An hour’s drive away from Manila is the popular resort city of Tagaytay where Nurture Spa promises relaxing and rejuvenating experiences. Offering distinctly Filipino accommodations in native-style huts, Nurture’s body-mind-spirit activities are a good start to embracing a wellness lifestyle.

In Batangas, one of Manila’s nearby provinces, is the popular San Benito Farm, a holistic health resort. The Farm’s Salus per Aqua Spa has womb-like private massage pavilions offering reflexology, Thai massage, stone massage, body scrubs and a unique ’massage under the stars’ for that perfect romantic nightcap. Also in Batangas is the Sanctuary Spa at Maya Maya with a full menu of treatments including ‘hilot’ the traditional filipino massage.

Boracay’s Mandala Spa is a secluded resort of just 12 luxury villas and home to award-winning holistic therapies. Using all natural products, Mandala offers a range of pampering treatments which promise to rejuvenate body and mind. Then there’s the Surfside Boracay Resort and Spa, whose 14 rooms give on to the gorgeous turquoise waters, and offer Japanese style spa treatments.

In Palawan, Club Paradise boasts an Island Spa set in a gorgeous nature preserve. Along with resort facilities including private beaches, it offers deeply relaxing treatments using local, organic ingredients, mixed and blended into unique scents and remedies. The spa’s virgin coconut oil is its signature product, ideal for skin and hair care as well as general well being. The Ananyana Beach Resort and Spa on the scenic island of Bohol specialises in traditional massage and refreshing treatments.

Stretching along the white sand of Doljo Beach, the resort has eight suites and a herbal aromatic spa offering personalised, hand blended natural products drawn from the lush tropical surroundings. The therapists are all from the island and practise an indulgent massage which is a form of healing practice in the local villages. The pampering also includes a citric foot wash, herbal tea and fruit.

Jumping across to Cebu, the Mogambo Springs of the Plantation Bay Resort is set among waterfalls, creeks, and a soothing hot spring which afford mineral baths and hydro-massage. Other treatments include a dry-heat sauna, reflexology, aromatherapy, body scrub, and traditional massage. Cebu also hosts various walk-in spas, such as Zen Therapeutic Massage and Grand Royal Spa, along with Body and Sole.

Source:  Philippine Department of Tourism

Manila is the best-value shopping destination in Asia, and the malls themselves are sightseeing attractions, rivalling each other for looks and sheer size, range of stores and entertainment options. The SM Mall of Asia, built across 60 hectares and overlooking Manila Bay. is the third largest in the world, Manila’s shopping hotspots encourage affordable retail therapy, offering everything from the latest European couture to traditional wares. Much closer to home than the Continent, Asia’s most inexpensive luxury shopping destination allows you to spend the miles you save on a designer label splurge. In Makati are the upscale malls of Glorietta, Greenbelt and Power Plant. while the Ortigas district offers SM MegamaIl, Robinson’s Galleria and Shangri-La Plaza. In the malls you’ll find everything from haute couture to funky concept stores, luxury boutiques, art galleries along with gourmet restaurants, cafes, and food courts with local specialties and international cuisine, There are also beauty salons and massage parlours, in case you need to recharge between sprees. Even with the generous opening hours (usually from l0am to 9pm daily) you won’t exhaust everything these shopaholics’ paradises have to offer.

For those who Iike to hunt out a bargain and hone their haggling skills, Manila’s many markets afford everything from branded clothes to handicrafts, all at discount prices. Greenhills is renowned for South Sea pearls and other jewellery, along with quality homewares and electricals. Divisoria is the wholesale destination, where cut-price clothes (including wedding dresses) are available to locals and tourists in the know. The Tutuban markets specialise in Filipino handicrafts, and Baclaran has all the inexpensive clothes, shoes, bags and jewellery you could wish for. For antique hunting, you can’t go past Ermita, Makati and San Juan for relics, vintage jewellery, furniture and more.

Manila is also ideal for custom made clothes, and you’ll find everything from haute couture patronised by the Philippines’ A-list, to tailors offering quick service for shirts, dresses, suits and more. And, of course, you can’t go to Manila without buying several pairs of shoes. In order to satisfy the shoe-crazed Filipinos, the suburb of Marikina alone boasts 600 local shoemakers. Outside the capital, the many islands offer unique regIonal handicrafts in markets and souvenir shops. In Cebu. check out the vibrant markets of Carbon, Gulla, and Taboan for exotic wares, as well as the furniture shops in Mandaue and Mactan’s famous guitars.

Source:  Philippine Department of Tourism

Right in the heart of Manila is found the Walled City of Intramuros constructed in 1571 and once one of the world’s best preserved medieval cities. Here, dungeons and old churches share space with art galleries, theatres and parklands. Visit Plaza San Luis, a tourist complex featuring five houses representing different Spanish eras. The strategic Spanish fortress of Fort Santiago is now a park and promenade housing a resident theater company. Malacanang Palace, the official residence of the highest chief executive of the country since 1863 is one of the most historic structures in the country and also one of the most visited.

Philippine baroque churches are cited on the World Heritage List because of their unusual interpretation of a major artistic style. Four parishes in particular are considered of great importance. San Agustin Church in Manila’s Intramuros, is the oldest existing Christian sanctuary in Asia, and the Philippines’ oldest stone edifice. A plain facade hides magnificent interiors crammed with antique statues and rare works of art. Nuestra Senora de la Asuncion in !locos Sur is a citadel complex famous for its grand stairway and its circular cemetery. llocos Norte has its own Church of San Agustin, built with voluminous stone buttresses to withstand earthquakes, decorated with huge scrolls, and topped by decorative pinnacles. In Iloilo province is the Santo Tomas de Villanueva, a sandstone fortress-church with a profusely ornamented facade.

Part ofthe vibrant Philippine cultural fabric are its many colourful ethnic groups. Majority are Muslim Filipinos living in the southern islands of Mindanao and Sulu. The rest are tribe folks scattered among the mountain provinces of Luzon and the rainforests and seashores of Mindanao and Palawan.

The Ifugaos are the architects of the world-famous Banaue Rice Terraces, giant green staircases to the sky built 2000 years ago. ’Hudhud’, the lfugao epic and masterpiece of oral tradition has been sung by generations of lfugaos since the late 17th century. The T’boli tribe of Cotobato are known for their elaborate costume, wealth of craft and dance and music traditions. The graceful and artistic Maranao Jive along beautiful lake Lanao crafting ornate carvings, rich woven fabrics and fine brass jars.

Popularly known as the sea gypsies of the Sulu and Celebes sea, the Badjao live most of their lives in house boats and are totally dependent on the sea’s bounty.

Source:  Philippine Department of Tourism

Davao hosts a range of eco-adventure activities. Home to the country’s highest mountain, you can climb, bike and trek in Mt.Apo, which also has a wealth of caves to explore. There’s cliff side rappelling, white-water rafting on the Davao River involving 30 rapids, and mountain biking on the pristine hills of Sa mal Island or the challenging coastal route to Bukidnon.

The rugged mountains of northern Luzon offer biking adventures amid fabulous scenery. Sagada is a popular base for a ride through mountain wilderness to Bontoc and then Banaue. The Nahtoban Caves offer incredible underground chambers perfect for caving, while the Heritage listed Banaue Rice Terraces are a man-made alternative for the keen trekker, reaching right up the mountainside and breathtaking from every angle.

Alongside horse riding, mountain biking, and trekking to traditional villages, Boracay encourages the more adventurous to:walk through jungle paths to visit bat caves; explore Willy’s Rock, a striking volcanic rock formation; snorkel through the extraordinary underwater caves of Crystal Cove.

In Palawan you’ll find the world’s longest underground river, and a range of caving activities in the renowned St Paul Subterranean National Park.

Bohol has the stunning Hinagdanan Cave, an eerie world of stalagmites and stalactites. If swimming alongside schools of whale sharks is your thrill, head for Donsol in Sorsogon.ln Boracay, aside from White Beach’s famous music, food, and bars, there’s a bevy of activities to keep you entertained. Expect to indulge in your favourite water sport. Make sure you sample diving in Yapak or through the extraordinary underwater caves of Crystal Cove. There’s also paraw-sailing around the island.

Source:  Philippine Department of Tourism

The Philippines offers surfing for all levels. La Union, four hours north of Manila, offers gentle beach breaks perfect for beginners. Baler and Infanta in Quezon province and Daet in Camarines Norte offer bigger waves and a more adventurous experience. For those seeking the extreme thrill,the wild east coast is the place to be.

Source:  Philippine Department of Tourism