Philippines – Rice terraces as stairways to heaven

A Spaniard with the difficult name Ruy López de Villalobos is considered the “discoverer” of the Philippines. He was looking for the legendary Spice Islands when he anchored first off Palau and then off Luzon in 1543. And because he liked the area so much, he named it “Las Islas Filipinas” in honor of his King Philip II. For centuries, the country was under the rule of foreign powers, and it was the Spaniards in particular who left their mark on the Philippines with their missionary work. This is the largest Asian country that professes Christianity – mostly Catholicism. For most travelers, Manila International Airport is the first point of contact with the Philippines. And it is the starting point for an adventurous and varied island hopping. The mega-metropolis on the large island of the north with its modern high-rise buildings and hotels, but also with its many job-seeking people, is the counterpoint to the other rural regions of the island kingdom. Anyone who entrusts themselves to local guides in the traffic chaos of the capital will discover a number of testimonies of the past. For example, the mighty cathedral, which was built thanks to the financial help of the Vatican, and the church of San Augustin, which can be found on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Fort Santiago is the memory of the Filipino folk hero Jose Rizal, who was imprisoned in the prison there before his execution.

If you head north from Manila , you will reach the impressive rice terraces of Banaue, which have gained worldwide importance as “stairways to heaven”. The oldest are almost two thousand years old and the admirable work of the people of the Ifugao tribe, who paid homage to around 1,500 gods in their heyday and whose death cult has survived to this day. In the era of the American invasion of the Philippines, the Ifugao acted as headhunters. The islands of the Philippines are full of surprises. On Palawan, for example, it presents itself with a dense rainforest, where the so-called “Monkey Trail” winds through a national park and where the primates in the crowns of the trees are the companions on the way to the famous stalactite caves. Holidaymakers can expect a very good infrastructure on Cebu, where there are impressive underwater gardens for snorkelers and divers directly in front of the beaches. A geological feature is the island of Bohol, which is blessed with its “Chocolate Hills”. Divers find unusual areas throughout the year on the islands of the Philippines with water temperatures around 25 degrees. All coral reefs were declared protected areas some time ago. They cover a total area of about 34,000 square kilometers. A magnificent seascape can also be found on Mindoro, 150 kilometers from Manila. Boracay enchanted over a long period of time with an exotic dream setting, but the island has lost its former charm – especially due to the flood of Japanese holidaymakers – even if the hotel complexes are still the lonely top of the country.