Located in the province of Sorsogon in Bicol region, this is a place of unspoiled beaches, eye-cathcing waterfalls and unexplored caves. The quiet fishing village of Donsol is the place in the Philippines to behold whale sharks. The ocean’s gentle giants can be caught sight of between November and June, with the numbers peaking between February and May. Sightseers can likewise take a boat cruise along the Donsol River through mangrove and palm trees, and gaze the night light up with millions of sparkling fireflies.
One of the top tourist attractions in the Philippines, the Chocolate Hills are extraordinary geological formations that consists of at least 1,268 individual mounds strewn throughout the interior of the island of Bohol. The almost proportioned and same-sized formations range from 98 to 164 feet (30 to 50 meters) high are sheltered in green grass. The grass turns brown in the hills during the dry season, hence the name. There is no consensus on how these giant mole hills were developed. One hypothesis affirms that the Chocolate Hills are the weather-beaten rock formations of a kind of marine limestone on top of an impermeable layer of clay.
This is perhaps a small island, but it packs great features such as award-winning beaches, beautiful resorts and great escapadees like cliff diving, parasailing, motor-biking, horse riding, snorkeling, kite surfing and scuba diving. Boat tours allow trippers to watch spectacular sunsets, explore volcanic caves and remote coves of turquoise lagoons.
No voyage to the Philippines could be complete without seeing the stunning Banaue Rice Terraces. Without modern tools, this has been engineered by the Ifugao tribes from the mountain which ranges about 2,000 years ago. These superb farm terraces resemble giant steps reaching up to the sky. Locals to this day still plant rice and vegetables on the terraces, although more and more younger Ifugaos do not find farming appealing bringing a number to emigrate to the cities.
The Biri Island is where the splendid Magasang Rock formation is located, and where the San Bernardino Strait meets the Pacific Ocean. Geologists from the University of the Philippines asserts that the rocks from this nature-engineered rock formation date back from the Early Miocene Period, and their ages range from five to 23 million years old. Other larger islands are Talisay, Magasang, and Cagnipa can also be explored.
This is a wedge-shaped limestone island, with few of its coastal areas being protected by mangrove forests. It has seven lakes, renowned as the nationally-acclaimed cleanest lake in the Philippines, the Kayangan Lake. It also has a number of islands with white beaches and clear blue waters wonderful for snorkeling, deepsea fishing and shipwreck diving.
The aquatic picturesque panorama from the sunken Japanese warships off Coron Island are listed in Forbes Traveler Magazine’s top 10 best scuba diving sites in the world.
