Philippines Tourism

Guitars
Guitar-making is the occupation of the people of Mactan District and Maribago District in Lapulapu City.

Mangoes
Tropical island Cebu is famous not only for its fresh mangoes but its export-quality dried mangoes.

Magellan’s Cross
Planted in April 21, 1521 by Ferdinand Magellan, it is the spot where the first Christian Filipinos, Rajah Humabon and Queen Juana and about 400 of their followers, were baptized by Fr. Pedro Valderema.

Image of Santo Niño
Considered as the oldest religious relic in the Philippines, the image of the Santo Niño, or Holy Child, was given by Ferdinand Magellan to Queen Juana, among the first Filipinos to be Christianized, as a baptismal gift in 1521. The image survived a great fire in 1565 unscratched. It has since been deemed miraculous and venerated by the Cebuanos as their patron saint.

Basilica Minor del Santo Niño
The church was built by Miguel Lopez de Legaspi and Father Andres Urdaneta on the site where the image of Santo Niño was found in 1565. The first structure of the church was, however, destroyed by fire on November 1, 1568. It was rebuilt in 1602 under the administration of Juan Albaran and was rehabilitated in 1740. On May 1965, the church was conferred the title of Basilica Minor del Santo Niño by Cardinal Antonuitte, Papal Legate during the Fourth Centennial Celebration of the Christianization of Cebu.

Sinulog Festival
Cebu’s biggest and most popular festival, the Sinulog Festival is a feast in honor of the Holy Image of Senyor Santo Niño de Cebu. People converge along the routes of a grand solemn procession and partake in the gaiety amidst a mardi gras parade immersed in wild colors and the constant beating of drums. Fiesta Senyor, as it is widely known, is celebrated every third Sunday of January.

Mactan Island
It is a coral island and famous scuba diving and beach site. It is also the site of the Export Processing Zone, which presently employs a 37,118-strong workforce. Mactan Island, located across Mandaue City, encompasses a total land area of 150 hectares.

Malapascua Island
Malapascua, a term that literally means "Unfortunate Christmas," is a paradise where time stands still. The island is blessed with white sand beaches and crystal clear waters. The west coast is especially ideal for swimming and snorkeling. It takes about three hours by land from Cebu City to reach the island, which lies at the northern tip of Cebu and west of Leyte.

Moalboal
About a third of the way up the west coast of Cebu is the sleepy little market town of Moalboal. About five kilometers outside the town, down a dusty track, is Panagsama Beach, which was one of the first places where scuba diving caught on in the Philippines. In the early 1980s, it was one of the most popular and highly regarded diving destinations in Asia, which led to dive resorts having sprung up all along the adjacent coast. From Moalboal, you can dive straight off Panagsama Beach. All you need to do is swim out a few meters and drop down onto a beautiful, sloping wall that descends to 35 meters. Panagsama Beach is home to an extraordinary array of coral, anemones, sponges, and a swarming host of brightly colored reef fish.

Olango Wildlife Sanctuary
Olango Island supports the largest concentration of migratory birds found thus far in the country. Migration of these birds starts from their breeding places in Siberia, Northern China, and Japan. Based on data gathered so far, the birds use Olango as a major refueling station as well as a wintering ground. At Olango, the birds can replenish their fat reserves by feeding on the rich supplies of invertebrates in the intertidal mudflats. These fat reserves fuel the birds on the next lap of their journey, which may cover from 3,000 to 15,000 kilometers of nonstop flight.

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Philippines Tourism