Corregidor Island

During my visit to the Philippines, we went to Corregidor Island for whole day tour which is operated by Sun Cruises Philippines.

I’ve been touring around Philippines to check all the beautiful tourist attractions during Department of Tourism Secretary Mina Gabor time, as member of DOT Press Corps. However, this is my first time going to Corregidor.

Corregidor is a small rocky Island about 48 kilometers west of Manila and also known as “The Rock”.

This island fortress stands as a memorial for the courage, valor, and heroism of its Filipino and American defenders who bravely held their ground against the overwhelming number of invading Japanese forces during World War II.

For the Corregidor Tour,the Supercat ferry departs in Manila at around 8.00am for a one and half hours cruising. My kids are very excited to see the island and its amazing beauty.

We arrived at the Corregidor, half past nine in the morning, the tour guide give us name tag and the tram (bus) number that will take us around the Island.

The first stop, we visited the two story officers quarters, barracks for the enlisted men, a hospital, quarters for non-commissioned officers and two school houses- one for the children of Filipino soldiers and the other for  American children.

This infrastructure was located in the Middleside section of the Island between the Bottomside and topside sections of Corregidor.

The tour guide explained to us, there were 65 miles of paved roads and trails on the island and 19.5 miles of electric railroad track during the time.

Then, we went to the Topside section, the island biggest area, which point towards the South China Sea and the Bulk of the batteries mostly located.

According to the Tour guide, there were 23 batteries installed on Corregidor, consisting of 56 coastal guns and mortals and 13 anti-aircraft artillery batteries with 76 guns.

We visited all the batteries around Corregidor from Battery Way, Battery Geary and the longest range coastal pieces the two 12-inch guns of  batteries  Hearn and Smith.

Wow!!

Then, we set off to Corregidor Inn for a buffet lunch, which is strategically located in the middle of Corregidor. The staffs are very friendly and they gave us a welcome drink.

After the lunch, we continue the tour and Malinta Tunnel is the first stop, which is  the last stronghold of the joint Philippine and American Military before the Japanese takeover during World War 2.

Inside the Tunnel, we watched the Light and Sound Show,which is about half an hour long ,created by National Artist  Lamberto V Avellana regarding the events that took place on the island and cost Php200 per person.

Next, the Pacific War Memorial located at the topside section, which was built by the US government  to honor  the Filipino and American Soldier    who participated in World War 2.

Since , we already in the Topside section , the tour guide asked the driver to go to Filipino Heroes Memorial ,a 6,000 square meter complex and was inaugurated by President Fidel Ramos on August 28,1992 in honoring Filipino Soldiers.

A Japanese  Garden  of Peace was also built in the Island as  as a memorial to the Japanese soldiers who served and died on the island during WWII.

The last place we check before, going back to Manila is the Corregidor Lighthouse, the oldest landmark in the Island  first lit in 1853.

My Kids and I went up to the tower and it was a amazing view with an effective height of 639 feet above sea level.

My Corregidor trip was memorable and awesome.

What about you? Do you have amazing trip? Let me know.

if you want a historical and adventure getaway not far from Manila, contact the Sun Cruises Philippines to book your tour .