Luzon

Luzon is the largest and most economically central island of the Philippines and hosts the national capital and many of the country’s major urban, political and cultural centres. The island covers roughly 110,000 square kilometres and contains Manila, the country’s primary metropolitan area.

A wide variety of destinations sit on Luzon - dense urban areas and historic districts in Metro Manila, mountainous highland regions with terraced agriculture in the Cordillera, active volcanic cones and coastal provinces in Bicol, and extensive agricultural plains. Highlights include UNESCO-listed rice terraces in the Cordillera, volcanic landmarks such as Mayon, and major cultural and historical sites in and around Manila.

Luzon’s recorded history includes indigenous polities, significant Spanish colonial presence from the 16th century onward, and its later role as the political and economic core of the modern Republic of the Philippines. Infrastructure and urban growth have concentrated on the island since the colonial period, shaping its role as the national nexus.

Geographically Luzon occupies the northern third of the Philippine archipelago. It is separated from the Visayas to the south by the Luzon Strait and Philippine Sea to the north and east, and lies several hundred kilometres north of Mindanao; Manila sits on the island’s western lowlands and functions as its central transport hub.

• Size: Area approximately 110,000 square kilometres, making it the largest island in the Philippine archipelago by land area.

What to See #

• Metro Manila: The national capital region that contains the administrative, economic and cultural heart of the Philippines, including Manila and Quezon City and major transport hubs.
• Cordillera / Banaue region: A mountainous northern sub-region known for highland towns and the Banaue and Ifugao rice terraces, featuring cooler climate and mountainous landscapes.
• Bicol region: The southern portion of the island which includes the Bicol volcanic arc and notable cones such as Mayon, known for active stratovolcanoes and coastal landscapes.