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Travel Philippines
Philippines is a country that I have traveled to many times because of its
natural beauty from pristine beaches, breathtaking volcanic mountains and
colorful culture. I have never fail to include scuba diving in my tour
itinerary when I travel to this country that have so many islands and
beautiful beach resorts like in Boracay,
Palawan,
Puerto Galleria, Cebu,
Anilao and Mactan just to name a few. We will tour Philippine's individual
tourist spots and attractions in future articles on this Asia travel guide
website.
Philippines Geography
Philippines
is situated in South-East Asia and is an archipelago of more than 7,100
beautiful tropical islands with a total land area of 300,000 square km
(116,000 sq miles). The country borders the Philippine Sea on the east, the
South China Sea on its west, and
the Celebes Sea to its south.
The islands of Philippines are divided into three island groups of Luzon,
Visayas and Mindanao and each of the island group have its own natural and man
made tourist attractions. The capital city of the country, Manila,
is on Luzon and is the second largest city after Quezon City which is a part
of Metro Manila also in Luzon.
Most of the Filipino islands are mountainous and many are still covered
in lush tropical rainforest. Many of the islands are formed out of volcanic
activities. The highest mountain in Phillipines is Mount Apo on the
South-Eastern island of Mindanao. The summit of Mt Apo stands at 2,954 m or
9,692 ft.
Since the country is located on northwestern part of the Pacific Ring of Fire,
it frequently experience seismic and volcanic activities. About 20 seismic
activities are recorded everyday in the Philippines although most of them are
too weak to be felt physically by human beings. However, periodically, a
monster quake will cause serious devastations such as the one that rocked
Luzon in 1990.
On top of that, there are still many active
volcanoes in the Phillipines such as Mayon Volcano, Mount Pinatubo (an
eruption in 1991 killed hundreds of people and destroyed several thousand
homes), and Taal Volcano.
Now when these mountains are dormant, they can make your
sightseeing trips very eventful as they are astounding sights to behold.
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To add to the misery, Philippines is also sitting in the typhoon prone area of
the Western Pacific and several such storms are known to smash into the
country every year.
As if natural calamities are not bad enough, the country also faces
armed rebels trying to create an independent state in the south, especially in
the Zamboanga peninsula, Basilan, Midanao and the Sulu islands.
Philippines Travel Advisory - Tourists are advised not to travel
to these areas and if they do so, then travel with local guides
are recommended because government troops are fighting the rebels there and
it could get dangerous.
There are also instances of terrorist bombings in Makati and even in
Manila. Most of these terrorist acts are linked to the Abu Sayaf group of
armed rebels.
Philippine population and culture
The Philippines has a population of about 87 million people and is the world's
12th most populous country (as at 2007). About two-thirds of the population
resides on Luzon and the literacy rate of its people is relatively high at
about was 93%.
Life expectancy of about 70 is rather remarkable for a country where most
people are living near or at poverty level.
There are almost 200 languages and dialects spoken in the Phillipines,
however, according to the Constitution, Filipino (Tagalog) and English are
both the official languages.
As for religion, The Philippines is one of the only two majority Roman
Catholic countries in Asia. The other Catholic majority country is nearby East
Timor. About 80% of Filipinos are Catholics, 2% are of Protestant
denominations and 5% are Muslims.
Although Christianity is a major influence and guide in its cultural
scene, indigenous traditions and rituals are still flourishing. There many
Hispanic influences in the Filipino culture. These influences are largely
derived from about three centuries of Spanish colonial rule. The Hispanic
influences guides almost every aspect of the Filipino lifestyle which include
work of literature, folk music and folk dancing, language and dialects, local
cuisine, in the arts and even religion.
Till this day, Spanish influences in the country cannot be missed by the
tourists because many streets, towns and even provinces bear Spanish names.
Spanish architecture in the Philippines are also evident everywhere,
especially in the country's churches, government buildings and universities.
I hope you enjoy this
travel guide on facts and information about Philippines. In future articles,
we will zoom in on the tourist
attractions and resorts in this remarkable country in South East Asia – Philippines
Travel Guide is posted on 31st Oct 2007
More Philippines tourist travel guide articles.
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