Interesting Tourist Spots and Events in Pampanga

Planning a trip? Those who love to travel know the essence of all travel is about you and your enjoyment. Travelers know that the destination is a major part in planning a trip, experiencing and delving deeper into an unfamiliar places, people and culture is paramount.

Expand your horizons and set your sight to the Philippines, an off the beaten path travel site! An undiscovered paradise made of thousands of islands and white sand beaches all around! A tiny dot in the map of the world, and yet a haven for travelers, backpackers, retirees and even passersby.

It offers awesome tourist attractions, magnificent beaches, hot spring resorts, colorful festivals, hundreds of scenic spots and world-class hotels and facilities. Not to mention the tropical climate, the affordable prices as well as the friendly and hospitable, English-speaking people! You will be glad you came, and we’re sure, you WILL come back for more FUN in the Philippines!

TOURIST SPOTS & EVENTS

In terms of fantastic events and places to visit, Pampanga is not at the end of the list. It has it’s own string of tourist spots and events that they are proud to show off to tourists and local visitors as well.

Clark Free Port Zone

Clark Air Base was once the biggest American air base facility outside the United States as it served as a major destination and refuel/ transit point for US military aircrafts within the Asia-Pacific Region. When the Philippine-US Military Bases Agreement expired in 1991, Clark was turned over to the Philippine government and declared a special economic zone and renamed Clark Special Economic Zone. Today, Clark is a world-class civil aviation complex, modern industrial estates, and tourism and trade center.

Betis Church

Betis Church is Pampanga’s oldest church is a fascinating work of architecture with its classic altar in antique carved design and décor blending with religious frescoes reminiscent of neoclassic works of European Art. Built between 1754, this church has impressive paintings on its ceiling and walls with fine sculpture and paintings in gold dust.

San Pedro Cutud Lenten Rites

Roman Catholic fanatics in the Philippines had themselves nailed to the cross in a bloody display of religious frenzy as the Christian world marked the day Jesus was crucified and performed the San Pedro Cutud Lenten Rites. The gruesome real-life reenactments of the crucifixion, which are held every Good Friday in the Philippines, are frowned upon by the Catholic church but have become freak tourist draws.

Mt. Arayat National Park

Pampanga boasts of a 3,564 feet high mountain at Barrio Bano, Arayat called Mt. Arayat. It’s nice to experience the cool breeze and natural spring water that fall from the mountains. At the foot of Mt. Arayat is Mt. Arayat National Park, a picnic site with a natural park complete with exquisite swimming pools, recreational halls, picnic huts, lush foliage, natural waterfalls, two swimming pools, and a countless variety of unique and interesting flora and fauna.

Giant Lantern Festival

Among the highlights of Christmas in the country is the Giant Lantern Festival held in San Fernando, Pampanga. The kaleidoscope of lights and tinsels from these giant lanterns showcasing Filipino ingenuity brightens Christmas. The Giant Lantern Festival attracts droves of people not only from Pampanga, but also from nearby provinces and Manila. As brighttinsel and strobes light up for the parade, so do the hearths of those who watch in awe and wonderment at the spectacle.

Mt. Pinatubo Lake

Trek to the crater of the world-famous Mt. Pinatubo. Spectacular views, towering lahar canyons, cool mountain springs and cascading waterfalls make that trip up the volcano an experience to remember.

Mt. Pinatubo is located in the provincial borders of Zambales, Tarlac, and Pampanga in Luzon, Philippines.

Hot Air Balloon Festival

Photo from: bestblogmanila.com

The Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta is an annual event that occurs between January and February at the Omni Aviation Complex in Clark Field, Angeles City, Pampanga. It features multicolored hot air balloons with more than a hundred balloon pilots from around the world. This three to four day hot air balloon event is the biggest aviation sports event in the Philippines.

The festival also features a number of events in skydiving, flag jumps, micro light and rocketry demonstrations, small plane fly-bys and fly-ins, remote-control airplane and helicopter flying exhibitions, freestyle aerobatics, precision maneuvers, light airplane balloon bursting, ultra-light flying formation and bomb dropping, kite-making and choreographed kite-flying, hi-start launch gliding, pylon racing, banner towing, aero-modeling symposium and races between ultra lights and motorcycles. An estimated 60,000 visitors locally and from around the world come in to see this event. – wikipedia.org

Candaba Bird Sanctuary

Photo from: punto.com.ph

The Candaba Wetland and Bird Sanctuary (swamp in plainspeak but wetland is more current) is a 32,000-ha. seasonally flooded grassland stretching in an area bounded by Candaba in Pampanga, and San Miguel, San Ildefonso, and Baliuag towns in Bulacan north of Manila. The floodplain (cropped in rice, watermelon, etc. during the summer) that can be observed from the Candaba Viaduct section of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) is only a small portion. It is the catch basin of the vast Central Plain of Luzon. In the 1980s, according to Birdlife International, as many as 100,000 ducks could be observed in a single day. – marnekilates.tumblr.com

Plan a side trip to Pampanga when you travel to the Philippines, especially starting the latter part of the Christmas season. You can view the magnificent giant lanterns in December, and probably catch the migratory birds in Candaba in January.

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Interesting Tourist Spots and Events in Pampanga

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