How to get to Arayat
Arayat is reached via NLEX and Jose Abad Santos Avenue through Mexico and Santa Ana, or via Angeles and Magalang.
✓ Reviewed by our editors
Discover Pampanga Editors · October 2026
Arayat sits on the Pampanga River in northern Pampanga, below the 1,026-metre Mount Arayat.
By car
From Manila, leave the North Luzon Expressway at San Fernando, take the Gapan-Olongapo Road (Jose Abad Santos Avenue) and turn towards Arayat through Mexico and Santa Ana. Alternatively, exit NLEX at Angeles, head to Magalang and turn south to Arayat. The Arnedo Dike Road runs from Arayat to the eastern towns: San Simon, San Luis, Candaba and Apalit.
By jeepney and bus
Jeepneys and minibuses run from San Fernando, and a morning-only jeepney comes from Magalang. San Fernando to Gapan routes and Manila to San Isidro buses pass along Jose Abad Santos Avenue. The Arayat Central Terminal is on J.M. Espino Street, with tricycle bays for the barangays.
Getting around
Tricycles serve the barangays. The Poblacion, with the Santa Catalina Parish Church and the old houses of Paralaya, is easy on foot.
The mountain
Check current access before any hike: landslides have disrupted trails, and since 2022 the mountain has been a protected landscape. See Mount Arayat National Park.
Also in: Travel Guides, Getting Around
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More in Arayat
Travel Guides
Where to eat in Arayat
From halo-halo and xiao long bao to puto seko and sisig: a short guide to eating in Arayat.
Travel Guides
Mount Arayat National Park: visitor guide
Spring-fed pools, cottages and villas at the foot of Mount Arayat, plus what to check before hiking the protected mountain.
Things to do nearby
Attractions
General Jose Alejandrino Monument
Monument to Arayat's hero General Jose Alejandrino, propagandist and later senator and Pampanga governor, at the town hall.
Attractions
Samia-Santos House and Santa Martina Chapel
Colonial-era Samia-Santos residence, known locally as Bahay Antigo, facing the Spanish-era Santa Martina Chapel.
Attractions
Medina Ancestral House, Arayat
Spanish-era private residence from 1840 on P. Tan Street, also called the Calo-Medina house.
Where to eat nearby
Bakeries
Balagtas Bread & Cake House
Arayat bakery named among the town's well-known food places.
Bakeries
Agnes Pantig Puto Seko
Arayat maker of puto seko, listed among the town's famous food names.
Budget Eats
Erwin's Sisigan
Sisig eatery in Arayat, named by Let's Go Pampanga among the town's well-known places to eat.