Famous landmarks in the Philippines

The Philippines is an island country in Southeast Asia, in the western Pacific Ocean. It is made up of about 7,600 islands, grouped into three main parts: Luzon in the north, the Visayas in the middle and Mindanao in the south. The capital is Manila, on Luzon, and more than 100 million people live in the country.

The Philippines is known for white beaches, coral reefs, rice terraces and volcanoes. On the globe you can find the Chocolate Hills, the Banaue Rice Terraces, the cone-shaped Mayon Volcano, the cliffs of El Nido, and Manila's Intramuros, Fort Santiago, cathedral and city hall, along with the tiny tarsier, the Philippine eagle and the tamaraw.

Geography and nature

The islands lie on the Pacific Ring of Fire, so there are many volcanoes and earthquakes. Mayon is famous for its almost perfect cone. Mountains cover the bigger islands, while the seas around them hold some of the richest coral reefs on the planet, such as Tubbataha. Typhoons often strike between June and November. The Philippines has many animals found nowhere else, like the tarsier, whose each eye is about as big as its brain, the huge Philippine eagle, and the tamaraw, a small wild buffalo that lives only on Mindoro.

People, languages and culture

Filipino, which is based on Tagalog, and English are the official languages, but well over 100 languages are spoken across the islands. Most Filipinos are Catholic, making the Philippines one of the largest Christian countries in Asia, and Mindanao has a large Muslim community. Families are close, and big celebrations with food are common. Favourite dishes include adobo, meat stewed in vinegar and soy sauce, and halo-halo, a colourful shaved-ice dessert. Basketball is hugely popular, and brightly decorated jeepneys carry passengers through the cities.

History in a nutshell

People have lived on these islands for tens of thousands of years, trading by sea with China, Borneo and beyond. In 1521 Ferdinand Magellan's expedition arrived, and from 1565 Spain ruled the islands for over 300 years, naming them after King Philip II and building walled Intramuros in Manila. In 1898 the United States took control. Japan occupied the islands during the Second World War. The Philippines became independent on 4 July 1946. José Rizal, a writer executed in 1896, is honoured as a national hero.