, and even a couple of kubo on top of trees.

The food was great, the serving was awesome, and the service of the crew though it was a busy day was good. Our total bill for 7 pax plus service charge was just a little over Php3K. Sobrang sulit!

From the restaurant, it was a breeze to enter the TPLEX through the Urdaneta Exit since we did not have to pass through any town proper. From Hardin sa Paraiso, the travel back to Manila was 3 hours. 

Have you traveled lately to the north? Would love to hear about your adventure!