Canlaon

Canlaon is a stratovolcano in the north central part of the island of Negros. It has two summit cones, each with a crater. This photo looks west across northern Negros. Silay, a Holocene stratovolcano is the northern most cone on the island (obscured by clouds). Mandalagan, also a Holocene stratovolcano, has a small plume on clouds off its summit to the southeast (to the bottom left). Canlaon is near the center of the north part of the island.

Canlaon volcano (also spelled Kanlaon), the most active of the central Philippines, forms the highest point on the island of Negros. The massive 2435-m-high stratovolcano is dotted with fissure-controlled pyroclastic cones and craters, many of which are filled by lakes. The summit of Canlaon contains a broad elongated northern caldera with a crater lake and a smaller, but higher, historically active crater to the south. The largest debris avalanche known in the Philippines traveled 33 km to the SW from Canlaon. Historical eruptions, recorded since 1866, have typically consisted of phreatic explosions of small-to-moderate size that produce minor ashfalls near the volcano.

Mt. Makiling

The mystical Mount Makiling is an inactive volcano rising to about 1,109 meters above sea level. The vegetation consists of approximately 2,048 different species of plant. The lower slope is a tall dipterocarp forest while the summit is a dwarf mossy forest. The slopes of Mt. Makiling are shaped to resemble a woman reclining, hence, the air of mysticism that surrounds the mountain. Legend has it that it is the profile of the sleeping Maria Makiling, a mythical goddess. Still others say that Maria Makiling dwells in this mountain and protects dwellers and travelers from harm.

Mount Banahaw

It is said that Mt. Banahaw keeps away those who are not yet ready to receive its secrets. Rising some 2450 meters from sea level, this active volcano, a part of the Banahaw-Cristobal National Park, has long been believed to be a storehouse of psychic energy. The local residents considers it a sacred mountain. It teems with legends and superstitions. It has been the home to countless members of religious cults, hermits, soul searchers, spiritist and faith healers who climbs its slopes to meditate in it’s cave and commune with the mountain spirits. It clearly shows the other side of Filipino fanaticism and superstitious ways. Being in Banahaw is something like stepping into incredible stories of apparitions, heavenly voices, strange sounds, dwarves, fairies and even UFO’s. Geographically, Banahaw stands on a power point where the key lines of the earth intersect.Wherever such latitudes and longitudes meet, they create energy fields that allow higher frequencies of perception, physiological or otherwise.

Arayat

In Central Luzon, a popular peak among mountaineers is Mount Arayat in Pampanga province. Halfway to the mountain top, the traveler is afforded a view of vast ricefields that are verdant green during the planting season and golden yellow during the harvesting season. Since Mount Pinatubo's eruption in recent years, a new landscape has however been formed-tracts of ashen gray wasteland eating into fertile rice plains.

Taal Volcano

Taal Volcano, in the Philippines, was originally a huge volcano, that towered 18,000 feet up into the sky. It has been called the smallest active volcano, because it seems small now, but many people don't realize that it is one of the largest volcanos in the world. It is located about 70-km south of Manila on an island inside a lake called Taal Lake.

Located about 75 minutes drive south of Manila, Tagaytay Ridge overlooks one of the rarest but lesser known sights in the world-Taal Volcano. What makes this rather srnall volcano special is the fact that it is located on an island within a very large lake. The lake itself is actually an enorrnous caldera, resulting from the collapse of a very large crater (aprox. 18000 ft high) after a violent eruption aeons ago. The northern side of the lake forms the high Tagaytay Ridge, from where the best views can be had and where cool breezes make an ideal rest stop for tours of the region.

The Picnic Grove offers facilities for lunch and refreshments, picnic tables for rent, and horseback-riding. There is a hotel here called Taal Vista Lodge, where more complete facilities and a casino can be enjoyed. For adventurous souls, trips across the crater lake and visits to Volcano Island are

Mayon Volcano

PHILIPPINES

Mayon Volcano is an active volcano on the Filipino island of Luzon, 15 km northwest of Legazpi City.It is classified by volcanologists as a stratovolcano (composite volcano). Its symmetric cone was formed through alternate pyroclastic and lava flows. Mayon is the most active volcano in the country, having erupted over 47 times in the past 400 years, and is a part of what is called the Pacific Ring of Fire.