UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES
IN THE COUNTRY
“The Care of our own Historical Memory reveals the Degree of Civilization
and Morality of a country”
Cultural Heritage is an expression
of the ways of living developed by a
community and passed on from
generation to generation, including
customs, practices, places, objects,
artistic expressions and values.
The
term
cultural
heritage
encompasses several main categories of
heritage namely Cultural heritage and
Natural Heritage.
Image from culturaldevelopment.nl
Cultural Heritage are the tangible and the intangible cultural
heritage while Natural Heritage are natural sites with cultural aspects.
Tangible heritage may also be movable (paintings, sculptures, coins,
manuscripts), immovable (monuments and archaeological sites) and
underwater cultural heritage (shipwrecks, underwater ruins and cities).
While Intangible cultural heritage are oral traditions, performing arts,
rituals.
Natural heritage on the other hand are natural sites with cultural
aspects such as cultural landscapes, physical, biological or geological
formations.
The six (6) World Heritage Sites listed by the UNESCO in the
Philippines:
1. Baroque Churches of the Philippines
2. Historic Town of Vigan
3. Rice Terraces, Ifugao
4. Tubbataha Reef Natural Park
5. Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary
6. Puerto – Princesa Subterranean River National Park
1. Baroque Churches of the Philippines (1993)
These four Baroque churches was built during the Spanish Era in the
late 16th and 18th century. These churches are in Paoay, Ilocos Norte,
Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur, Intramuros, Manila, and Miag-ao, Iloilo,
Philippines. All of them were inscribed to the UNESCO World Heritage
Site list on 1993.
San Agustin Church, Paoay, Ilocos Norte
photo from Ferdinand Manuel
Church of Nuestra Señora de la Asuncion, Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur
photo from Remar Lapastora
Church of the Immaculate Conception of
San Agustín, Intramuros, Manila
photo from artesdelasfilipinas.com
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Church of Santo Tomas de Villanueva, Miag-ao, Iloilo
photo from BluePrint
This group of churches established a style of building and design that
was adapted to the physical conditions in the Philippines and had an
important influence on later church architecture in the region. The four
churches are outstanding examples of the Philippine interpretation of the
Baroque style and represent the fusion of European church design and
construction with local materials and decorative motifs to form a new
church-building tradition.
2. Rice Terraces of Cordilleras (1995)
The Banaue Rice Terraces, another name for the Rice Terraces of the
Philippine Cordilleras, was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995
for its cultural importance. There are five sites included in this inscription,
all of which are part of the Cordillera region in the Philippines. The rice
terraces is a showcase of the complex method of farming employed by the
native Ifugao who lived in the area. It is believed that the rice terraces took
about 2,000 years to complete as the rice terraces carved out the slopes of
the mountains. It also took an entire community to maintain these living
rice terraces.
photo from bworldonline
The Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras is an outstanding
example of an evolved, living cultural landscape that can be traced as far
back as two millennia ago in the pre-colonial Philippines. The terraces are
in the remote areas of the Philippine Cordillera mountain
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range on the northern island of Luzon, Philippine archipelago. While the
historic terraces cover an extensive area, the inscribed property consists
of five clusters of the most intact and impressive terraces, located in four
municipalities. They are all the product of the Ifugao ethnic group, a
minority community that has occupied these mountains for thousands
of years.
3. Historic Town Of Vigan (1999)
Established in the 16th century, Vigan is the best-preserved example
of a planned Spanish colonial town in Asia. Its architecture reflects the
coming together of cultural elements from elsewhere in the Philippines,
from China and from Europe, resulting in a culture and townscape that
have no parallel anywhere in East and South-East Asia.
photo fromwhc.unesco.org & primer.com.ph
Vigan is unique for having preserved much of its Hispanic colonial
character, particularly its grid street pattern and historic urban lay out. Its
significance also lies on how the different architectural influences are
blended to create a homogenous townscape.
4. Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (1993 & 2009)
Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park lies in a unique position in the centre
of the Sulu Sea, and includes the Tubbataha and Jessie Beazley Reefs. It
protects an area of almost 100,000 hectares of high-quality marine
habitats containing three atolls and a large area of deep sea.
Photo from unesco & q phia
The property is home to a great diversity of marine life. Whales,
dolphins, sharks, turtles and Napoleon wrasse are amongst the key species
found here. The reef ecosystems support over 350 species of
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coral and almost 500 species of fish. The reserve also protects one of the
few remaining colonies of breeding seabirds in the region.
5. Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park (1999)
This park features a spectacular limestone karst landscape with an
underground river. One of the river's distinguishing features is that it
emerges directly into the sea, and its lower portion is subject to tidal
influences. The area also represents a significant habitat for biodiversity
conservation. The site contains a full 'mountain-to-sea' ecosystem and has
some of the most important forests in Asia.
Photo from whc.unesco.org
The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park was
designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999 for its natural
importance. It is commonly referred to by tourists as the Underground
River. The national park is located within a cave that you must travel by
boat. The cave dome measures at about 300 meters in length wherein it is
filled with river channels, rock formations, and a deep water hole. Aside
from being recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it was also
named as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature in 2011.
6. Mt. Hamiguitan Range Silent Sanctuary (2014)
Forming a north-south running mountain ridge along the Pujada
Peninsula in the southeastern part of the Eastern Mindanao Biodiversity
Corridor, the Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary has an
elevation range of 75-1,637 m above sea level, and provides critical habitat
for a range of plant and animal species. The property showcases terrestrial
and aquatic habitats and the species that they host at a series of different
elevations are responding to highly dissimilar soil and climate conditions.
The Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary provides a
sanctuary to a host of globally threatened and endemic flora and fauna
species, eight of which are found nowhere else except Mount Hamiguitan.
These include critically endangered trees, plants and the iconic Philippine
Eagle and Philippine Cockatoo.
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Photo from IUCN Naomi Doak Peter Harlow
Thus, Philippines is undeniably beautiful paradise. Its
unique location in asia that covers 7,107 islands that has different
culture to offer everyone. If we can go abroad, why not try to visit
these beautiful places and celebrate different colorful festivals
around the archipelago. the feast that everyone wants to
experience and continues to celebrate every year around.
Heritage Cycle
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