Philippines vacation, highlands to islands

Planet

This itinerary takes in both the cities and remote areas the Philippines has to offer. In the big cities where pollution is a problem we strive to make as minimal an impact to the environment as possible. We spend a day traveling around Manila on unusual bamboo bikes handmade in the Philippines by Gawad Kalinga villagers. We include day trips out to the islands in Busuanga and El Nido with strictly permitted boats to cover the marine parks and have minimal impact on the marine life.

El Nido Resorts:
Committed to preserving the island’s unspoilt eco-sanctuary, the resorts operate in harmony with their surroundings. Rainwater is captured, filtered and stored to be used in guestrooms. El Nido Resorts operates a state-of-the-art sewage treatment plant that ensures that no raw sewage and grey water are discharged into sea. El Nido Resorts celebrates Eco-Hour every full moon during the summer months of March to May.

El Nido's local government, working alongside the environmental authorities, have released policies aimed at limiting the number of daily visitors to El Nido’s lagoons. Access to the lagoons has been restricted to kayaks, with motorized boats no longer permitted to enter the lagoon. In addition, there has been an introduction of environmental fees applicable to island hopping excursions in El Nido.

In order to truly contribute towards a healthier planet, we believe in putting our efforts into traveling responsibly and donating towards conservation projects. This is why we’ve put together the Selective Earth Programme, which offers all our clients the opportunityto contribute towards conservation projects in Asia. We have teamed up with the World Land Trust (WLT) – an international conservation charity who actively conserve Asia’s rainforest whilst supporting local communities. We work closely with the trust to identify which projects are a priority for funding, to ensure our donations keep on making a difference. We are currently contributing towards the conservation of the Khe Nuoc Trong forest, in Vietnam, as well as planting fruit trees in the surrounding communities.

People

Remote Minority Groups: We are of the staunch opinion that minorities aren’t tourist attractions, any more than children are. All our vacations that take place in and around minority communities are set up with the locals’ best interests at heart and we work with partners who do everything possible to ensure that the entire community benefits from our visits. This itinerary visits Banaue where many locals live a traditional Ifugao lifestyle (overlooked by conquering Spaniards) that has remained unchanged for generations.

We are passionate about money being spent to benefit local communities. Pampanga is a little-known culinary hotspot and there are two places we recommend for dinner. Koyang Mario is a small, family run restaurant offering Kapampangan dishes which are freshly prepared from traditional family recipes and served on banana leaves. Atching Lillian’s Kitchen is the restaurant of renowned local chef, Atching Lilian Borromeo. She serves up authentic Kapampangan style dishes in a homely dining room beside her ancestral home. Besides historical architecture, Vigan is well-known for its production of ‘burnay’ – earthenware pottery. We will visit a burnay workshop where the traditional pottery methods used date back to the 16th century when Chinese immigrants settled in Vigan.