The Philippines is indeed blessed with numerous tourist hot spots that have long attracted foreigners and locals alike. Aside from our country’s pristine beaches, resorts, mountain ranges and what not, there are a few tourist locations in the Philippines that have played an important role in the past in shaping the history and legacy of the nation we now know today.

Here are 5 great examples of tourist destinations of such kind.

Magellan’s Cross.

Situated in the city center of the Queen city of the South – Cebu, the Magellan’s cross is an ancient reminder of how Christianity was established in the Philippines. The cross was planted by Spanish and Portuguese explorers around April 1521, by order of Ferdinand Magellan upon arriving at the shores of Cebu.

Contrary to what most people would think at first glance, the cross displayed in the chapel is not the original cross from the time of Magellan, instead, the original cross is encased inside another wooden cross to protect the relic from tourists who took pieces of the cross as mementos in the belief that it has mystical healing properties. The cross is now housed in a chapel, with a tiled pavilion next to the Basilica of Minore del Santo Niño.

Luneta

Luneta or more formally known as Rizal Park is a historical urban park in the heart of Manila and sits beside the walled city of Intramuros. The park played an important role in history as the place where the national hero of the Philippines – Dr. Jose Rizal was executed.

In honor of the national hero, a monument made from bronze and granite was erected at the park to commemorate his contributions to the country’s history and to recognize his efforts in the liberation of the country from Spanish rule. The park also houses the Independence Flagpole, the highest flagpole in the country standing at 107 meters as well as the Quirino Grandstand.

Another fun fact is that Luneta is marked at kilometer zero which serves as a point from which road distances from Manila are measured. So if you’ve ever looked at those bus tickets and wondered where they based those kilometer figures, now you know it’s from Luneta.

Barasoain Church

Founded by Augustinian missionaries in 1859, the Barasaoin church, otherwise known as the Parish of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, is one of the most important places in the history of the Philippines. Three major events in the history of the country happened in this church: The convening of the First Philippine Congress in 1898, the drafting of the Malolos Constitution in 1899 and the inauguration of the First Philippine Republic in 1899.

Nowadays, the church is mainly used as a venue for important national events and part of it is used as a museum where children on school field trips as well as tourists can visit on a regular basis. Of course the place is still used for its primary function – the Holy Mass.

Dambana ng Kagitingan (Shrine of Valor)

Resting near the summit of Mount Samat in the town of Pilar, Bataan is the Mount Samat National Shrine otherwise known as the Dambana ng Kagitingan. The shrine was constructed in honor of fallen American and Filipino soldiers during World War II.

Being on top of a mountain, do expect to do some hiking to reach the shrine. But once you reach the top, the view is breathtaking. If you fancy some water related fun, hiking back down Mount Samat will lead you to Dunsalan falls which serve as the main drainage of the mountain’s crater.

Corregidor

Corregidor Island is a tadpole shaped island in the province of Cavite. During the Spanish era, the island was used by Spaniards as a fortress of defense, a penal institution and a station for customs inspection. But the island is more known in its role during the Second World War where it became a stronghold for US and Philippine troops.

Today, most of the island has been transformed into a tourist spot/historical landmark. Many travel companies offer packages that includes day tours of military installations used during World War II like the Malinta Tunnel and other notable areas within the island like the Pacific War Memorial, Filipino Heroes Memorial, Japanese Garden of Peace and the Corregidor lighthouse.

And that’s it for now. If you have any comments and suggestions, please do leave them using the comment box below.

In line with the country’s celebration of its 114^th year of independence, the TFL team has decided to feature posts that show the very best of Filipino living. From Pinoy made gadgets and apps, best travel locations in the Philippines, traditional Filipino cuisine and fashion and beauty tips fit for the average Juan, TFL will be featuring them this entire week.

For the gadgets and technology section of TFL, we’ll be featuring Pinoy made apps that are currently available for download in various mobile platforms. If you own an iPhone, an Android, a Blackberry or a Windows phone do check out some of these apps.

Apple iOS

The Filipino News – created by the people of Pinoyhaus.com, the Filipino News app brings you the latest information on current events and top stories currently happening in the Philippines. It includes news from sources like GMA, ABS-CBN, Inquirer, The Philippine Star, Asian Journal, Business Mirror, Business World and PEP.ph.

The app costs $0.99 on the Apple App store.

Who Am I??? – This app was created by Marek Foss and is the digital version of the popular segment in Eat Bulaga – Pinoy Henyo. The app was designed to be used by 2 to 4 people and makes use of the device’s screen to project a word or group of words that other players can guess by asking questions answerable by yes, no or maybe.

This app is currently free for download on the Apple App store.

My Travel Philippines – is a comprehensive mobile travel guide to the Philippines. It was created by 2RMobile and features images and descriptions of various attractions and hotels in the country. It also has mobile hotel booking functionality and can serve as a map by using your device’s GPS transceiver. And just like the Who Am I??? App this is totally free.

Google Android

Sweldong Pinoy – sweldong pinoy was created by Jomar Tigcal. It is a salary calculator for Filipinos to help them in computing their gross and net income. It also calculates the amount of withholding tax, SSS/GSIS, Philhealth and PAG-IBIG contributions.

Computations of the deductions are based on computation tables for each agency so you can be sure that it’s quite accurate. And again, it’s totally free.

Pinoy Food Recipe (created by Renz Cacas) – This is simply a digital recipe book.  The app provides recipes as well as images of Filipino recipes and serves as a beginner’s guide to Pinoy cooking.

SM Malls Maps and Directories – created by All Filipino Apps, this application serve as a guide to a Filipino culture shopping staple – SM. It’s also a free app on Google Play.

RIM Blackberry

PH Weather – is a Playbook app that features current weather conditions in the Philippines. It displays current as well as seven-day forecasts in different locations in the country, with satellite images mostly covering locations in the Philippines, Taiwan and other neighboring south east Asian countries.

The app showcases animated images and supports zooming, panning and pinch-to-zoom. It’s free for download on the BlackBerry App World and was developed by Matang Rolly.

Dama – created by John Bibal III, Dama is another Playbook app inspired by the Pinoy version of checkers of the same name. The app features and 8x8 board that simulates the actual board game plus two playable modes, the typical dama game and perdigana.

Again, it’s free on BlackBerry’s App world.

Philippines Mass Schedules – created by Raymond Balingit, this app as the name implies, collects all mass schedules available in highly urbanized cities and nearby locations from the website of Philippine mass schedules (www.mass-schedules.com) and downloads it to the local database of your device.

Again it’s free for download on BB’s App World.

Microsoft Windows Phone

ABS-CBN – Windows phone users are not so lucky in the apps department compared to the other mobile platforms in the market. Being the newcomer in the group, the Windows Phone Market place only has a couple of thousand apps compared to that of iOS and Android.

In terms of Pinoy apps available for download, there is only a handful apps you can choose from. One of them is ABS-CBN’s app that aggregates all relevant content in the field of business, sports, lifestyle and entertainment. The app s relatively new, barely a month old, so expect a few bugs and crashes when you download it.

And there you have it. Just do note that the apps mentioned in this post is not extensive and that there are still a number of Pinoy apps (especially in the Android Market and Apple App Store) that you can choose from. So if you’re feeling the Independence Day spirit, feel free to download these apps for your phone and tablets.