La Union is famous for its magnificent beaches and is also known as the surfing capital of Luzon’s west coast. Here we explore the top best places to visit in La Union Philippines.
A great place to explore that includes natural sites, heritage attractions and exciting food scenes.
Best Places to Visit in La Union Philippines
1. Urbiztondo Beach in San Juan La Union
The most popular destination for avid surfers and people who wants to learn the sport. It is the most popular surfing spot and the main tourist area wherein its peak season starts in October until March when the best waves arrive.
It has a reputation for having country’s most consistent waves and thriving surf culture has flourished. Many places offer surfing lessons, lodging throughout the coastline and surfboards are available for rent.
2. Tangadan Falls
Tangadan Falls is located in San Gabriel, a two – tier waterfall that flows into the Baroro River from the Cordillera Mountain Ranges. The lower cascades of the falls have a natural catch basin pool that is great for a quick dip on a hot summer’s day.
It is also the more majestic and dramatic waterfall that is widely photographed for its striking image. While the upper cascade has a shorter waterfall with a deeper pool basin that is ideal for jumping off the side of the cliff.
3. Poro Point and Lighthouse
Poro Point and Lighthouse is found along the boundary of San Fernando bay near the international seaport. Poro Point is a coastal landform on an elevated point of the land. Its striking features are the white cliff found along it.
The location makes it the ideal site for the navigational purposes with the Lighthouse as its main point of reference and a cylindrical tower made of French prefabricated steel that stands 6 meters in height.
4. Ma Cho Temple
Ma-Cho Temple (Taoist Temple) is the first Taoist Temple in the Philippines that was built to honor Chinese sea goddess, Mazu. This magnificent temple is an 11 – tiered attraction with its interiors filled with Chinese decorations and Taiwanese art.
The most popular attraction is the Spider Dome that features 13 tiers of interlinking wooden carvings of images of saints. It is a place of worship and welcomes anyone regardless of religious affiliation, race or creed.
Visitors are encouraged to meditate and find solace in this magnificent place of worship.
5. Imuki Island
Immuki Island is made up of small lagoons filled with pools of water held together by corals. It has three crystal clear pools that are perfect to dip in hot sunny day.
It is located in Barangay Paraoir in Balaoan. A place where visitors are looking for, a quiet and a natural environment that is away from a usual crowd of noisy tourist.
From the beach, you will wade through roughly 250 meters to reach one of the lagoons. Walking in the shallow water is possible when it is low tide and do not forget to bring aqua slipper to protect your feet from sharp corals
6. Manacpacan Church
Manacpacan Church is also known as the Santa Catalina de Alejandria Church and is located in Luna. It was established in 1690 and placed under the advocacy of Saint Catherine of Alexandria and also the site where the wooden image of the Blessed Virgin Mary can be found.
The venerated image is formally called Our Lady of Namacpacan, locally known as “Apo Baket” wherein several miracles are attributed and it attracts the devotees.
It is an earthquake Baroque church, a style of architecture found in the country as a way to combat the destructive forces of earthquakes that many structures suffered during the Spanish colonial period.
7. Pugad Pugo Adventure
Pugad Pugo Adventure is a park that offers fun activities like zip lines, giant swing, rappelling, paintball, wall climbing, ATV and 10 swimming pools. It has 94 cottages for rent and facilities for overnight accommodations.
It also has a mini zoo with exotic animals such as various snake breeds, bearcats, exotic birds and a tiger. The giant swing is for people who are not afraid of heights because it involves hanging on the side of a cliff with only harness as support.
8. Kamay na Bato Open Art Gallery
“Kamay na Bato” is a Filipino phrase that translates to “house of stone”, is an art gallery that features various art sculptures carved from stone. It is located along Balaoan Road, Luna right next to pebble beach.
This is owned and curated by Bong Kim, a Korean national with fine arts degree and specialized in sculpture. This art gallery includes murals, large stone carvings, mounted stone busts and paintings of uniquely Filipino images such as seascapes, smiling faces, exotic animals and colorful fish.
It has also wooden sculptures that are spread out throughout the gallery and a well-lit area that displays more paintings, murals, sculptures, 3D artworks and a shop selling souvenir items.
9. Pindangan Ruins
Pindangan Ruins refer to the remains of church built by Augustinian priests in the late 1700s during the Spanish colonial period while Pindigan is an Ilocano words which translates to “a place for drying fish”.
It is where local inhabitants used to lay out salted fish to dry out in the sun, a process of preserving and curing of meat that the town of San Fernando is known for. This ruin is currently looked after by the Carmelite sisters, who live in a monastery within the property and preserved in its original condition or kept in a state of “arrested of decay”.
It stands near Camp Oscar Florendo. The remains of the church are formidable walls and buttresses. During the early years of the Spanish era, the church was vulnerable to pirate attacks and foreign invasion.
The church was abandoned and left to decay until an earthquake that took place destroyed it.
10. Red Clay Pagdamillan
Another best places to visit in La Union Philippines is the Red Clay Pagdamillan.
The word “damili” in the Ilocano language translates “to the art of pottery making”, a popular pottery studio and shop that showcases local talent with beautiful pottery and other souvenir items for sale.
What makes it popular attraction is that for a small fee, anyone can handle the clay and mold their own one of a kind souvenir clay.
The hands-on pottery lesson for visitors is such a big hit that became the focal point of the shop, with local and foreign visitors flocking to create their own vessels or pottery designs.
It became a venue for visitors to release their talents or to create their own designs to be displayed around the house such as clay pots, food storage, mugs, etc.
