The Ruins: The Taj Mahal of the Philippines

If you happen to be in Bacolod City in Negros Occidental and is looking for a place to visit and practice your photography skills, try to visit The Ruins in Talisay City.

What is it?

The Ruins is a skeleton of a building that stood majestically around plantations during the 1900's. It is what was left of the Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson's Ancestral Home. During it's time, the mansion was the largest residential structure ever built in the Philippines. It used to have a lush garden of lilies in and around the four-tiered fountain on the mansion’s front lawn. It also used to showcase it's finest furniture, lavish china and decorative ornaments from Europe and around Asia.

Location

The Ruins is a 20 minute drive from the Bacolod City proper. It is located inside the Gold Crest Subdivision in Talisay City. The Ruins is open daily from 8 AM to 8 PM. Entrance fee is P60.00

Directions: 

1. Take a jeepney (Bata route) and ask the driver to be drop you off at the Bangga Rose Lawns Memorial Park

2. Ride a tricycle to The Ruins for P10.00 per head. 

The Taj Mahal of The Philippines

Beneath the rubbles of the now standing skeleton of the building, a love story unfolds. This 20th century Italianate ancestral structure was built by the sugar baron as a profession of his undying love for his wife, who later died in an accident. Thus, The Ruins is also called the Taj Mahal of the Philippines.

It was said that Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson built the mansion in 1900′s for Maria Braga, his beautiful Portuguese wife. During then, the mansion was furnished with lavish and luxurious items imported from countries all over the world. Even today one can see that the remains of the structure resembling Italian architecture with neoclassical columns. The belvedere faces west, making the structure glimmer in gold as the sun sets in the evening sky.  

A Structure That Can't be Used by the Japanese

During World War II, fearing that the Japanese will use the mansion to their advantage, the guerillas or local rebels burned down the mansion leaving the structure that everyone sees to this day. 

Our experience in The Ruins was overwhelming. Every angle of the skeleton of the mansion was breath taking. Although we came around mid afternoon, the best time to visit, according to the caretakers, is at sunset. However, the photos we took were still spectacular.

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Tags: The Ruins, Bacolod City, Talisay City, Negros Occidental, Taj Mahal of the Philippines