There’s just something fascinating about riding through tunnels. I blame it on horror movies, but riding through tunnels always feels creepy and cool at the same time. The enclosed space and dark always makes me think of lurking zombies or monsters. The underground passages usually help cut travel time significantly to reach a destination. For bikers, tunnels also offer interesting landmarks and are common photo-op stops along the way to a destination.

Here are just a few interesting tunnels you can find around the Philippines that are popular among motorcycle riders and cyclists.

NOTE: This list does not include high-traffic road tunnels along main city highways like C5, Katipunan, Libis, EDSA, Quezon Avenue, Quiapo, etc. where frequent accidents happen. No biker really loves passing through those.

Kaybiang Tunnel, Cavite

Kaybiang Tunnel is the longest subterranean road tunnel in the Philippines. This tunnel links the towns of Ternate, Cavite and Nasugbu, Batangas through a hole under Mount Palay-Palay (aka Mt. Pico de Loro). Since it opened to the public in July 2013 as an alternate route to Tagaytay and Batangas, this tunnel has become a very popular landmark destination for cyclists and riders based in Manila going on weekend rides.

The 300-meter tunnel is part of the 6-kilometer Tourism Road in Cavite that cuts travel time from Manila to Nasugbu and Calatagan, Batangas from the usual 4 hours via Tagaytay to just a little over one hour. There are a few stalls nearby selling snacks.

Right after exiting the tunnel at the Nasugbu side, travelers can get a seaside view of islands Limbones, Carabao and El Fraile.

Tangadan Tunnel, Abra-Ilocos Sur

For road-trippers riding up North, the Tangadan Tunnel in San Quintin on the border of Ilocos Sur and the Cordillera Administrative Region is another popular landmark.

This short, 40-meter tunnel that cuts through the hills bordering Abra and Ilocos Sur was built in 1934 as a way to divert the old road which was steep and difficult to negotiate.

Allied forces tried to destroy this tunnel twice to impede advancing Japanese soldiers during World War II but it did not collapse. Also known as “usukan,” this tunnel has become a popular landmark welcoming visitors to the province of Abra.

Malinta Tunnel, Corregidor

The Malinta Tunnel is a tunnel complex on the island of Corregidor built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Initially used as a bomb-proof storage and personnel bunker, this tunnel was later equipped as a 1,000-bed hospital. The main tunnel, running east to west, is 253 m long, 7.3 m wide and 5.5 m high.

Branching off from this main shaft are 13 lateral tunnels on the north side and 11 lateral tunnels on the south side. Each lateral tunnel averages 49 m in length and 4.6 m in width. While you can ride through the main tunnel, the lateral tunnels are only accessible to visitors on foot during Malinta Tunnel Night Tours.

Tours in Corregidor are privately managed and the island is only accessible by ferry from Manila. It can be pretty expensive to transport motorcycles to the island, but it’s a popular destination for day trips (tram tours) and visitors can bring their own bicycles for bike tours. Guests can also rent bicycles on the island.

Malinta Tunnel is closed off exclusively for Light & Sound Show tours during the day. We only got to bike through Malinta Tunnel at night to visit Battery Grubbs at sunset while staying overnight on the island.

Angono-Binangonan Petroglyphs Tunnel

The Angono-Binangonan Petroglyphs in Rizal are the oldest known work of art in the Philippines. There are 127 human and animal figures engraved on the rock wall dating back to 3000 BC. The inscriptions show stylized human figures, frogs and lizards along with other designs that may have depicted other interesting figures.

To get to this historic site, visitors have to pass through a narrow man-made tunnel carved into a hill. Motorized vehicles aren’t allowed to pass through (there’s a parking space nearby for cars and motorcycles), but those on bicycles are allowed to bring them in.

There’s no entrance fee to visit this site either, and the view along the way is great, which makes this a popular biking/riding destination.

The access to the Petroglyphs is through Eastridge Avenue, leading to the same complex of Thunderbird Resorts & Casino in Binangonan. You’ll pass a short two-lane tunnel to get into the complex.

Wawa Dam Tunnel, Rodriguez

Wawa Dam is a gravity dam constructed over the Marikina River situated in the 360-meter high Montalban Gorge or Wawa Gorge, a water gap in the Sierra Madre Mountains, just east of Manila. The rocky river dam in Rodriguez (formerly known as Montalban) in Rizal is a popular destination for swimming, mountain biking and hiking.

Before you reach the actual dam, you have to pass through winding mountain passageways including a short cave-like tunnel that’s accessible to mountain bikes.

Aside from the tunnel, the scenic view of the mountains and bridges crossing gorges makes this a scenic biking destination for half-day trips. Bringing up motorcycles can be difficult because of stairs, but you can carry up bikes through some portions and bike up most of the way.

Laiban Dam Tunnel, Rizal

Built during the Martial Law era, the Laiban Dam project was originally supposed to help supply water to Metro Manila. However, this controversial project in the Sierra Madre mountains raised concerns over the dam’s environmental impact, and the displacement of thousands of indigenous Dumagats from their ancestral lands, eventually causing the project to be shelved.

Diversion tunnels were constructed back in in 1984, but the construction of the project was stalled when Marcos was ousted. Today, the massive abandoned tunnels still stand. We crossed one of the tunnels while exploring the Laiban -Daraitan trail on mountain bikes.

This has got to be the creepiest tunnel I’ve ridden through, because of the ankle-deep muck and abandoned vibe of the place. You really feel like something’s going to grab your ankles or emerge from the water to chase you.

Check out this short video clip from our ride:

These are just a few of the tunnels and cool underground passageways that I personally know of and have visited around the Philippines. Let me know if you know of other similar tunnels that bikers can visit/ride through.

UPDATE: Thanks to rider Dante Cruz for sending this compilation of photos of other road tunnels around the Philippines with exact GPS coordinates ideal for motorcycle riders on longer rides 🙂