Places to visit in the Philippines - Part 7

July 1, 2021

Today we are going to continue our virtual tour in the Philippines, it's been four days since we last went out on our virtual tour. And there are still places left in Luzon that I haven't cover and those places are really wonderful.

I'm not sure if you have seen the previous series of this article but let me share it with you again, here is the link so you can visit them if you feel like going places virtually.

Places to visit in the Philipines - Part 1

Places to visit in the Philipines - Part 2

Places to visit in the Philipines - Part 3

Places to visit in the Philipines - Part 4

Places to visit in the Philipines - Part 5

Places to visit in the Philipines - Part 6

Let's now start our virtual tour and let's go to these wonderful places in the Southern end of Luzon.

Cagbalete Island, Quezon Province

Cagbalete Island is one of the jewels of Quezon Province. It is under the jurisdiction of the town of Mauban, Quezon. To get there you have to take a boat ride from Mauban port going to the Island. You can take the public boat or you can arrange for a private boat ride directly to the resort where you are going. What we did was the latter since when we arrived in Mauban Port all the public boats going to Cagbalete have already left. There are so many things that you can do on the island. One of them is island hopping to the Yang-in Sandbar, Fish Sanctuary, and Ilog Bukana. You also have a choice if you want to go on camping or you want to rent a cottage. There are good resorts around that island and the water is also crystal clear. You can do snorkeling but you have to bring your own equipment. This is one of the islands that is always on my list if ever we want to go back to those places that we have been.

Caramoan Island

Caramoan Island is located in the lower eastern part of Camarines Sur in the Bicol region. Traveling from Manila via private car would take you about 10-12 hours drive just to get to Sabang Port. It is an hour and a half drive from Naga City and you still have another 1.5 hr boat ride to the island. Yes, I know what you are thinking right now about the number of hours just to explore this pristine island. But believe me, it's really worth it. And did you know that the reality show Survivor was shoot on this island? Can you imagine now what this island is offering to their tourist? Island hopping is what they offer to their visitors to see the beauty of the whole island. Having white sand beaches and clear water you will never get tired of their whole day package of island hopping. We stayed for three days and two nights and believe me, it is not enough for us to fully enjoy the island.

Legazpi City

Now let's go where we can find the famous Mayon Volcano, Cagsawa Ruins and the Daraga Church to name a few of the places that we can go in this City . Legazpi City is the capital of Albay  in the region of Bicol located on the southern end of Luzon. We stayed at Oriental Hotel Legazpi for 4 days and three nights just to make sure that we can visit all the places that we want to visit. And staying here gives you a nice view of Mount Mayon that will greet you in the morning and will also bid you good night as the sunset in the evening. So let's start our travel but first let's see the beauty of Mayon with my own lens.

The ideal time to see the beauty of this beautiful perfect cone are early mornings or late evenings when the tip of the volcano is less likely to be obscured by clouds

Cagsawa Ruins Park

Is one of the most famous tourist attractions here in Legazpi City. The Ruins are the remains of the church that was built by the Franciscans duting the 17th Century.

If you are lucky on a clear day you can see Mt. Mayon just behind the ruins. The church was first destroyed by Dutch pirates and then in 1814, the historic eruption of Mayon Volcano once again destroyed the church and the town of Cagsawa.

Daraga Church

Darag Church which is also known as the Nuestra Senora de la Porteria Parish Church was built in 1772. This is also one of the most popular tourist spot in legazpi. The 17th century baroque structure is made from volcanic stone, and set on top of a hill with a clear view of Mount Mayon in the background has witnessed several historic events, including the 1814 eruption of Mayon Volcano that left 2,000 people killed. No wonder this is one of the most visited tourist spot in Legazpi.

 Ligñon Hill Nature Park

If you want to take good panoramic view of Mount Mayon, this is the best place where you can take a good shot. If you want some adventure, this park offers you some activities that you will give you some adrenaline rush. They have Kapit Tuko Trail (Lizard Grip Trail), a 320-meter long zip line that I almost tried but at the least minute I change my mind and a hanging bridge that I really enjoyed.

The best time to go here is in the morning, at around 7 o’clock when you can see the perfect cone shape of Mayon Volcano but if you want to watch the sunset this is also the perfect place to be.

Calintaan Island (Subic Beach), Sorsogon

This time I can really say that we are at the end of Luzon. And this is the last place that we are going to visit virtually at the end part of Luzon. Traveling from Legazpi City to Matnog, Sorsogon took us about 4 hours drive, the welcome arch of Matnog Sorsogon telling us that we reach the last point of Luzon. Going to Subic Beach, you have to hire a boat at Matnog Port, it will take you about 30 mins boat ride going to the beach. And this is another place that can make you say that its really worth the travel hours. The sand here is quite fine and when viewed from afar it takes on a pinkish-white hue. On closer look we could see why: mixed in with the creamy white sand grains are particles of deep red color produced by the crushing of red corals. Aside from the beauty of the beach other activities are offered here too, like island hopping, snorkeling, visiting a cave pool and a fish sanctuary.

And this is where our tour of Luzon ends. The Matnog Port is the entry way going to the Visayas Region but we are not yet hopping that ferry. Maybe in the next few days we will hop in that ferry and enjoy the view going Catbalogan where it stops. But for now I hope you do enjoy our last part of our Luzon virtual travel. And I'll see you again on our next virtual tour, the Tour of Visayas Region. Thanks for enjoying this virtual trip with me.

Lead Image source:

All images are mine except the lead Image

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