South East Asian Trips

Situated on the northwestern coast of Luzon, La Union is the gateway to the Ilocos Region. With its strategic location, the province has become the business, education, and government center of the Ilocos. Not only is La Union the region's center for trade but also of religious devotees who flock to one of the country's popular pilgrimage destinations, especially during Lent.

Agoo, the oldest town of La Union, was once the site of the much publicized divine visitations of the Virgin Mary. The Agoo Apparition Site in San Antonio has established the town as a destination of choice for Marian devotees. Agoo comes alive most on Semana Santa, or the Holy Week, which is the week before Easter. Yearly, the townspeople bear witness to ardent devotees relentlessly pulling life-size statues depicting the 14 Stations of the Cross along the processional roads in Agoo during the Good Friday procession on Semana Santa.

But the province is not wanting of natural attractions, thanks to seascapes that make it a watersports paradise. The surf fronting Monaliza in Urbiztondo, San Juan is the best site for board surfing from November to February; other good sites are in Carlatan and Wallace in San Fernando. Scuba diving is ideal in Fagg Reef, which is adorned by sharks, barracuda, sea snakes, Moray eels, and other friendly sea creatures, and Research Reef, which is endowed with several tunnels, caverns, and crevices.