Villa Escudero Plantations, Labasin Waterfalls, San Pablo, Laguna & Quezon Province, Philippines

Villa Escudero Plantations was founded in 1872 by Don Placido Escudero and his wife Doña Claudia Marasigan. Originally planted to sugar cane, the crop was converted to coconut by their son Don Arsenio Escudero in the early 1900s. A pioneering agriculture industrialist, he built the country’s first working hydroelectric plant - Labasin Dam - to supply his desiccated coconut factory and the Escudero Plantation house, which he and his wife Doña Rosario Adap built in 1929.
The plantation was opened to the public in 1981 as a tourist attraction, offering glimpses of plantation life. The family's eclectic private collection was presented as a Museum tour. Carabao cart ride takes visitors to the resort area, surrounded by park-like setting while being serenaded by locals. Dining is offered in a unique al fresco restaurant where the dining tables are situated below the spillway of the hydroelectric dam (or the 'Labasin waterfalls') while diners enjoy their lunch dipped in the flowing calf-deep water. Later attractions include an authentic live cultural dance show choreographed by National Artist Ramon Obusan, performed with live music. The resort has since expanded offering accommodations, more restaurants, sports facilities, and a conference center.
In 2008, 415 hectares (1,030 acres), more than half of the estate, was converted into an exclusive residential development called Hacienda Escudero.