Posted 09 Mar 2010

Gap year travellers passing through the Philippines towards the end of the month may want to check out the Easter celebrations that will engulf the predominantly Catholic country.

Suite101.com has earmarked the destinations most popularly sought out by foreign tourists during Holy Week – Palm Sunday through to Easter Sunday – when people stop eating meat, read the Passion of the Christ and attend church and processions.

In San Fernando, Pampanga, visitors can witness re-enactments of Christ’s crucifixion on Good Friday, when locals carry wooden crosses in a parade, with some even being tied up and nailed down to the structures.

The Moriones Festival takes place in Marinduque, where inhabitants dress up in Roman armour to retell the story of Longinus – a centurion who converted to Christianity.

Lonely Planet described the Philippines as "a place of natural wonders – a string of coral-fringed islands strewn across a vast expanse of the western Pacific".

Category: Asia