First Ilocandia Escapade | A Day Tour on Ancestral Heritage Treasures of Ilocos Norte

Every Philippine city has its hidden beauty, a cultural heritage and a colorful history. From the previous travel experiences I've had, I never forget to check the heritage sites in every place that I visit. For the third and final day of our tour, the weather is fine and it is the perfect time to go home. Before that, we visited some of the cultural heritage sites from Ilocos Norte back to Ilocos Sur. Let us have first the tour in the historical treasures of Ilocos Norte.

DIY Laoag City Tour

Laoag City

The facade of Ilocos Norte Capitol taken from the bus.

The Ilocos Norte Provincial Capitol

The fountain at the Aurora Park

While waiting for my colleagues to come back while having their morning exercise, I decided to go alone on a city tour to explore some of the heritage sites that you can find there. First, I visited the Ilocos Norte Provincial Capitol and roamed around the Aurora Park where you can find the monument of the Abolition of Tobacco Monopoly. 

The Sinking Bell Tower in Laoag City.

The Saint William's Cathedral or the Laoag Cathedral is a Baroque church in Ilocos Norte.

Therefore, the most important highlight in this do-it-yourself walking tour is the visit to the Laoag Cathedral. Also known as Saint William's Cathedral or Catedral de San Guillermo, this Spanish-era Baroque church was built in 1612 by the Augustinian friars. Don't forget also to visit the Sinking Bell Tower. This belfry is literally sinks into the ground at a rate of inch per year. It survived several minor earthquakes. The tower is made up of old brick and stone-faced with lime stucco plaster, the tower rises in four tiers.

Santa Monica Church
Sarrat

The Santa Monica Church, also known as Sarrat Church, another Baroque church in Ilocos Norte.

The belfry made up of bricks and covered with plants (Left) and the facade of the century old church (Right).

After my me-time in the city, I decided to pack up my things and join the team going to our next destination - Sarrat. The town is known as the birthplace of Ferdinand Marcos and for the Sarrat Church, the largest church in the province and with the longest nave in the country. In fact, we visited this cultural treasure known as the Santa Monica Church.

The old convent known as the Casa Palacio del Real.

The structure is made up of red bricks, but you need to be extra careful with these mosses.

This is the biggest church in Ilocos Norte which is made up of bricks built in Earthquake Baroque and Neoclassical architecture. It was first built in 1724 and the church witnessed several historical events especially the venue of the grand wedding of Irene Marcos, daughter of President Ferdinand Marcos and Gregorio Araneta in 1983.

Malacanang of the North 
Paoay

The entrance to Malacanang of the North.

It is a presidential museum of the Marcos family and the official residence
 of President Marcos during his administration.

The view of Paoay Lake.

Opening new doors for a bright future... taken from the doors of Malacanang Ti Amianan.

A few minutes away from the town of Sarrat, we returned at Paoay to visit the Malacanang of the North (Ilocano: Malacanang ti Amianan). The two-storey mansion is known as the presidential museum of Ferdinand E. Marcos and the official residence of his family during his administration. Inside the mansion, you can see different historical events during the Marcos administration and some memorabilla of the Marcos family.

Paoay Church
Paoay

Local and foreign tourists include Paoay Church in their bucket list of Ilocandian Tour.

The facade of the church.

The belfry played an important role in the history of this place.

After lunch, we had a chance to visit the Saint Augustine Church, simply known as the Paoay Church. Your Ilocandia tour will not be complete if you don't visit this iconic church in the North. The parish was founded by the Augustinian missionaries in 1593, the building of the present church was started in 1694 and completed in 1710. The church showed an example of Earthquake Baroque architecture made up of large coral stones on the lower part and bricks on the upper levels and its walls suggest Javanese architectural styles. Adjacent to the facade is the bell tower which served as a protection against earthquakes and an observational post by the Filipino revolutionaries against Spain in 1896 and by the Filipino guerillas against the Japanese forces during World War II.

The Paoay Church is one of the National Cultural Treasures in the Philippines and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Therefore, Paoay Church was declared  as a National Cultural Treasure by the Philippine government in 1973. In addition, the church was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site on December 11, 1993, together with other Baroque churches - San Agustin Church in Manila, Miag-ao Church in Iloilo and Santa Maria Church in Ilocos Sur.

For this day, the weather is very fine and we enjoyed the heritage tour for the final day of our Ilocandia Escapade. It feels like visiting those churches from Laoag, Sarrat and Paoay makes you feel like you already had your Visita Iglesia in Ilocos plus interesting historical sites which creates an insight of traveling back in time. The second part of this post will be our afternoon visit in the Heritage City of Vigan, Ilocos Sur.

Date: August 27, 2018