One of the major cultural hubs of the Philippines, the genteel Old World charm and opulent history of Ilocos Sur reflects the hundreds and hundreds of years of being at the crossroads of European and Asian trade and commerce- a trip to Ilocos Sur is definitely a step back in time.
Being one of the world’s largest archipelagos with 7,107 islands and an extensive coastline that is almost twice as long as that of the United States, the Philippines has a proud and great seafaring history stretching to over thousands of years ago.
A paradise in peril because of unregulated and unsustainable tourism, Zambales challenges the traveler to uncover its secrets buried in its seas and deep in its jungles – before the ravages of man fully destroy its fragile but inconspicuous beauty.
Being naturally at the crossroads of the East and the West, Manila offers one of the most vibrant, yet, underrated nightlife and the most varied cuisines in the entire Asia-Pacific. It does not come as a surprise that one can have a Filipino regional breakfast, a Malaysian lunch, and a German dinner in one day. The following list is just among one of my most favorite and highly recommended hidden gems for the traveling gourmand.
With jarring landscapes, dramatic canyons, and snaking rivers, formerly nondescript Mt. Pinatubo, is a sight to behold, its scenery much magnified taking into account its fairly recent turbulent history.
The Philippines is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, a region where large numbers of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur along the entire Pacific Coast. Pinatubo, is part of a chain of volcanoes on the western edge of Luzon and is part of the so-called subduction volcanoes- formed by the Philippine Plate sliding under the Eurasian Plate with the Manila Trench to the west. It goes without saying that the volcano lies on a very destructive plate boundary. The mountain is an active stratovolcano and is located about 3 hours north of Manila and sits on the Cabusilan Mountain Range on the intersecting borders of Zambales, Pampanga and Tarlac.
A classic Tagalog quiet farming town that sits on the foothills of the sacred mountain of Banahaw, Lucban literally explodes with a kaleidoscope of colors, gastronomic feasts and religious fervor during the annual Pahiyas Festival, perhaps one of the most festive, most significant and most colorful of all the festivals in the world.
Dubbed as the Garden Coast because of its botanical gardens, the regional center of Ilocos region, La Union also boasts of excellent world-class surf breaks and thus, appropriately nicknamed the Surfing Capital of Northern Philippines.
La Union, with its fine coastline that faces the South China Sea and its beautiful gardens, fell way behind in tourism after more popular tourist destinations like the Hundred Islands in Pangasinan, Palawan, Batangas, and Boracay gained more prominence in the past 10 years.
Magical and hypnotic, Sagada, is home to breathtakingly massive, pine-clad, and cloud-covered mountains, graceful rice terraces, magnificent caves and dramatic waterfalls, sparklingly clear streams, and the proud and extremely rich Kankanaey culture and people – the true jewel of the Cordillera.
Sagada, formerly called Ganduyan, is a quaint and quiet town of Mountain Province tucked away in the stunning mountains of Northern Luzon – 12 hours drive north of Manila, 5-6 hours north of Baguio City and about 2 hours further from the provincial capital, Bontoc. Sagada was what Baguio City was 50-100 years ago, and unlike the latter, has a more laidback, quieter, and slower pace of lifestyle with the culture which is steeped in metaphor relatively intact among its Kankanaey populace. The thrilling (and to some, very intimidating) drive to Sagada, which can be accessed either via Banawe in Ifugao or Baguio in Benguet is characterized by precision driving through a narrow highway that snakes through the mountains of the region with drops to at least two kilometers deep down into the ravines, rice terraces and lush pine jungles of the Cordilleras.
Sagada Travel Guide Why Not Go Why Go Best Time to Visit Where to Stay Nightlife To Do List Stay Away From Getting There Sagada is a culinary surprise. For a small mountain town that seems worlds away from movers and shakers of the culinary scene, Sagada has a wide array of world-class, topnotch dining. [...]
Sagada Sagada Travel Guide Why Not Go Why Go Best Time to Visit Where to Stay Where & What to Eat Nightlife To Do List Stay Away From There are no airports in Sagada nor Bontoc. The nearest international airport is in Clark Airforce City in Pampanga (Diosdado Macapagal International Airport) otherwise one has to [...]
