Explore the Natural Wonders of Philippines - From White Sand Beaches to Tropical Islands

1. Explore Natural Wonders

The Chocolate Hills of Bohol are another of the Philippines' natural wonders. Of uniform shape and rising from 40 to 120 meters, the 1268 hills look like a giant array of pregnant women. Others claim they are the solidified teardrops of a lovelorn giant.

El Nido Marine Reserve occupies 96,000 hectares and boasts diverse ecosystems such as rainforest, mangroves, white sand beaches, coral reefs, and limestone cliffs. It is now one of the country's premier tourist destination.

Puerto Princesa Subterranean Underground River National Park is the world's longest underground river measuring 8.2 km and has recently been nominated for The New 7 wonders of the World.

You will find the entrance at the mouth of a cave in a beautiful lagoon about 50 km north of the city of Puerto Princesa, Palawan. From here the river winds through formations of stalactites and stalagmites and several large chambers before flowing directly into the South China Sea.

The Hundred Islands National Park is composed of 123 islands (124 at low tide) and covers an area of 1,844 hectares. The islands lie at the south west corner of the Lingayan Gulf, just off Alaminos City in the province of Pangasinan.

Over the years the islands have inspired countless legends -- some tell of mermaids that once mystified fishermen; others tell of a primeval giant who lost his lady love.

2. Engage in Mountain Climbing and Nature Trekking

The Philippines with its large forests, pristine wilderness, and rugged mountains, is an ideal spot for mountain climbing and nature trekking.

On Luzon the Sierra Madre mountains form the longest range of the Philippines, extending along the island's eastern coast for 210 miles.

The Cordillera Central Ranges to the west contain Luzon's highest peak, Mount Pulog, 9,613 feet.

And of course, don't forget the  volcanoes. There are 37 volcanoes in the Philippines, of which 18 are still active. Many of these, like Mt. Pinatubo, have become popular trekking sites.

In 1991 the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo was the most destructive volcanic event of the 20th century. Today, surrounded by a vast expanse of lahar-filled valleys and boulders the size of cars, Mount Pinatubo offers a breathtaking view of a hidden lake inside its crater -- an enchanting reward for intrepid explorers and trekkers.

Taal Volcano is the smallest active volcano in the world. You will find it about 70km south of Manila on "volcano island" inside a lake called Taal Lake.

This is a popular trekking destination and, compared with other mountains, the climb is relatively easy. The view from the top is awe-inspiring.

Mayon Volcano is the most active volcano in the Philippines, having erupted over 47 times in the past 400 years. It is also considered to be the world's most perfectly formed volcano for its symmetrical cone. It reaches 2,460 meters and is the central feature of the Albay Province, about 300km southeast of Manila.

Climbing Mayon is possible but can be dangerous. Some organized treks are planned over a 4-day schedule.

The best time for mountaineering in the Philippines is either during the summer months from March to June, or during the monsoon season from November to February. It is best to avoid mountaineering activities during the wet season when strong typhoons buffet the provinces.

3. Feast on Filipino mouth-watering delicacies.

In the Philippines you cannot escape the temptations of food; you are literally surrounded by it. Take a stroll down a beach and the chances are you will find vendors selling everything from barbecue sticks to balut -- boiled, unhatched chicken or duck eggs.

When it comes to food the Philippines has it all -- a fabulous mix of foreign cuisine plus its own mouth-watering delicacies.

Well, there you have it -- more reasons to visit the Philippines.

But of course there are more reasons than I have listed here. For example, festivals that bring out the culture of the people, historic churches that date back to the Spanish era, the exciting night life of Manila, Angeles City, and Cebu, or play golf on courses designed by some of the best golf celebrities in the world, and more ... come and enjoy!

Allan E Miller is a retired Airline Pilot who has lived in Asia for over 44 years and has traveled extensively all over the world. He has been a freelance travel writer for 19 years and specializes in articles about the Philippines and other Asian countries. He also maintains the web site for the Bali Hai Beach Resort in La Union, Philippines.

Bali Hai provides easy access to many of the attractions mentioned above. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo recently opened The Cliffs Golf Course, a nine-hole, par 72 all-weather championship golf course. The course features a unique ocean hole that is undoubtedly one of the best Par 3 holes in Asia. Nearby Baguio City also has two excellent golf courses.

Do They Really Have Green and Black Sand Beaches on the Big Island of Hawaii?

Going to the beach is a big thing in Hawaii, because we are blessed with not only weather consistently gorgeous year round, but also with numerous beautiful beaches on which to enjoy our golden days.

Because our Big Island is geologically quite young and the landscape is immature, our beaches tend to be smaller than those on the older islands, and are therefore all the more precious. What the Big Island has that some of the other islands lack, though, are beaches with spectacularly colored sand. White sand, black sand, green sand and even grey sand.

The creamy white sand beaches of picture postcards and hapa haole songs result from the accumulation of small particles of coral reef and crushed shell fish shells. As the reefs grow, wave and storm action break it into small pieces and many fish, such as the parrot fish, munch the coral whole and spit-out sand sized particles. Other fish, such as the humuhumunukunukuapua'a swallow the coral and sand-size pellets of sandy waste come out their other end. In this way, one coral-eating reef fish can produce up to a ton of white sand a year. Because our white sand beaches result from physical degradation of soft, biological material the sand grains tend to have rounded edges. Thus, unlike sands derived from rock and mineral sources, such as the California beaches, they do not stack well and tend to produce poor sand castles.

Beautiful white sand beaches occur all over the Big Island, but are biggest and best developed on the Kona and Kohala coastlines, as coral reefs prosper best on the lee-side of the island. Prime examples of white sand beaches include Anaeho'omalu, Hapuna, Wailea and Makalawena Beaches. Snorkeling at these white sand beaches is a joy-the water is a brilliant turquoise due to the amount of light reflected back into the water by the sandy shore bottom. However, this sandy bottom itself is relatively barren of life, so if seeing fish is your main snorkeling goal, be sure to choose a beach with a nearby reef, such as Wailea Beach, since the fish live in and around reefs and rocky cliffs.

Black sand beaches are strange and spectacular, and, because of their thermal properties, are warm even on a chilly day (Oh, yes, we do have chilly days here in Hawaii--in mid-winter temperatures can dip into the low 70s and even rarely the upper 60s!). In fact, it is the black sand beaches of the Big Island that are the choice among egg-laying female Hawaiian green sea turtles for laying their egg clutches on, precisely because of their warmth.

Black sand beaches result from the fiery, explosive mix of hot liquid lava entering the ocean. The skin of the lava stream is instantly chilled as it flows into the water and then blasted off when the ocean water flashes to steam. Black sand also results from mechanical action during the natural physical erosion of the basalt (the name for the rock our lava becomes once it cools). You'd think that sand forged in the volcano would be tough and enduring, but in truth, it's very, very fragile and black sand beaches do not last long over time. For this reason, although the sand is beautiful and rare, we ask you not to take any home with you.

Black sand beaches occur all over the island, two of the largest are on the north end of the island, crossing the mouths of Waipi'o and Pololu Valleys, respectively. These are not visited as often as some of the others as both entail something of a hike down into the canyons. What once must have been a heart-achingly beautiful, large black sand beach fronts Hilo Town right on Hilo bay, but much of it has been eroded, polluted and degraded by industrial encroachment or simply paved over as a result of urbanization. By far the most popular black sand beach is at Punalu'u. Not only is the beach lovely, inviting and easily accessible, it's almost guaranteed that the visitor will see Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles basking on this beach. The newest and most vibrant black sand beach is Kaimu Beach at the end of the Kalapana-Kopoho Road, near where the village of Kalapana was engulfed by the volcano a few years ago. Snorkeling at the black sand beaches can be dark and mysterious, as little light is reflected back into the water from the sandy bottom, but the bouldery nature of the off-beach sea floor assures the prospect of abundant life and many reef fish. Be aware...because black sand beaches mostly occur on the youngest, and therefore most exposed, portions of the island, many are characterized by big waves, strong currents and nasty rip tides. Swim only where you see others swimming, and only when a life guard is present.

Wild, surreal, enchanting, the Big Island's green sand beaches are a rare geologic occurrence that appears in only a few choice spots on our island and almost nowhere else in the world. Although they take a little effort to get to, you should not travel all the way to Hawaii and not see these jewel-like beaches.

The green sand is composed almost entirely of the mineral olivine, or peridot as the gem quality crystals are known. These crystals precipitate out of the molten lava while it sits in the magma chamber reservoir before it erupts onto the surface. The liquid lava is melted from rocks at great depth within the earth; the chemical composition of the melt is at equilibrium at extremely high pressures and temperatures. As the magma migrates upward, many miles, through the Earth's crust, it cools and pressure decreases; this causes crystals to precipitate to form in the melt. In magmas world wide, olivine is almost always observed to precipitate out first. Hawaii lavas migrate up to the surface so quickly, and then are expelled from the magma chamber onto the surface so quickly, that they have little time for many crystals to form. But when lava does sit in the magma chamber awhile, the olivine crystals do precipitate, and they slowly settle to the bottom of the melt. As liquid lava begins to erupt onto the surface, much of the olivine is left behind in the residual liquid. Thus, lavas erupted from the latest stages of these magma chambers sometimes are enriched with crystalline olivine. Since late stage magmas are also relatively cooler and less fluid, their eruptions are more explosive and they tend to form more spatter cones than flows. The green sand beaches of the Big Island result where the ocean has breached one or another of these spatter cones, and the winnowing action of the waves has washed away all the particles except for the relatively denser olivine grains.

There are tiny green sand beaches all along the southern coastline on either side of South Point, but the largest and most accessible is Papkolea Beach at South Point, reached by a moderate hike of about 2 ¼ miles along the wild coastline northeast of South Point, following an old 4WD two-track. Once again, due to its rarity and the irreplaceable nature of this resource, we ask that you enjoy our Green Sand beaches, but don't take any sand home with you.

Warm, comfortable and inviting, grey sand beaches result from mixing of black sand particles with white sand along a stretch of beach and as such, are represented by a continuum of grey hues. In fact, many Big Island beaches probably fit more with a definition of grey sand beach than properly occupy either of the two distinct end member compositions, black sand or white sand beach. Ho'okena, Kahalu'u and Honomalino are three of the largest and most popular grey sand beaches on the Big Island.

Then there are the funny sands that are either exceedingly rare or seasonal. Consider one entirely unique beach, Ke-awa-iki, which today is a dominantly black sand beach, but the black sand has incompletely mixed with the older white sand on the southern portion of the beach, leaving a stretch of strange, but oddly artistic, piebald black and white sand. And then there are the pink sands formed during winter when storm-derived deep waves wash and grind-up more coral turning some otherwise white sand beaches absolutely pink; Wailea Beach and Keakaikua beaches are prime examples of this.

Now picture yourself on the Big Island on vacation...your only assignment, sprawl out every different colored beach you can find and see which is just right for you! Sounds pretty sweet, huh?

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