The Philippines is known for its sunny beaches and countless beautiful islands. What most don’t realize, however, is that there is more to these 7,101 countries than just our beautiful shores.
One need not travel far from Manila to find beautiful places and great adventures. Without crossing the water, a simple drive through Luzon will bring you to many beautiful places.
Last month, I had the honor of joining Lakbay Norte 6, an initiative to showcase the beauty of North Luzon. It was a 5 day road trip in a bus filled with travel writers and bloggers – i.e. those whose jobs entail seeing the world. This year’s destinations were Nueva Ecija and Cagayan.
I was honestly curious about how the tour would go. My mother hailed from Cabanatuan, a town in Nueva Ecija, and I spent my years visiting the town growing up. Surely, I thought, there was nothing more to see in the province that I haven’t seen?
Was I ever wrong.
The two days spent in Nueva Ecija was spent in different destinations around the land enclosed province. These are just some of the places in the region worth visiting:
Minalungao National Park
Minalungao is located in General Tinio, Nueva Ecija, at the foothills of Sierra Madre. The nature park covers 2,018 hectares and is a protected area.
“Mina” means mine and “lungaw” means cave. True to it’s name, the park consists of several channeling caves.
Activities here include rafting, ziplining, and even hiking.
PMP Paradise Farm
Located in Barangay Nazareth, General Tinio, this 250 hectare farm is home to a slew of activities which include fishing, *sheep herding, and even tree planting! PMP is also home to a mini zoo and a variety of tropical fruit trees.
*Sheep herding was definitely the highlight for me as you can see below:
If you’re the less active kind, you can also spend a lazy afternoon on a raft.
Lakbay Norte 6 participants enjoying an afternoon of fishing. The day’s catch were grilled and served right then and there. Now that’s a fresh meal!
We were also introduced to the wonders of kakanin and palitaw (pictured above). Definitely a good merienda move after that afternoon of sheep herding!
Puno’s Ice Cream Plant
Now, I may be a little biased here because I grew up with Puno’s ice cream being served at family gatherings and this ice cream goodness remain to be a favorite of mine till this day. For the first time ever, I got to visit the very place these treats were made.
The Cheese Cashew Macapuno flavor is a must try. I swear to you, it’s the creamiest ice cream this side of Luzon has to offer.
You should also try their sherbet which is the non dairy alternative to these frozen treats.
And speaking of yummy, creamy food, I also highly suggest you give Milka Crem in Muñoz City a visit. Try out their gatas ng kalabaw and thank me later.
Crystal Wave Resort
Nueva Ecija may be a landlocked province but that doesn’t mean you don’t get to have fun in the water! Crystal Waves Resort in Talavera is the place to be during the summer. Equipped with a number of pools – which includes a wave pool, a kiddie pool, and a Mickey Mouse inspired olympic pool – the water park definitely makes up for the lack of beaches in the area.
There is also a water racing slide that stands 50 ft tall with an almost 200 ft slide!
Other activities at the resort include ziplining, wall climbing, and rapelling.
Our visit ended with a hearty boodle fight after the morning’s fun activities.
Philrice Research Institute
Nueva Ecija isn’t called the ‘Rice Granary of Luzon’ for nothing. The province is the biggest rice producer of Luzon. It is only fitting, then, that the PhilRice Institute is found here.
The Philippine Rice Research institute is a government entity attached to the Department of Agriculture with the aim of “developing high-yielding and cost-reducing technologies so farmers can produce rice for all Filipinos.”
Part of the day’s program included a presentation on awareness or being “RICEponsible” (More on that HERE) and their current projects which includes research on biotechnology and rice chemistry.
The program also included a visit to the rice museum and a tour around their facilities. They showed off top of the line rice planting facilities and the results of their rice engineering and farm mechanization techniques.
Although visiting a Rice Institute is not the most popular tourist activity, I highly recommend that this be made part of your travel itinerary.
I saw Nueva Ecija with new eyes after this trip. One too many times, I’ve been asked what there is to see in my mother’s home province. Now, I know the answer to that question.
Photos by Martin SanDiego, Lakbay Norte 6
This is the first of this year’s two part Lakbay Norte installment. View posts from the previous years here, here, and here.
