Jul 31 2008
The Philippines
The Philippines is an archipelago consisting of over 7000 islands (7107 islands) stretched to a length of 805 km located in the SE corner of Asia and separated from the mainland continent by the South China Sea. Only 7% of the many islands present here have a surface greather than 2 km and only one third have a name. The combined surface of the islands is around 300.000 square km of which the biggest are Luzon in the north (108.000 sq km) where the Philippines capital city, Manila, is located and Mindanao in the south (99.000 sq km). Only one third of the 7000 islands have a name most of them being uninhabited, making the destination even more exotic.
Most of the people living here are situated on 11 of the islands, the most whell known being Negros, Leyte, Samar, Palawan, Panay, Bohol, Leyte, Masbate, Mindoro, and Cebu.
The Philippines arhipelago is separated from Taiwan on the N by the Bashi Channel (forming part of the Luzon Strait) on the SW by the Balabac Strait and the Sibutu Passage (off the Sulu Archipelago). Bordering seas include the Philippine Sea and the Pacific Ocean on the E, the Celebes Sea on the S, the Sulu Sea on the SW, and the South China Sea on the W. The Philippines has a total coastline of 36,289 km.
The warm tropical waters, the extraordinary marine life, the breath-taking landscape of islands and mountains are just some of the reasons why tourists choose this destination.
On the island of Samar tourists visit the beautiful city of Viriato which stretches along the coast. From here they can choose to do many fun and unforgettable activities such as visiting unpopulated islands, taking unique climbing routes in the nearby rocky mountains or just relax on the beautiful beaches.
In the city of Banaue you can still see the terraces built for the cultivation of rice 2000 years ago and the ingenious irrigation system invented by the primitive head-hunters, wooden tubes created from bamboo placed in the ground.
The National “Park of 100 Islands” is another popular tourist destination for the incredible beauty of the islands which have been strangely shapped by the water to the most unusual forms. The most popular islands are Quezon and “The Children’s Island”.
A unique fenomenon in the world is the so called “Chocolate Hills”. This was formed by the lava from numerous volcanic eruptions setteling down in many lairs along the years giving the hills a darkish brown color just like chocolate.
Perhaps one of the most exotic places in the Philippines is found on Mindano island. Here tourists can travel to Sebu lake located in the mountains at a hight of 300 meters where a completely isolated tribe lives called T’boli. Here hand-made original items can be purchased from the villagers.
These are just some of the exotic places the make the Philippines one of the most exotic destinations on the planet where you can still see unaltered natural beauty.
