Top 4 Places to Visit in Paoay, Ilocos Norte

After our Laoag City Tour, we then proceeded to the Municipality of Paoay. Some of its top tourist spots are as follows:

1. Paoay Sand Dunes

2. Paoay Church

3. Malacanang of the North

4. Paoay Lake

Paoay Sand Dunes Adventures

The Ilocos Norte sand dunes is a 1,479 hectares of land formation unique in Southeast Asia. The 2 most popular sand dunes locations in Ilocos Norte are the La Paz Sand Dunes in Laoag, and the Paoay Sand Dunes. Package costs 2,500 pesos inclusive of 4x4 ride, sandboarding, plus you can ask the driver to stop anywhere you want to have your pictures taken. The vehicle can accommodate around 4-5 persons so you can divide the package costs among your group.

 The adventure includes the 4x4 ride, sand dunes tour with uphill-down trails, dune bashing, photo session, beach stroll, sandboarding (unlimited), side trip to Himala sa Buhangin structures. Tour distance is around 12.6 kms with a duration of an hour. They also offer ATV rides where there is a separate route specifically for it.

Pure stretch of sand as far as your eyes can see...and beyond!

    As per our guides, the Paoay Sand Dunes had been the site of several local and international movie scenes such as HIMALA by Nora Aubor, Ang Panday by FPJ, Temptation Island Part 1 & 2, Mad Max by Mel Gibson, and  Born on the 4th of July by Tom Cruise.

Paoay Church

      The St. Augustine Church, popularly known as Paoay Church was selected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993. This parish was founded by Augustinian missionaries in 1953 where the cornerstone of the church was laid in 1704, while that of the tower in 1973. The tower was used by the Katipuneros during the revolution, and by the Guerillos during the Japanese occupation.

Malacanang of the North

    This mansion was supposedly a birthday gift from Imelda Marcos to her late husband, President Ferdinand Marcos for his 60th birthday. Technically, the money used for the lavish "gift" was from public funds and thus, was subsequently sequestered by the government after the end of the Marcos dictatorship. Lesson learned is, of course, it's okay to give gifts, just make sure you buy it from your own pocket. 

For more info and photos of this spot, please click here Top 10 Places to Go in Laoag City.

Paoay Lake

Actually, you can already have a view of the paoay Lake just by visiting the Malacanang of the North. This is the only photo I had taken of the legendary lake. 

Here are some pictures from other websites:

Photo courtesy of The Adventures of AdventuRoj!

Photo courtesy of Choose Philippines

As quoted verbatim from the website of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR):

"Paoay Lake is locally called dakkel danum. What makes Paoay Lake Legendary? It is because of the interesting and enchanting history narrated by forefathers and passed upon to the present , including the other stories or observations that happened in the lake narrated by te residents nearby.

According to such legendary account, Paoay Lake was formed as a punishment to the early settlers thereat who used to be immensely religious but turned wicked and preoccupied by material things later. Their wicked acts earned the ire of their gods, thus submerged the place , turning it into a body of water, while the people were made into fishes with their fancy adornments, such as jewelries, still attached with them. These stories say that, seated in Paoay Lake’s location was a group of three villages called Gumura, Siduma and Sintapuli. The first two villages were much like those communities, Sodom and Gumorrah, which according to the Holy Bible, were submerged in water as a form of punishment by God to the People who turned wicked.

Other sources suggest that the lake was a result of gigantic geological displacement that hit the Ilocos area in January 1641. A shattering earthquake preceded by loud thunders and lightning, swallowed down the place, then burst back into the sky, thus left a body of water. Later studies theorized that Paoay Lake was formed geologically as a result of formation of the earth’s crust during the Miocene Epoch 2 million years ago.

Paoay Lake is surrounded by the five barangays of Paoay: Suba in the north, Nanguyudan and Pasil in the east, Sungadan in the south, and Nagbacalan in the west. The Paoay Lake Protected Landscape has an area of 386.0 hectares."

Also check out our trip to  Laoag City, just click here: 
Top 10 Places to Go in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte  (Part 1) 
Top 10 Places to Go in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte  (Part 2) 

Also check out other popular destinations in Top 11 Tourist Spots to Visit in the Northern Part of Ilocos Norte

Top 10 Places to Go in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte (Part 2)

Laoag City Tourist Spots

Laoag City is the capital city of the Province of Ilocos Norte. Some of its popular tourist spots are as follows:

1. Ilocos Norte's Provincial Capitol

2. Aurora Park

3. Museo de Ilocos

4. Laoag City Hall

5. Tobacco Monopoly Monument

6. Sinking Tower of St. William Cathedral

7. Fort Ilocandia

8. Plaza del Norte Convention Center 

9. Malacanang of the North

10. La Paz Sand Dunes

Plaza del Norte

I  give my two thumbs up to Plaza del Norte. We stayed here for 3 days and everything was really comfortable and convenient from its clean, well-treated pools, delicious meals, beautiful scenery, spacious surroundings, to its lovely and relaxing rooms.

Our room :D

Dipping with my friends in the very inviting pool.

Malacanang of the North

      Actually, the Malacanang of the North is already in Paoay but I consider it as part of our Laoag City Tour since it is just a short distance from the Plaza del Norte and one only needs to ride a tricycle to get there.

      This mansion was supposedly a birthday gift from Imelda Marcos to her late husband, President Ferdinand Marcos for his 60th birthday. Technically, the money used for the lavish "gift" was from public funds and thus, was subsequently sequestered by the government after the end of the Marcos dictatorship. Lesson learned is, of course, it's okay to give gifts, just make sure you buy it from your own pocket.

Shown below are some of the rooms in the first floor.

Decades after the sequestration, the property was opened up to the public as a museum. The mansion is said to be a mix of Spanish and Ilocano architecture.

    While in power, the Marcos administration was accused of large scale authoritarian corruption, political repression, nepotism, and human rights violations, and after the assassination of a primary political opponent, Benigno Aquino, Jr., in 1983, public outrage led to the famous People Power Revolution in February 1986. Marcos was forced from power and he fled, seeking exile in Hawaii. - Philippine Trails

View of the grounds below, and overlooking the Paoay Lake.

     Above are some pictures of Imelda Marcos, who is world famous for her numerous shoe collection, said to have reached more than 3,000 and during the People Power Revolution, they found 1,200 pairs in Imelda's closet alone. One can just imagine how many were kept in her many residences all over the Philippines and abroad. A word was even coined after her, that is "Imeldific" which means ostentatious and extravagant.

     Draining most of the funds from the Philippine government, Imelda Marcos purchased extravagantly. Imelda traveled to New York and other destinations to buy fashions, high-end jewelry and other luxury items. She visited all of the major palaces and cities of mankind and purchased items left and right. Imelda bought the world's biggest diamond in 1983. She bought a Michelangelo piece for three and a half million dollars. In addition, she bought a 26 story skyscraper in Manhattan. - http://imeldamarcos.weebly.com/her-closet.html

 La Paz Sand Dunes

      The La Paz Sand Dunes is an approx 85 to 88 square kilometer protected sandy coastal desert and beach located in Laoag, Ilocos Norte, in the Philippines. One can choose various activities here such as 4x4 rides, and sand boarding. In our case, we didn't push thru in coming here as we already went to the Paoay Sand Dunes which is just at the other side and which also offers the same set of activities and view.

For more of Laoag City, just click here Top 10 Places to Go in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte  (Part 1)

Also check out other popular destinations to go in Ilocos Norte:
Top 4 Places to Visit in Paoay, Ilocos Norte
Top 11 Tourist Spots to Visit in the Northern Part of Ilocos Norte