Cebu

Cebu is in the heart of the Philippines. Known to be the Queen City of the South, Cebu has is the oldest and second most important city in the country. Cebu is one of the top priority of tourist because of its world-class beach resorts and diving spots. Cebu’s tourist destinations and attraction are found in both north and south of Metro Cebu. Cebu has it’s own international and shipping port. Cebu has export processing zones that are helps boost up the economy of the country.

The province is composed of five cities; Cebu City, Mandaue, Lapu-lapu, Toledo and Danao and there are 48 municipalities. Cebu City, the provincial capital, is located on the island’s east coast.

Cebu is the shipping crossroads and it is a good jumping off point for island hopping to the tropical islets of Central Visayas. Cebu is the home of the world-class beach resorts and beautiful tropical diving sites in the country. Mactan Island which is adjacent to Cebu has become the tourist package destination especially for Japanese, Taiwanese and Koreans.

Cebu is also the home of the Sinulog Festival which is famous because of its colorful costumes and street dancing. The Sinulog Festival is held every third Sunday of January. Various groups in which are called tribes are wearing beautiful, exotic and colorful costumes to celebrate the religious festival with the image infant Jesus. These tribes are singing and dancing in the streets from morning to evening.

Cebu is also known as the country’s oldest Spanish settlement and colonial City dating from 15th century. Cebu has several historic landmarks.

There are many colonial houses in the south especially in Carcar the restored Bahay na Tisa and the Moorish-style Church of St. Catherine. Many exotic and beautiful beaches can be found in Argao and Dalaguete. 18th Century church which attracts tourist can also be found in Argao.

Located centrally in a group of islands that form the Visayas, central of the three main Philippine island groups, the others being Northern Luzon and southernmost Mindanao, may be one vertigo-inducing central too many. But puissant fortune has positioned this long and narrow island in the auspicious site, in the axis of an archipelago with 7,107 of its fellows.

Its geography is unique, stretching 122 miles, nowhere exceeding 20 miles across; the island is eight times the size of Singapore, and five times the size of Hong Kong. Modern topography maps show the back of a lizard immersed in teeming waters, a jagged cordillera rising 3,400 feet at the apex as its spine, gradually vanishing into plains on both its northern and southern ends. Cebu is long and narrow, allowing easy access to both the bounty of mountain and ocean: markets abound with both fresh seafood and produce.

The soil, however, lacks fecundity. Porous and derived of limestone, less than 30% of the province is suited for agriculture. Sugar was major export in the 1840's, where the island became second only to Pampanga and Bulacan, two Luzon towns north of the Visayas. The industry soon fizzled, and only traces of its glory can be found today. Corn replaced rice as a staple because it needed a lot less water than the latter (Cebu has among the lowest rainfalls in the country). Even today, country field meals feature fresh stone-ground boiled corn. Only mangoes can be considered a terrestrial agriculture product the province is identified with, he best ones coming from Guadalupe area. Faced with a limited choice of marketable raw product, Cebuana ingenuity has giving birth to countless incarnations of mango: fresh (both ripe and green), pureed -- as ready-to-drink juice concentration, dried and sliced mango pulp, canned, vacuum, packed ... even the rind is sweetened and dried as a snack food .. the list is almost inexhaustible.

The island's relationship with the ocean, however, is altogether a different love story. A combination of legend and archeology pieces together the story of Indonesian and Malay tribal chiefs who landed on these coastal shores, settling on virgin territory. As these people were not a lot bound by communal consciousness, little documentation of their collective lives are available. It is, however, gleaned from the records of the neighboring civilizations that they engaged in trade with, that the early settlers had a well-developed if not impressionable culture, and an existing commercial ethos.

Turned toward to the sea, pre-colonial Cebu was already a recognized quay, its main port of Sugbu ("to wade in water", as most arrivals were wont to be especially at low tide) figured prominently in a book called "Records of Various Barbarian Nations" written in 1225 by Chua Ju-kua, Superintendent of Foreign Trade at the customhouse in Chua-chou, of the ancient civilization of China. A full three centuries before the coming of the Spaniards, who would occupy for 300 years, Cebu was already a flourishing trading post.

Cebu Tourist Attraction

Basilica Minore del Santo Niño: The church is found in the heart of Cebu City. It enshrines the image of the Christ Child that Ferdinand Magellan gave to Rajah Humabon.

Magellan's Cross: Is one of the Cebu landmark. It encase the original cross which was planted by Ferdinand Magellan on the Philippine shores.

Fort San Pedro is the oldest fort in the country. It was built in the 16th century. Colon Street is the oldest street in the country. Fuente Osmeña is a favorite city promenade, while the Taoist Temple at Beverly Hills and Tops Lookout at Busay offers the spectacular views of the city. Known Museums that include Casa Gorordo, University of San Carlos and the Jumalon Butterfly Museum, which features artworks made entirely from butterfly wings. The booming metropolis is also home to several modern shopping malls and a sprawling business park.

Mactan Island is home to the Lapu-Lapu Monument and the much older Magellan Monument at Punta Engano, both near the traditional battle site between the two historical figures. The island's famed beach resorts are located at the island's eastern coast, just half an hour away from Mactan International Airport.

Carcar has many colonial houses (especially its restored Bahay na Tisa) and the Moorish-style Church of St. Catherine. Notable beaches can be found in Argao and Dalaguete, the former also has a splendid 18th-century church.

Mantalongon is the Little Baguio of Cebu with its upland vegetable and flower farms. Boljoon's well-preserved Church of St. William is now a national cultural treasure. At the southern tip is Sumilon Island, site of the country's first marine reserve with its coral reefs; adjoining Tanon Strait is a whale and dolphin habitat.

On the west coast is Moalboal, one of the country's most popular dive sites; its top sites are Panagsama Beach and Pescador Island. Badian Island has white sand beaches. In Matutinao is Kawasan Falls with its natural pools. Samboan has Escala de Jacob, an impressive hilltop watchtower. Balamban is the site of a national park.

The road north leads to Danao, famous for its paltik or gun industry. Sogod has attractive beaches and a world-class resort. At the northern tip are the islands of Bantayan, with its sandy beaches, and Malapascua Island, which has powder-fine sand. Olango Island across Mactan is becoming popular as a bird-watching site due to its status as a sanctuary of migratory birds coming from as far as China and Siberia.

See also the Flight Schedules of Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific and Air Philippines from Cebu to Manila, Bacolod, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro, Kalibo, General Santos, Puerto Princesa, Zamboanga and Davao and vice versa.

Philippine Tourist Destinations