French
Deutsch
Dinalupihan is a town in Bataan, Central Luzon, the Philippines. It is the primary gateway to the rest of the province.
Understand
[edit | edit source]Named after an Aeta deity, Dinalupihan is the northernmost town in Bataan, and its only landlocked municipality. It is a strategically important settlement located at the triboundary between Bataan, Pampanga and Zambales provinces and a gap between the Zambales Mountains that separates the Central Luzon plains from the Bataan Peninsula and Subic Bay.
The town was rebuilt following the devastation of World War II, when Japanese forces were held up by Allied defensive lines in town in January 1942, which spiraled into the three-month Battle of Bataan. In the late 20th century, Dinalupihan became a commuter town of Olongapo catering to the US naval presence in Subic Bay. With the departure of the US military in 1992, parts of the town were included in the Subic Bay Freeport, a sprawling industrial and commercial zone.
Get in
[edit | edit source]Dinalupihan is at a major crossroads between Bataan, Zambales and Pampanga provinces. It is the northern terminus of the Roman Superhighway (Route 301), the main six-lane transport artery through eastern Bataan. It is also along Jose Abad Santos Avenue (Route 3, JASA), a toll-free and traffic-congested highway which connects Olongapo in Zambales with San Fernando, the capital of Pampanga, and the parallel Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX), which has an exit named Dinalupihan that actually leads to Palihan, a barangay of neighboring Hermosa municipality, just south of Dinalupihan itself. The intersection of JASA and Roman Superhighway is at Layac Junction, with JASA becoming known as Bataan-Olongapo Road west of it. A fourth road, Angeles-Porac-Floridablanca-Dinalupihan Road (Route 214), leads south from Angeles City and is parallel to SCTEX.
Dinalupihan is connected by minibuses to the provincial capital Balanga and San Fernando. From Metro Manila, Genesis and Victory Liner operate daily bus trips on their way to Balanga and Mariveles, as well as Olongapo, Iba and Santa Cruz in Zambales. There are also connections by jeepney to neighboring towns of Pampanga such as Floridablanca, Porac and Guagua, the latter passing through Lubao.
Get around
[edit | edit source]Tricycles are the main form of transportation between barangays.
See
[edit | edit source]- 1 Roosevelt Protected Landscape (Dinalupihan Nature Center). A 786.04 hectares (1,942.3 acres) nature reserve on the Zambales mountains featuring grasslands and old-growth forests.
- 2 Mount Malasimbu (Mount Malasimbo), Bayan-bayanan. A 416 metres (1,365 ft) high peak that is also dubbed as "Little Mayon" due to its conical shape, and Susong Dalaga in Tagalog for its supposed resemblance to a woman's breast. The mountain is also a pilgrimage site for residents during Holy Week.
- 3 World War II Memorial (Layac Junction Memorial), Jose Abad Santos Avenue, Layac. A monument featuring a squad of Filipino and American soldiers commemorating the Battle of Layac Junction in 1942, which marked the opening of the wider Battle of Bataan against the Japanese during World War II.
Do
[edit | edit source]- 1 Dinalupihan Track and Oval Field, San Ramon. A 2 hectares (4.9 acres) sports complex.
Buy
[edit | edit source]- 1 Dinalupihan Public Market, Bataan-Olongapo Road, San Ramon.
- 2 Puregold Dinalupihan, Bataan-Olongapo Road, San Ramon.
- 3 Savemore Dinalupihan, Bataan-Olongapo Road, San Ramon (in front of the public market).
Eat
[edit | edit source]- 1 Sammyang Unli Samgyup and Cafe, Purok 1, Sapang Balas, ☏ +63 956 533 7511, camillemontemayor20@gmail.com. An open-air Korean barbecue grill and restaurant.
- 2 Wawa's Samgyupsal, Purok 4, Angeles-Porac-Floridablanca-Dinalupihan Road, Tucop, ☏ +63 930 526 2772, joshuachavez.jc02@gmail.com. 12NN-10PM. Another Korean barbecue restaurant.
- 3 Lanie's Eatery, Bataan-Olongapo Road, Happy Valley.
Drink
[edit | edit source]Sleep
[edit | edit source]- 1 The Purple Farm, Purok 3 Liaban, Colo, ☏ +63 998 582 7831, thepurplefarmph@gmail.com. A farm and staycation resort.
Stay safe
[edit | edit source]Parts of Layac Junction are prone to flooding during the rainy season, while areas bordering Olongapo are vulnerable to landslides.
Connect
[edit | edit source]The town's postal code is 2110.
- 1 Dinalupihan Tourism Office, Municipal Hall, Bataan-Olongapo Road, San Ramon, ☏ +63 919 068 2375, hector.lintag@yahoo.com.
Go next
[edit | edit source]| Routes through Dinalupihan |
| Olongapo ← | W  E | → Lubao → San Fernando |
| Angeles ← Floridablanca ← | N  S | → END |
| Angeles ← Floridablanca ← | N   S | → Olongapo |
| END ← | N S | → Hermosa → Balanga |