Pinayungan Cave
Pili, San Marcelino, Zambales

A rare oppurtunity to trailblaze the path covered by the volcanic eruption as one visits a community in San Marcelino town now transformed into a lake-all caused by lahar situation of river channels. Take a boat ride and see more than 600 houses, schools and churches permanently submerged in a huge body of water. From the high trail, one may get a close-up view of the volcano. On one's way back, a visit to a prayer mountain called hidden shrine of Mt. Pinatubo is recommended.

Augustinian friars, the first missionaries to arrive in Botolan in the latter part of the 17th century, said they were stunned to find the Aetas venerating a wooden statue of the Virgin Mary even before Christianity made inroads in the Philippines. The oral legend that has passed on to present-day Aetas is that their chieftain Djadig discovered the image while resting near a riverbank after a futile food-gathering expedition during a long drought. The chieftain was awakened by a female voice that said, "Stand up, Djadig. Come to me. Take me home with you." At home, Djadig’s wife was angry that he had failed to find any food. She threw the statue into the fire. But it was not damaged, and Djadig enshrined it on the rock where he had found it. In 1712, Dominican missionaries installed the image, then called the Nuestra Senora de la Paz y Buen Viaje (Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage), in the town's church, which the Aetas never failed to visit. Accounts said Aglipayans stormed the church in May 1897, and took the image with them after killing parish priest Juliano Jimenez del Rosario. Since then, the image has graced the Aglipayan chapel at the foothills of Mt. Pinatubo. In the 1980s, Zambales Bishop Henry Byrne and his successor Bishop Paciano Aniceto approved the mission to make the image the rallying symbol for the Holy Rosary Crusade for World Peace, a project of the Balikatan sa Kaunlaran Foundation. On the seventh anniversary of Pope John Paul's papacy in 1985, the image stood beside the Pope's altar.

Located at Candelaria, it also boasts of clean beach front and natural caves good for spelunking.

Courtesy of Lino Ongteco. Click on thumbnail to zoom

Every town of Zambales has its own share of beautiful and untapped island. This is Masinloc's counterpart of the Miss Universe island of Santa Cruz. The island has clean water, smooth beaches coupled with powdery white sand and cool sea breeze.

Carved out of a fissure on the earth's crust, this carved measures about 50 by 75 meters. At its central wall sits an altar with the images of the Holy Family. The weird cross in the background is a makeshift of human femur bones.

Endowed with abundant marine resources and wild animals, it is one of five coasts soon to be developed into a fish sanctuary. Naturally, an ideal place to visit for scuba diving and snorkeling.

An island with a complete recreational facilities very ideal place for relaxation. Includes swimming, scuba diving, boating and other water sports such as regatta, water skiing and wind surfing.