Antipolo City is on the mountain ridges east of Manila where the sun begins to shine whose name refers to the Tipolo trees growing indigenously on its land .trees with broad leaves that provide shade while gently fanning in the soothing breeze. It is the city of pilgrims and contemplatives, tourists and traders, artists and artisans.
The City of Antipolo is located in the northern half of Rizal Province. It is bounded on the north, by the Municipality of Rodriguez (formerly Montalban), on the northwest, by the City of Marikina and Municipality of San Mateo, on the southwest, by the Municipalities of Taytay and Cainta, on the southeast, by the Municipalities of Tanay, Teresa and Baras and on the east, by Quezon Province.
The poblacion is approximately 29 kilometers from Manila. The City can be accessed from Marikina via the Sumulong Highway, which passes through the poblacion; from Cubao, Quezon City via the Marcos Highway, which extends eastward to Quezon Province as the Marikina-Infanta road, and from Cainta/Taytay via Ortigas Extension.
The City of Antipolo is the second largest in Rizal Province next to Rodriguez. Its total land area of 38,575.04 hectares represents 29.4 percent of the total land area of Rizal. The City is divided into two (2) districts, the 1st district and the 2nd district, subdivided into sixteen (16) Barangays namely; Bagong Nayon, Beverly Hills, Calawis, Cupang, Dalig, Dela Paz, Inarawan, Mambugan, Mayamot, Munting Dilao, San Isidro, San Jose, San Juan, San Luis, San Roque and Sta Cruz.
The topography of Antipolo may be described as generally hilly and mountainous, with the hilly portions lying in the west and the mountainous area concentrated in the east as part of the Sierra Madre Mountain Range. Well-watered valleys are located in the middle of the city and in the northern and southern edges. Plateaus of over 200 meters above sea level are seen in the western half of the study area, including the site of the Poblacion and portions of Brgy. Cupang and San Juan. In the eastern half, these are seen in Brgys. Calawis and San Jose overlooking the Boso-Boso River Valley to the west.
Based on PAGASA (Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Service Administration) Antipolo has type I climate which is marked by two (2) distinct seasons – the Wet from May to December and the Dry from January to April. The main climatic control operating in the climate of the area is actually the monsoon wind system. The warm southwest monsoon wind brings the rain to the city after gathering moisture from the Indian Ocean while the cool northeast monsoon moves as a dry wind and comes even drier after crossing the Sierra Madre geographic barrier.
Various means of public transportation are available in Antipolo. Transportation is provided by a combination of buses, Fx’s, Jeepneys, shuttle buses and tricycles. One bus line, EMBC takes the Ortigas extension route leading to Manila, and vice versa. Its terminal is stationed at P. Oliveros St. Antipolo City and in Divisoria. Other bus lines from Tanay connect Antipolo via the Provincial Road.Jeepneys and Fx’es are the more numerous and connect the City with Marikina, Mandaluyong, Makati and Quezon City via Ortigas Extension, Sumulong And Marco’s Hi-ways and Morong Tanay and Baras via the Provincial Road.Inter city public transportation is provided by tricycles, shuttle buses and jeepneys inter -connecting the 16 barangays of the city through various routes.