Capas

municipality of the Philippines in the province of Tarlac

Capas is a municipality in the southern part of Tarlac. Dubbed the "Tourism Capital of Tarlac", Capas is known as the endpoint of the infamous Death March during World War II, and is the jumping point for treks to Mount Pinatubo, which have its devastating eruption in 1991.

It encompasses a wide area stretching from the rugged foothills of Mount Pinatubo, to the wide and densely populated floodplains surrounding the Tarlac River.

Understand

Used to be the homeland of the dominant Kapampangan and the indigenous Aeta tribes, Capas has left its mark on history. Founded as a town in 1711 by the Augustinian friars, Capas has seen one of the most gruesome acts by the Japanese during World War II, the Death March, where surrendered Filipino and American soldiers were brought by train to Camp O'Donnell, an American military camp turned into a concentration camp by the invading Japanese.

While still largely rural, Capas is more close to a small city, and has grown much to overshadow Tarlac City. The rural parts of the municipality near Mount Pinatubo's foothills is the site of New Clark City (NCC), a planned development patterned after Putrajaya in Malaysia and New Songdo City in South Korea. Started in 2016 as Clark Green City, it will become the administrative capital of the Philippines once completed.

Local information

Get in

Being just along the main corridor between Manila, Ilocos and the Cordilleras, Capas is not hard to reach. While train service has ended in the late 1980s, many bus routes still pass through Capas town.

The nearest airport is in Angeles (CRK).

By bus

Capas is easily reached by multiple bus lines emanating out of Manila to northern Luzon. While the completion of the Subic Clark-Tarlac Expressway has largely bypassed the municipality, many buses still exit nearby at Concepcion, stop at Capas, and head north on the MacArthur Highway. Just find "via Capas" on the destination signs on the bus's windshield. If you took those with signs saying "via SCTEX", you'll miss Capas.

By car

Capas is within 1½-3 hours from Manila, 25 minutes from Tarlac City, and 30 minutes from Angeles.

From Manila or Angeles, take the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) and exit at Concepcion, where you turn left to a highway which takes you to Capas town.

A spur of SCTEX to New Clark City provides access to the Death March shrine and the jumping point to Mount Pinatubo by car.

A road connection from Zambales is being built as of 2020, but much of it is under construction. The road, beginning from the town of Botolan on the Zambales side, will be a scenic route through the foothills of Mount Pinatubo, and will connect with the existing road near the Death March shrine.

By train

New Clark City (NCC) will be served by the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR), but there is no construction yet of the segment that will serve the area. The line will spur off the mainline at Clark and head north to NCC, with potential extensions further north.

Get around

Capas is a relatively large municipality, and getting around it usually involves tricycle or car. There is a two-lane concrete road that spurs off MacArthur Highway, serving NCC and the Pinatubo foothills. It dead-ends at the river northeast of the Pinatubo caldera, but construction is ongoing in 2024 to turn it into a scenic highway that will connect with Zambales.

See

New Clark City

  • 🌍 Capas National Shrine, Botolan-Capas Road, Aranguren. A memorial for the soldiers who died at the hands of the Japanese in Camp O'Donnell. It houses a obelisk with a central bell, and the shrine is built on what was Camp O'Donnell. (updated Apr 2020)
  • 🌍 National River Park Corridor (New Clark City River Park). A 1.4-kilometer park along the Cutcut River at New Clark City. (updated Jan 2021)
  • 🌍 New Clark City Athletics Stadium. Among the modern sports facilities in the Philippines, the stadium which hosted the 2019 Southeast Asian Games. Its architectural design is inspired from the Mount Pinatubo volcano. (updated Jan 2021)
  • 🌍 New Clark City Aquatics Center. An open-air water-sports venue which hosted events of the 2019 Southeast Asian Games. Its structure is based of the baklad, a type of local fish trap. (updated Jan 2021)

Other

At the town center is the San Nicolas de Tolentino Parish which dating back to Capas's founding in 1776. The church's architecture is rather bland due to it being rebuilt from one destroyed during the war, but the parish's feast day do draws crowds. Other attractions include:

  • 🌍 Santo Domingo Death March Marker, Santo Domingo. A marker in Barangay Santo Domingo dedicated to the victims of the Death March near Capas's abandoned train station. (updated Apr 2020)
  • 🌍 Death March Memorial Shrine, MacArthur Highway, Cutcut I (near the cloverleaf interchange to New Clark City). A monument with an inverted V structure commemorating the tragedy of the Death March as well as dedicated to the heroism of Allied soldiers of World War II. (updated Apr 2020)
  • 🌍 Tambo Lake. A secluded lake created after the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo. It became a fishing ground for the indigenous Aeta people. (updated Jan 2021)

Do

  • 🌍 Bueno Hot Springs, Sitio Danum Mapali (near Capas-Botolan road.). Deep yourself in two natural hot springs which were modified to fill two concrete pools of 60-90 cm (2-3 ft) of water. Water temparatures ranges from 45-49.5°C (113-121°F) and has a neutral pH level of 5.5. (updated Jan 2021)
  • 🌍 New Asia Golf & Spa Resort. A 27-hole, par 108 golf course in Barangay O'Donnell along the river of the same name. The facility also offers Korean-inspired sauna and in-house spa services. (updated Jan 2021)
  • 🌍 4x4 vehicle ride to Mt. Pinatubo, Santa Juliana. Book a 4×4 vehicle ride to the Mount Pinatubo volcano at the Tourism Office in Brgy. Santa Julian. (updated Jan 2021)
  • Mount Telakawa. Mount Telakawa is a hiking destination for travelers opting for a more obscure alternative to Mount Pinatubo. The mountain has an elevation of 630 meters (2066 ft) above the sea level. Its name comes from a local term for "a pot place upside down" which is a reference to its shape. (updated Jan 2021)
  • 🌍 Jumping Wild Boar Ecopark Ranch, Barangay Maruglu. Horseback riding, All-terrain vehicle (ATV) ride, and community immersion at the Jumping Wild Boar Ecopark. (updated Jan 2021)
  • 🌍 Armscor Shooting Center Tarlac, Barangay Dolores, . Shooting range by local ammunitions manufacturer, Armscor. (updated Jan 2021)

Buy

  • 🌍 WalterMart-Capas, MacArthur Highway. 8AM–8PM. Mall and supermarket. (updated Sep 2023)
  • 🌍 RCS Supermarket-Capas Branch, MacArthur Highway. 7:30AM–8PM. (updated Sep 2023)
  • 🌍 Capas Public Market, MacArthur Highway. 4AM–9PM. Low cost meat and produce along with local goods can be bought here. Side has carinderia for the hungry shoppers. Parking can be tricky for cars and would recommend going there with a tricycle. (updated Sep 2023)

Eat

The Capas Walking Street in Tizon Drive in Santo Rosario is full of various food stalls selling street food, drinks, and other meals.

In the Philippines, tinapa refers to the process and the product of smoking fish, usually blackfin scad (galunggong) or milkfish (bangus). Barangay Talaga, in Capas is known as the Tinapa Capital of Tarlac due to its Tinapang Talaga a regional specialty created from smoking Tilapia instead of the usual blackfin scad or milkfish. Tinapang Talaga pioneered by the Capaseño family in the 1960s.

Drink

Sleep

Connect

Go next

Routes through Angeles
Baguio/Laoag ← Tarlac City ←  N  S  → Bamban → Angeles/Manila
END ←  N  S  → Magalang → Angeles/Mabalacat


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