Who says you can only have a picture with a wind turbine in Ilocos (Bangui Wind Farm)? Not anymore. I introduce you to the Pililla Wind Farm, or what locals might call Pililla Windmills. This wind project is located in Pililla, Rizal, as the name suggests. This is the last stop in our Province of Rizal tour, the first ones being the Angono Petroglyphs and Batlag Falls. What better time to visit Pililla Wind Farm than during a beautiful sunset? I’m telling you, it is breathtaking!
Pililla Wind Farm. Thanks Yuri Mararac for this nice picture!
The Pililla Wind Farm is being operated by Alternergy Philippine Holdings Corporation. Phase 1 of the project, which is where we are now, is in Barangay Halayhayin in Pililla, Rizal. According to the Philippine Wind Atlas, this location has excellent wind resource. The Pililla Wind Farm is currently made up of 27 wind turbine generators divided into 3 clusters with combined capacity of 67.5 megawatts (MW). After completion, this wind development project will interconnect to Meralco’s Malaya-Teresa 115 kilovolts (KV) transmission line situated just 10 kilometers from the Pililla site. Construction of the Pililla wind farm began in 2013 and is now operational.
How to Go to Pililla Wind Farm
Beautiful surroundings of Pililla Wind Farm
If you’re travelling via private vehicle:
- From Manila, travel to the town of Tanay. This is easy. You can just use Google maps. It’s a pretty straight drive.
- Once in Tanay, you need to go to Barangay Sampaloc. You can now ask locals for directions.
- In Sampaloc, you will see an intersection. Turn to the road leading to Real Quezon. From where we are, we turned left.
- Now just a few kilometers, make a right turn to Masalat Road.
- A few meters into Masalat Road, turn left. Straight ahead, you will see the Pililla windmills.
These directions can be helpful. But I suggest you just use Waze. Based on our experience here in Rizal, Waze is pretty accurate in giving directions, and it will save you a lot of time.
If you’re going to use public transport, you can just ride a bus to Tanay, ask around how to go to Barangay Sampaloc. Once in Barangay Sampaloc, you can ride a tricycle that will take you to the Pililla Wind Farm. Just tell them to take you to the windmills. They know it already. Just make sure you haggle with the tricycle fare. The drivers can charge a fortune! (Php 200 to Php 250)
Once you’re driving along the road going to Real Quezon, the wind turbines are hard to miss. You can just look over the horizon and, once in a while, you will have a glimpse of the beautiful wind turbines from afar.
This is how they look like from afar. These wind turbines surely know how to catch your attention!
When we got to the location, I saw 1 or maybe 2 wind turbines up close. I said to myself, “Okay, that’s cool, but they look cooler when they’re seen over the horizon.” Though I am surprised at how big they actually are! These wind turbines are not your usual electricity posts, not even close! They’re huge!
Our first view of the wind turbines up close. This is our first spot. Though surprised, I am not yet impressed.
We were taking pictures with those few wind turbines, when we were told to walk farther down the road. After a few moment of walking….. WOW… .. now we got a beautiful view of all the wind turbines! This is what I’m talking about. This is exactly what I have in mind to see here. To your right you have a beautiful view of around 10 wind turbines in a row from a distance. Very nice to look at. And then I looked to the left, and there’s like a hill which serves as a natural viewing deck. Wind turbines left and right, near and far! Welcome to the fantastic Pililla Wind Farm!
They now have souvenir shops too
There’s a lot of people taking pictures and enjoying the view. This area in the Pililla Wind Farm looks like a tourist attraction already. They even have souvenir shops along the street, which also sells snacks and local street food. The area is also very windy, no wonder they chose this as a good wind resource. We decided to climb the small hill for a better view. Be careful on your way, the path is a little slippery and there’s not much to hold on to. Once you’re at the top, you get a 360 degree view of all of the Pililla Wind Farm. Wind turbines everywhere! It’s also a good spot to witness the sunset. The strong wind makes it feel like its coming from the giant wind turbines themselves. Everywhere I look, it’s very scenic.
At the top of the hill which also serves as a viewing deck for visitors
If you love windmills and rolling hills, you’re gonna love this place!
It’s great that there’s no entrance fee yet (March 2016). I’m not sure if in the future they will develop the wind farm more in response to the growing public and tourist interest. As I said, I won’t mind paying a fair fee if it means further development and preservation of sites like this. Besides, I believe that alternative energy is the way of the future. I’m all for having lower carbon footprint. We really need more Pililla Wind Farm in our society. 🙂
Chllin’ like a villain. With a place as cool as this, who wouldn’t?
A closer look
The path up and down the hill. It may not look steep in picture, but it is.
Cherry blossoms in Rizal?
The sunset over Pililla Wind Farm is breathtaking
Sun setting. Look at the base of the wind turbine. It’s that huge.
This may stir arguments, but I think the Pililla Wind Farm is a better alternative to the Bangui counterpart. Why? The non-linear positions of the wind turbines gives better angles and opportunities for amazing photos. Also, on a good spot, you can have an overview of the Laguna Lake. Plus, the proximity to Metro Manila gives the Pililla windmills an edge for me. I recommend you also visit on a Sunny late afternoon until the sun sets and enjoy the cool, scenic views.
Stop and smell the flowers. LMAO
Hello from the Pililla Wind Farm!
