Colours of the world - Philippines

This country, an archipelago, consists of some 7000 tropical islands and islets. It attracts tourism owing to the beauty of its landscapes, diversity of its culture, curious and somewhat mysterious customs and rituals. Additionally, it as a superb place where one can relax in the midst of lush tropical nature and among friendly and open Filipinos.

The Archipelago of the Philippine Islands belongs to the most seismic areas of the world. There are many volcanoes here and some of them are highly active. One of the most notorious is the Pinatubo, which, in June of 1991 erupted with enormous force ejecting a huge cloud of gases and ashes, which persisted in the atmosphere for many months.

In the Philippines there is a mosaic of tribes and cultures. The people speak some 70 dialects on the islands and each tribe has its own customs. Inhabitants of some villages have dark skin and are called negritos. One of the most popular pastimes is cockfighting, which can be watched in many towns and villages. For the locals it is a ritual in itself; more often than not the fight ends in death of one of the fighting birds.