The process of fabrication of high quality factor photonic crystal microcavities in slabs of InP with light emission at 1.5 mu m is reported. The process includes e-beam lithography, reactive ion beam etching with a CHF3/N-2 gas mixture, and reactive ion etching with a CH4/H-2 gas mixture and O-2 cycling. An InGaAs sacrificial layer is removed by chemical wet etching in order to obtain the photonic crystal membrane. Microphotoluminescense measurements have been performed to assess the quality of the fabricated structures. Quality factors up to similar or equal to 30 000 and laser emission with thresholds of excitation pump power around 34 mu W have been obtained.