The Philippines: Day Trips from Manila

Lake Taal & Tagaytay

A two-hour leisurely drive from Manila brings visitors to Tagaytay, at 2,500 feet above sea level a city never without a refreshing breeze from which to take in the magnificent view of Taal Lake and Volcano, a lake within a lake with a crater within a crater. En route are coconut plantations, stalls with delicious Philippine fruits and typical scenery to enjoy. Down on the lake there is sailing and other water sports available, or visitors can board a motorized outrigger banca (small boat) for the half hour journey to the volcano itself, where a hike up its lava hardened surface brings one to the volcano's rim that yields a magnificent view of a green-hued lake with a small island within.

Returning to Manila takes place through the placid town of Taal, with its wealth of shopping available from factories, as well as embroidery shops that boast of artistic, hand embroidered fabrics, table linen and clothing accessories. A museum called Leon Apacible showcases antique furnishing, pottery and other intriguing artifacts.

Pagsanjan Falls

A two-hour journey southeast of Manila takes adventurous visitors to the town of Pagsanjan and its world-famous falls. This is an outstanding outdoor experience as riders board a dugout canoe manned by two expert boatmen who energetically push and guide the craft upstream through jagged boulders and rocks jutting out of the water to the elevated falls. Upon reaching the top, experience the rushing water on a bamboo raft ride that goes right under the falls, before experiencing an intense rush of adrenaline by "shooting the rapids" on the way back down through the rocky obstacle course to the calm Pagsanjan river.

Corregidor Island

In terms of legendary Philippine past, this offshore island fortress 25 miles west of Manila, reached in one-hour aboard a luxurious, 150 seat fast ferry, has unprecedented significance. It is where a handful of Filipino and American patriots resisted the fury of a Japanese onslaught aimed at conquering the country at the beginning of WWII in the Pacific theatre. An absorbing tour guides visitors through the features that made this island a formidable defense bastion: gigantic canons across the island, a mile long barracks facility that housed thousands of fighting-fit soldiers, a Pacific War Memorial museum with war relics and photos of such, a light and sound multi-vision presentation inside darkened Malinta Tunnel where Gen. Douglas McArthur met with Philippine Commonwealth president Manuel L. Quezon, and from which they made their historic escape. The general had strongly pronounced the immortal words "I shall return", just before making his top-secret rendezvous with a waiting submarine offshore. All in all, an absolute must for history buffs.

Villa Escudero

In Tiaong, Quezon, less than three hours drive from Manila, is an 800-hectare, Spanish era coconut plantation that represents "hacienda" style living within a rural backdrop. There is a private museum with an absorbing collection of historic, religious and cultural artifacts spanning pre-Spanish times to WWII years. A sightseeing tour aboard a cart driven by a carabao (water buffalo) reveals the growing, harvesting and processing stages of coconut cultivation and takes riders to man made waterfalls. On selected days there are cultural shows to marvel at. Villa Escudero is a truly native experience.

Mount Pinatubo

When Mt. Pinatubo awoke from centuries of slumber with a cataclysmic eruption in 1991, it displayed a fury rarely seen by modern man, shooting mushroom clouds miles into the atmosphere and noticeably changing the weather patterns globally. When the rains came after the millions of tons of dust had settled, ensuing mudflow (lahar) rampaged down its slopes, obliterating everything in its path and significantly changing the landscape. A decade and a half later, the trek through Pinatubo's explosive paths are at once sobering, and inspiring. Ruins of make-shift dams and half buried edifices attest to the power of mother nature, but the resilience and positive nature of the Aetas, the mountain tribe displaced by the eruption, is evident in the newly built homes of their resettlement area - testimony to their hardiness and the way they have bounced back from disaster.

Other Day Tours

There are numerous possibilities for other day excursions in and around Manila. Some of the more popular ones include:

• Adventure activities in Subic Bay and Clark
• Seaplane / helicopter tours of Luzon
• Scuba diving in Anilao
• Golf at any of the numerous golf courses near to Manila
• WWII historical tours in Bataan
• Water sports along the coast of Batangas
• Agricultural tours
• Walking tours of Old Manila