An archipelago of 7,641 islands, the Philippines has countless thrills for you and your loved ones. You can go island-hopping forever. Or dive into the deep blue sea and get lost in its lushness, its lusciousness. (The Philippine Deep was once considered the deepest part of the ocean.) Or climb every mountain — or volcano. (We are in the Pacific rim of fire.) Or ride the strong tropical wind aboard Wizard of Oz balloons.
You can even plunge headlong into our desertscapes — the shape-shifting sand dunes in the northern Philippine city of Laoag. Or run alongside giraffes in Palawan, for many years named the best island destination in the world by glossy international luxury magazines.
And then there are out-of-this-world mystical experiences in certain mountains and islands for the brave and daring.
Here’s the thing: The rest of the archipelago is an ecotourism adventure beyond compare. Did you know that the Philippines has the world’s smallest primate (the tarsier) as well as the biggest fish (the whale shark)?
Traipsing through the Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras
Carved by cultural communities from mountain cliffs, these breathtaking rice terraces in the northern Philippines seem to be ancient stairways to the gods. They are, in fact, feats of engineering that trap water from mountain springs and achieve what would have been impossible in these highlands: grow rice, the staple crop of the islands. They’re also an Instagram-perfect backdrop for your selfie. The United Nations has named these rice terraces World Heritage Sites. You will certainly agree.
Trekking
When Mount Pinatubo in the northern Philippines erupted in 1991, the ash it spewed cooled the Earth for several years. Today, you can go trekking right to the volcanic crater, and even enjoy sand safari rides in its barren sandscape. Largely formed by volcanic activity, the Philippines is where you can probably climb every mountain. There’s Mount Apo in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao, the highest peak in the country. And Mount Pulag in the north. In fact, the island-province of Camiguin in the south has more volcanoes than towns — and it is a must-visit destination.
Caving
Many Filipinos escaped the ravages of World War II by hiding in the country’s many caves. These days, the caves are a big ecotourism draw. At the Callao cave, the stalactites and stalagmites form arches that make you feel you are inside a stone church done in the Gothic architectural style, making you gape in awe at the grandeur of creation. The caves in Sagada are ancient burial grounds preserved over time. And in the west-central Philippines, you can go kayaking at the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, at the St. Paul Mountain Range in the west-central Philippines. Considered the world’s longest underground river, it has been declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations.
Bird Watching
The monkey-eating eagle, now known as the Philippine Eagle, is among the 760 species of birds found in the Philippines. After all, the Philippine islands are a stopover for migratory birds as they swoop from the Asian mainland down to the Asia-Pacific. Among them are the Chinese egret, Eurasian spoonbill, Von Schrenck’s bittern, and other rare species. Bird watchers hie off to the Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary in the central Philippines and the Candaba Swamp in the northern Philippines.
Scuba Diving
Experts consider the Philippines as the “center of marine biodiversity.” They marvel at the Verde Island Passage, in particular. But there are other Philippine sites on the global scuba diving map, too: Anilao, Calamianes, Cebu, Malapascua, Coron, Apo Reef, and Tubbataha Reef, among others. They offer clear water, vigorous corals, intense drop-offs, and crazy, Manila-style rush-hour traffic of marine life — including rare sightings of endangered species. And at El Nido, the dive sites will give you a first-hand look at history: what happened to battleships sunk during World War II.
Swimming with whale sharks in Donsol and Oslob
Don’t be intimidated by their name. Whale sharks are really just fish — except that they’re the biggest fish in the world. But they eat planktons, not humans. So you can swim with them, and have a selfie or a video taken while cavorting with them underwater. The best places to meet and greet these marine darlings are in Donsol, Sorsogon, at the Donsol Whale Shark Interaction Center, as well as in the central Philippine town of Oslob in the island-province Cebu, through a community-based ecotourism initiative.
Paddle boarding down the Loboc River
The town of Loboc in Bohol island, near Cebu, is known for its children’s choir, and the sweet angelic voices sometimes waft down the river running through the town as you skim its bucolic surface on your paddle board. This is the route of the famous Loboc River Cruise, where many tourists are wined and dined on a bamboo raft as they navigate all the way to the waterfalls in the hinterlands. But you’re not the touristy type, right? So, yes, you can go paddle boarding into the heart of the Philippine jungle and let out your primal Tarzan roar.
White-water rafting in Cagayan de Oro
It’s a whole-day scream-all-you-can ride in the southern Philippine city of Cagayan de Oro, where it’s white-water rafting season all year round. The ride actually begins at the central Mindanao mountain province of Bukidnon, whose waters feed into the great Cagayan de Oro River. The river boasts all classes of white-water rafting: still water (class 1), ripply stream (class 2), straight rapids (class 3), extremely difficult rapids (class 4), and rapids requiring technically challenging maneuvers (class 5). From first-timers to extreme adventure enthusiasts, there’s an adventure package for everyone. And the packages include a shameless dig-in-with-your-bare-hands picnic lunch to remember.
Hot Air Ballooning
The Philippine Hot Air Balloon Festival in Clark Field, a three-hour’s drive north of Metro Manila, is a big event every February. Go up the sky in colorful, stylish balloons and see the expanse of what once was part of the most strategic U.S. bases in Asia.
Sky Diving
At the Skydiving Center in Tanauan, Batangas, you can indulge in adventure packages that include drop zones off Taal Volcano — a crater within a lake that is also a crater — and picturesque Mount Makiling almost skimming idyllic Laguna de Bai.
Ziplining
You can go ziplining your way through the archipelago: over the limestone seascapes of El Nido in Palawan, the jungles of Bohol Island in the central Philippines, and the romantic pine trees in the mountain province of Bukidnon, where the Del Monte pineapple plantation stretches as far as your eyes can see.
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