The Philippines is made up of over 7,000 islands! It would take a lifetime to even get a taste of the Philippines. Each island as its own unique landscape and culture, but today I wanted to share some amazing sites from their largest island: Luzon. In addition to being the largest, it’s also the most populated and varies greatly as you travel across it. Here are just a handful of Philippines highlights from Luzon.
TAAL VOLCANO
Taal Volcano is a quick day trip from Manila and getting to stand on the edge of the main crater takes quire the journey. First you arrive at the edge of the lake surrounding Taal Volcano and that’s just the easy part of the trip. You have to catch a boat across that lake to the edges of the volcano crater. Then you have to hop on a horse or trek up by foot to the top of the center crater where you look down on a lake within the crater within the lake. How cool is that? The water and surrounding peaks just creates an unforgettable landscape.
BANAUE RICE TERRACES
There are many destinations in Southeast Asia that have rice terraces, but the ones in Banaue are pretty incredible because you can take them in so many ways. We looked at them through a cafe window and watched the farmers tend to them. If you have more time you can also trek through them on one of these holiday packages for the Philippines.
NATIONAL MUSEUM
I love a good museum visit, especially national museums because they typically give a unique insight into a country and a culture. The Philippines’ National Museum is in the capital, Manila and there are different buildings. You can see amazing art exhibits, cultural artifacts and lots about their history. It was incredible. If you only have time for one building, I would recommend the art portion. It was really moving and there were so many beautiful works of art.
VIGAN
This Northern town makes you feel like you’re no longer even in Asia. You step onto colonial style architecture and cobbled streets. Because it’s one of the only cities of its kind left in the Philippines, it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In fact, it’s even one of the New 7 Wonders (Cities). It’s a point of pride among a lot of the locals we met all across Luzon.
SAGADA CAVE CONNECTION
This is one of the greatest adventures I’ve ever taken. We crawled, climbed, shimmied, slid and slithered through five miles of caves. The Sagada Cave Connection links two caves together. One is harder to go through than the others, but the other is filled with gorgeous formations. It’s so worth the effort and adventure!
PARTAKE IN THE FRESH FRUIT
This may seem like a strange thing to top a list, but the fruit in the Philippines in just unreal. It’s fresh, flavorful and decadent. Mangoes are the thing you should jump on first, but I highly recommend the bananas, pineapples and jackfruit as well!
Luzon is the largest island in The Philippines, so this is obviously just a taste of the Philippines. It’s such a varied country that there’s something for everyone. Foodies, adventure-lovers and even beach bums. What are you waiting for? Take your own trip to the Philippines and discover all it has to offer for yourself!
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18 Comments
Tiesé
January 30, 2018 at 12:52 amThat landscape is gorgeous and reminds me a lot of some of the mountain views in Ecuador! And fresh fruit topping a list is not strange at all! it’d be on my list any day!
foureyeslens
February 3, 2018 at 2:59 amAt last the Philippines! have you tried the coconut juice too? Please tell me you did! haha!
Daphne
February 5, 2018 at 10:48 amAfter reading this post, I would love to visit Luzon one day! Riding a horse to the top of the center crater of Taal volcano sounds like a true adventure, and so does your experience at the Sagada Cave Connection. Would love to explore one day myself!
Cat
February 5, 2018 at 1:06 pmI love Luzon. Never made it to Vigan sadly though. The northern rice terraces and Sagada were amazing. I think the mangoes are the tastiest I ever tried too 🙂
Candy
February 5, 2018 at 7:57 pmI’ve been to the Philippines twice and have never seen a town like Vigan! I love the architecture and the cobblestone streets do no resemble the Philippines at all. I’m used to seeing tropical photos on the Philippines 🙂
Agness of Fit Travelling
February 6, 2018 at 6:34 amThis is the first time I am hearing about the Island of Luzon and I am definitely adding it to my bucket list, Paige. How many days would be enough to explore all the highlights there?
Cat
February 6, 2018 at 11:05 pmI’ve heard about Luzon a few times, but didn’t really know what to do there. You post definitely gave me some inspirations! The cave connection activity sounds super interesting and right up my alley!
Noel Morata
February 11, 2018 at 1:15 pmFantastic first impression of the island, I see you got to see some of the best things and attractions of this island and outside of busy Manila.
Ami Bhat
February 12, 2018 at 4:15 amThat shot of Vigan was like really awesome. On the whole, this place looks beautiful and interesting. I like the sound of the markets and the activities around it. The cave bits is the one activity that I would not miss. Thanks for introducing this place to me.
Sam Sparrow
February 12, 2018 at 9:18 amI had no idea that the Philippines is made up of over 7,000 islands – awesome! I love caves, so Sagada Cave Connection is definitely something I’d love to explore, although to be honest I don’t think my husband would agree!
Vanessa Chiasson
February 12, 2018 at 9:03 pmThere’s an area close to me in Ontario, Canada, that’s known as the “Thousand Islands” region – I thought we were the winners for an island count but 7000 is incredible. It’s great to have an indepth look at one of them- gorgeous photos.
Siddhartha Joshi
February 12, 2018 at 10:10 pmThanks for lovely concise introduction to Philippines – I am hopefully going there in April, and this is exactly the inspiration I need to start planning. My favorite is Sagada Cave Connection…I love exploring caves 🙂
Nisha
February 13, 2018 at 12:02 amThis post has brought me fond memories of my own trip to these and other lovely places. I agree Vigan is not like anyother place in the Philippines . It has elements of a quaint European town. Thanks for this post.
Flying Fluskey
February 13, 2018 at 3:06 amWell you have certainly made me want to return! We only spent a day and a half in Manila and then head to Palawan but we missed so much. I’d love to visit Vigan and see something very different from most of the towns. I also REALLY miss the mangoes! I’m not sure having three mango shakes a day was good for my waistline but Philippine mangoes are the best!
Cathy Salvador Mendoza
February 13, 2018 at 6:52 amOh Philippines my country! I’ve visited and been to all them, from Vigan to Taal! Actually, the number of islands in the Philippines has been updated, it’s used to be 7,100 , now it increases up to 7,400++, amazing, isn’t it? Did you like all the tropical fruits? What’s your most favorite? I like jackfruit! We used to have a jackfruit tree in my backyard!
Christopher
February 13, 2018 at 2:56 pmOver 7000 islands. Wow. I had to read that again to be sure I wasn’t reading it wrong. Taal Volcano is cool but that hike sounds like a mission. Wow. The Philippines is so high on my list of places to visit as I’ve seen some many blog post is it is just beautiful. The town of Vigan looks pretty awesome too.
HoneyTrek
February 13, 2018 at 7:02 pmWow, you really did SO much. We made it to the Banaue rice terraces for a multi-day trek (AWESOME), and the Sagada caves (how cool was the texture of the rocks you walked on? like sandpaper). Now you make me want to return to check out that volcano….i am addicted to volcano trips now 🙂
Jessica
February 13, 2018 at 9:36 pmI’ve never been to the Phillipines, but would love to go one day. The islands seem so beautiful and Luzon is no exception. Would love to indulge in that fresh tropical fruit!