1. Batad Rice Terraces
A visit to Batad will be a completely opposite experience to your visit to Manila. Instead of crowded streets and towering skyscrapers, you can expect green rice terraces set in a village with a population that only manages to reach about 1,500 people.
Take a morning hike up the hills and look down into a tapered valley with immaculately designed rice terraces glowing with green vegetation as far as you can see. There are quaint wooden houses scattered around these terraces where the farmers and their families live.
While you’re here, you can stay with a family for a homestay opportunity and hike to a nearby waterfall with a friendly guide. See a side of the Philippines through the eyes of the people who life and thrive here.
2. Ta’al Volcano in Tagaytay City
Just three hours away from Manila is the wondrous city of Tagaytay, home to Ta’al Volcano.
This active volcano has experienced over 30 eruptions in recent history and still puffs out smoke to this day. But that isn’t actually what makes Ta’al so unique.
From the naked eye, you can see that Ta’al Volcano sits in the middle of a lake. Pretty cool. But look a little closer at the mouth of Ta’al Volcano and you’ll see that the mouth holds a lake, as well. Look even closer and you’ll see that the lake inside of the volcano’s mouth has yet another island.
