Geography

The country is located south of Taiwan and north-east of Brunei and East Malaysia (Borneo / Sabah) It is surrounded by the South China Sea in the west, the Sulu Sea at the south and the Pacific Ocean at the east. It is actually part of a great cordillera, half drowned, extending from Japan to Indonesia.

The Philippines has the longest discontinuous coastline in the world with 334.539 kilometers of natural harbors, gulfs and white palm fringed white sand beaches.

The Philippines has a total land area of 300,000 square kilometers, covers a total length of 1,854 kilometers from north to south and a total span of 1,107 kilometers at widest point.

The highest mountain is the Mt. Apo in Mindanao with 2,954 meters and the deepest see bed is 10,8670 meters (world second deepest) (- compare Mt. Everest with 8,796 meters!).

Being within the "Ring of Fire," a geographical circle of active volcanoes, over 200 volcanoes are found in the islands and 22 are classified as active. Volcanic quakes do happen from time to time. The most well known volcanoes are Mt. Pinatubo, which erupted in 1991, Mt. Mayon with its perfect cone and Taal volcano. Taal volcano is approximately 406 meters high and has its main lake is about 100 meters deep. It may sound funny, but is true; - it is a volcano within a lake within a volcano within a lake!

The best season for tourists is in the cooler, dry season from November to February. After this the hot, dry season from March to June marks the summer. The rainy season with high humidity and abundant rainfall follows from June until October, a time where typhoons and heavy rains often cause heavy damages along the eastern cost lines. The temperatures are between 31 to 33°C and humidity between 65 to 90 percent.

Surrounded by the warm waters of the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean and consisting of 7,107 islands, islets, rocks and sandbars is a premier destination for scuba divers and marine sport enthusiasts. Scuba diving in warm crystal clear waters with underwater visibility of up to 60 meters, shipwrecks, drop-offs, over 2,000 species of fish and more than 800 species of soft and hard corals are making the Philippines a year around divers haven.

Only approximately 3,000 of these islands are named and about two-thirds of that number are inhabited.

The 11 largest islands are Luzon with 105,000 sq. km, Negros with 12,700 sq. km, Palawan with 11,800 sq. km, Panay with 11,500 sq. km, Mindoro with 9,700 sq. km, Leyte with 7,214 sq. km, Cebu with 4,400 sq. km, Bohol with 3,900 sq. km and Masbate with 3,300 sq. km.

The main industry is agriculture, producing rice, sugar, coconut, tobacco, abaca, corn and vegetables. Rattan and bamboo are well known from the light designs of the furniture industry. Fibers, resin, gum, tan bark, teak and mahogany are known forest products.

The Philippines is also home to about 39,000 species of animals, some of the most rarest in the world can be found here. The Philippine eagle, or Monkey -Eating Eagle, is near extinction. above three feet tall with a wing span of up to 10 feet it s a truly majestic bird of which only 300 are still existing. Another animal often found also on the throughout the Philippines is the tamaraw! The tamaraw is a small water buffalo which mostly lives in Mindoro Island. Toyota named one of its public transport vehicle accordingly.

Excursions into the jungles and forests with experienced guides provide a good insight of the beauty and variety One can find in the Philippines more than 12,000 species of different plants. the largest group consist of 940 species of orchids. A lot of very delicious fruits grow in the Philippines, such as: bananas (a lot of varieties), mango, pineapple, jackfruit, star apple, mangos teen and citrus fruits like calamansi and pamalo or Durian, a very sweet but also very "smelly" fruit. (transportation inside the airplane is forbidden!)