The best tourist attractions in the Philippines

The Philippines attract tourists from around the world mostly with wide beaches, lakes and waterfalls, and the variety of flora and fauna. However, this beautiful country has a lot of other spots and objects of cultural value to see. Here are the most interesting sights of the Philippine Islands.

Boracay Island

Boracay is known as one of the best beach resorts in the Philippines. This island is rather new to the world of tourism: it became popular not so long ago, in the mid-80s. The most famous beach of Boracay, the White Beach, got its name from the pure white sand. The Bulabog beach fits perfectly for windsurfing and kiting.

Apart from the beaches, Boracay has a lot of interesting places: the Butterfly Garden, the Bat Caves, Lahore Mountain, the highest point of the island, and Museo de Roberto y Gloria Tirol – the museum, dedicated to the cultural heritage of China.

Boracay is a local nightlife hub. There are plenty of restaurants, bars, and nightclubs. This island is for active leisure.

Chocolate Hills

The Bohol Island in the Philippines is famous for its unique Chocolate Hills – 1268 limestone hills with steep slopes, which in dry seasons look like chocolate truffles. Their height varies from 30 to 50 meters, and they are all covered with grass creating a sharp contrast with the lush tropical forest of the island. By the end of the dry season, the grass burns and turns brown. It’s hard to believe that these hills are natural formations and were not created by human hands.

El Nido Marine Reserve Park

The El Nido Reserve is a unique ecosystem with unusual geological formations and amazing flora and fauna. It’s located in the northwest of the Palawan Island. El Nido occupies more than 900 square kilometers, with more than half of the reserve belonging to the marine waters. The reserve includes about 45 rocky islands, where you can see a variety of landscapes: cliffs, sandy beaches, different forest types. The marine part of the reserve is represented by a huge variety of fish and corals.

Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park

This national park is also located near the Palawan Island, on the St. Paul’s Hill. As the name implies, the main attraction of the park is the 8.2 km long underground river. Over the years, the river has created a lot of caves and grottoes, which became home to birds and bats. The largest of the caves reaches 60m in height and 120m in width.

Due to the richness of nature, the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park has become one of the new seven wonders of nature. Some parts of the park are covered with mountain forests and mangrove vegetation. Due to the low content of salt in the water, the mouth of the Puerto Princesa River is habited not by only fish, but also turtles, sharks, and dolphins.

Basilica del Santo Niño

Basilica del Santo Niño is the minor basilica in Cebu City in the Philippines, founded in the XVI century. It is the oldest Roman Catholic Church in the country. The building was reconstructed in 1739 – 1740. The services in the Basilica are conducted every Friday from 5 am to midnight.

Taal Volcano

Taal Volcano, located near Manila, is one of the smallest active volcanoes in the world. It’s located in the middle of the Taal Lake which was formed by volcanic activity. 100-500 years ago, the volcanic caldera was flooded with natural waters. Since the 16th century, the volcano erupted more than 30 times.

The last eruption took place in 1965. The eruption of 1911 resulted in great damage. In 10 minutes, the land around the volcano has turned into a lifeless desert.

Its crater hides another small lake with a tiny island in the middle. Although the volcano is potentially dangerous, the area around it is densely populated.