Rice Terraces and Turquoise Lagoons: The Philippines from North Luzon to Busua

This morning, we’ll arrange for you to take a private tour of Manila’s colonial district, Intramuros. In the heart of one of the world’s most populated cities, this ancient Spanish city is an oasis of calm. Of the seven churches that once stood here, only two remain following their destruction by American bombings during the Pacific War. You’ll visit both San Agustin, with its 16th century corrugated iron-roofed cloister, and the cathedral. You’ll also pay a visit to the central market of Quiapo, where colourful crowds weave their way between stalls selling fruit, vegetables and fabrics.

Today, you’ll meet your private driver who will accompany you for the next five days of your trip. They’ll transport you to Baguio, which takes around six hours. Perched in the Cordillera range, this alluring alpine city is a favourite summer spot among Filipinos looking to escape the heat. After two nights in the city, enjoy a change of scenery in your hotel surrounded by pine trees and fresh mountain air. So you can get to know your surroundings a little better, we’ll plan for you to visit the city and stop at the market, where the stalls are brimming with fruit, vegetables, rice and local coffee.

Today, you’ll head to Sagada along a spectacular road that happens to be the highest in the country. The journey takes between six and seven hours, which is plenty of time to gaze out at the landscape of young mountains, pines, oaks, arums and banana trees. You’ll spend the night in a spacious wooden bungalow in the heart of the village, with a beautiful view of the valley and its rice terraces.

Today you’ll drive to Bontoc, which takes about an hour, before continuing towards Banaue via the Mount Pulis pass. This takes three hours and brings incredible views of the surrounding rice terraces. To break up the journey, you’ll pay a visit to the hanging burial caves of Sagada, where coffins are stacked in cave entrances and suspended on the side of cliffs. The Sagada people have been doing this for over 2000 years, and the practice is said to bring bodies closer to the spirits of their ancestors. The Bontoc ethnological museum is also worth a visit, where you can learn more about the rich lives of the region’s ethnic mountain groups. Here, you’ll find fascinating objects such as the bows of the Négritos, the first occupants of the island.

Located on the slopes of the mountains between 2300 and 4920ft above sea level, the Banau Rice Terraces are spread across thousands of square miles and make for a simply spectacular sight. These vibrant green terraces were created over 2,000 years ago by the Ifugao people, and are possible thanks to an advanced irrigation system. While you’re in the area, we’ll arrange for you to take a walking tour of the UNESCO-listed village of Bangaan in the heart of Ifugao country. The houses here are on stilts, have thatched roofs and are surrounded by rice fields. Tonight, you’ll stay in a comfortable hotel with a beautiful view of the rice terraces.

Today you’re heading back to Manila, through the sumptuous landscapes of Luzon. You’ll come across colourful jeepneys – crowded bus-like vehicles loaded with passengers, rice and chickens – and stop in the villages on route before heading to your hotel in Manila which overlooks Manila Bay.

You’ll be privately transferred to the airport this morning for your one-and-a-half-hour flight to Busuanga. When you land, you’ll take another private transfer to your hotel in Coron City, just minutes from the port. The beautiful island of Busuanga lies just off Palawan. With black limestone cliffs and golden bays scattered with islets, its landscapes are similar to those of Palawan, yet even more remote.

After settling in, you’ll head out to visit some of the island’s hot springs, reached via wooden footbridges through the mangrove forest. After a relaxing soak, the rest of the day is yours to spend as you please. We recommend doing some islet hopping and swimming above Second World War shipwrecks, covered with coral gardens and reigned over by grouper, lionfish and scorpionfish. These waters attract divers from all over the world, but your mask and snorkel are enough to take in this underwater spectacle.

Today you’ll hop into a banca (traditional outrigger canoe) to spend the day discovering the bay and Coron Island. Here, a mask and snorkel are the only tools you need to appreciate the explosion of colours beneath the waves: green and blue water, yellow coral and schools of fish in every shade, including barracudas and giant turtles. On the island of Coron itself, you’ll find jade-coloured lakes enclosed by high rock walls.

Your adventure is drawing to a close, but your last three nights in the Philippines are arguably the most spectacular. You’ll be privately transferred by car and then banca to the sands of Dimakya, where the turquoise sea is your only horizon. Here on this private island, enjoy white sand beaches and crystalline waters where you can swim with turtles and beautiful fish. If this isn’t paradise, we don’t know what is.