Things to see and do Laoag

Pagudpud, 72 km from Laoag and with a population of 26,000, is the most famous beach resort in Northern Luzon. It is often described as the "Boracay of the North". You will realize that this reputation is a bit overrated. The three beaches lined with coconut palms are nevertheless very pleasant: Saud Beach is favored by hotels, Pansian Beach is almost deserted and Blue Lagoon, with its white sand and azure sea, attracts the idlers and also its share of surfers, who enjoy its waves, between July and November.

Lovers of unique landscapes should go to the Suba dunes (between Laoag and Paoay), a sandy desert in a tropical region. Some of the dunes reach 800 meters in width. It is a bit like the Sahara of the Philippines (hardly exaggerating...). Scenes from Mad Max and Born on the Fourth of July were even filmed there. It is possible to rent all-terrain vehicles or buggies but the main activity is less polluting and less expensive: if you have always dreamed of skiing or surfing in the sand... you will be able to realize your dream here!

This beautiful church was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1993. It was built in the ^18th century in an "earthquake baroque" style, with gothic and Chinese influences, with bricks and coral held together by mortar and sugar cane juice (the walls are 1.67 m thick). It was used as an observation post during the revolution against the Spanish and against the Japanese during the Second World War. In 2000, an excavation brought to light a prehistoric human skeleton and fragments of ceramics.

It is the largest church in the region of Ilocos (137 m long). Built between 1669 and 1679 in an "earthquake baroque" style (separate bell tower), it is made of brick and has a bridge that connects it to the nearby convent. The Spaniards tortured Filipino rebels here, as did the Japanese during World War II. Irene Marcos, daughter of former dictator Marcos, restored the complex on the occasion of her wedding in 1983. However, an earthquake destroyed it again. It was restored again.

Laoag Cathedral was built in 1580 and restored around 1880 after earthquakes, fire and typhoons. Its 45 meters tower built by the Augustinian fathers in 1612, it is of "earthquake baroque" style. The bell tower has six bells of different sizes. The ancients say that in the past you could enter with a horse: today, even a man of average height has to bend down to enter the tower. Today, even an average-sized man has to bend down to enter the tower, which sinks into the soft earth, hence the name it was given, "sinking bell tower".