Photo Essays

Filipino hard-core mountaineers are understandably infatuated with Mount Guiting-Guiting, the imposing jagged-peaked mountain in the island of Sibuyan in Central Philippines. Albeit shorter than Mount Apo by 900 meters, “G2” is the more physically demanding mountain to climb, putting to test a mountaineer’s mettle and resolve when (s)he is confronted …

Maria is a common Spanish name, and it is also a name of a town in Siquijor, a province deeply devout in the Catholic faith. Maria, the town, is famous for a delectable beach and (eerie) Catholic (night-walking) image of Santa Rita. To get to Maria, you can take a …

Volcanic eruptions are both a spectacle and a terrifying sight to behold (being in the shadow of Mount Kanla-on and having seen it throw tantrums thrice), a reminder that beneath the placid surface we call earth lies a heaving, gurgling river of molten iron that could wipe out everything we …

National Geographic names Burma as one of its Best Trips for 2013. With a new era in politics being ushered by the homegrown champion of democracy Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma (which the junta changed to Myanmar) has opened up its doors that were, since the 1960s, closed to the …

Each country has its own quirks, but because we are often introduced to them via popular media, we are not as shocked when we see them first-hand. Consider, however, a country whose freedom of the press has been severely restricted in the past and is only starting to abandon censorship. …

There’s no arguing that the world’s two largest temple complexes dedicated to Hindu deities and Buddha are a marvel in themselves and deserve special pilgrimage because of their religious value, historical significance and aesthetic appeal. Beyond these ancient engineering wonders, however, await a smattering of other architectural interests that hold …

The American West is home to some of the most magnificent and breathtaking rock formations that have found their way in travel glossies, outdoor magazines, documentaries and the silver screen. More than just jaw-dropping sights, the following rock formations across the United States tell a lot of stories about the …

There’s nothing more environment-friendly than rickshaws as far as transportation goes. It gets you from A to B (albeit a short A to B) faster than your two feet could ever carry you. It doesn’t cause more atmospheric stress than your typical gas-guzzling conveyance; and it provides livelihood for locals …

If there is one thing on earth that could tell the planet’s story well, it’s rocks. Some of them tell tales of global shifts of ice; of ancient collisions with free-floating post-Big Bang matter; of rich deposits of precious metals, stones and liquids (which is the most commercially interesting of …

Spelunking is yet to catch on in Southeast Asia, not when the sun, sand, sea and surf provide stiff competition. This is not to say that there are no serious spelunkers descending to dark depths on this side of the planet, nor is there a shortage of caves to explore. …

They call it paradise. Or if you ask the creator of “Peanuts,” Charles Schulz might say “happiness is white sand and karst limestones. And oh, turquoise waters.” El Nido has already been on the path to mainstream popularity before another Palawan attraction six hours away gained worldwide acclaim after being …

Before it snagged the coveted title of one of the world’s newest Seven Wonders of Nature, the St. Paul Subterranean River National Park, now more famously known as the Puerto Princesa Underground River (PPUR), was already on the list of the UNESCO World Heritage Site (inscribed December 4, 1999) for …