IT’S MORE FUN:

in the PHILIPINES
15 Philippine Festivals You Must
Experience
The festivals in the Philippines are one of the main
reasons travelers visit the country. Because of the
colorful costumes, fun activities, and electrifying
festival dances in the Philippines, travelers can’t
help but join the party. Here are the top 15 festivals
every traveler must experience at least once:

1. Sinulog Festival – A religious festival in the

Festivals in the Philippines offer people a chance to
exhibit their rich culture and pay homage to the
history and patron saints. They are vibrant, big, and
celebrated with a lot of pomp and show. No wonder,
each province has its own Filipino Fiesta that they
are very proud of.
Tourists from all over the world visit the Philippines
not just to see its beautiful beaches and
breathtaking sights, but also to experience the
country’s grand festivals that, without a doubt,
make it more fun in the Philippines.
Philippines celebrated in Cebu every January.
2. Ati-Atihan Festival – One-of-a-kind festival in
the Philippines held in Aklan.
3. Dinagyang Festival – The religious festival in the
Philippines that celebrates the feast of the Santo
Niño and the pact between the Datus and locals
in Iloilo City.
4. Pahiyas Festival – Lucban, Quezon – One of the
most colorful Philippines festivals held in
Lucban, Quezon where tourists can enjoy FREE
food!
5. Panagbenga Festival – The popular Flower
Festival in the Philippines.
6. Lechon Festival – One of the most unique
festivals in the Philippines where you’ll see
crispy pork lechons dressed in cool outfits.
7. Kadayawan Festival – The fiesta in the
Philippines celebrated in Davao City. Sinulog Festival – Cebu
8. MassKara Festival – The Philippine festival of
many faces held in Bacolod.
9. Tuna Festival – One of the fun fish festivals in
the Philippines.
10. Higantes Festival – Where you can see giant
paper mache do the festival dance.
11. Mango Festival – A festivity held in Zambales to
celebrate the bountiful harvest of mangoes.
12. Bangus Festival – The festival that promotes
bangus.
13. Moriones Festival – A religious festival in the
Philippines re-enacting Longinus’ life.
14. Ibalong Festival –  It is a celebration in
recognition of the socio-historic-cultural
heritage of Bicolanos as based on the Ibalong Date: January 10 – 20, 2020
Epic.
15. T’Nalak Festival – A way to promote and Main Highlights
preserve South Cotabato’s cultural heritage
 Fluvial Procession of the Miraculous Image of
the Santo Niño (January 18, 6am)
 Sinulog Grand Parade (January 19, 9am)

Head down south to the Queen City and experience

this fiesta in the Philippines that celebrates Cebu’s
patron saint— Santo Niño. Sinulog is one of the 10
examples of religious festivals in the Philippines.
This is a week-long event that is done with
processions, parties, concerts, colorful and lively
street dancing, irresistible drum beats, and parades.
The word “sinulog” means “like the water current,”
and is actually the name of the step that the Ati-Atihan Festival – Aklan
dancers perform.

Where to stay in Cebu

Rates start at P700/night

1. ZEN Rooms Alicia Tower Cebu

2. ZEN Rooms Schweizer Cebu
3. ZEN Premium Banilad

Date:  January 10 – 19, 2020

Main Highlights

 Parade of Tribes and Floats (January 13, 1pm)

 Ati-Atihan Street Dancing (January 17, 8am)
 Religious Procession and torch Street Dancing
(January 19, 2pm)

Witness a crazy but the good kind of crazy festival

dances in the Philippines when you attend the Ati-
Atihan Festival. If you plan to visit Boracay in
January, you might as well watch the locals
masquerading as Negritos in colorful costumes,
dancing, and chanting “Hala Bira!” in Aklan for their
Ati-Atihan Festival. Dinagyang Festival – Iloilo
Similar to Cebu’s Sinulog Festival, this event is City
celebrated to honor Santo Niño. Ati-Atihan Festival
in Aklan is considered to be one of the best festivals
in the Philippines. This religious festivity is also one
of the oldest Philippine celebrations.

Where to stay in Aklan

Rates start at P2,400/night

1. ZEN Rooms Abozza Station 2

2. ZEN Rooms Station 1 Beachside
3. ZEN Premium Station 1 Road Front

Date: January 18 – 26, 2020

Main Highlights

 Floats Parade of Lights

 Festive Parade Sponsors Mardi Gras
 Dinagyang 360° Tribe Competition

Dinagyang is a Hiligaynon word that means

“merrymaking.” Just like the Sinulog and Ati-Atihan
Festivals, Dinagyang is one of the religious festivals
in the Philippines that celebrates the feast of the
Santo Niño and the pact between the Datus and
locals. Pahiyas Festival – Lucban,
Every 4th Sunday of January, the festival Quezon
transforms Iloilo City into a massive street party
with overflowing drinks and food. The most exciting
part is that the city hosts a highly competitive street
dancing contest that features tribes, represented by
the locals.

Where to stay in Iloilo

Rate starts at P600/night

ZEN Rooms Basic Iloilo Paraw Resort

Date: May 15, 2020

Main Highlights

 Early Morning Procession in honor of San

Isidro Labrador
 Free food for everyone and the colorful
houses decorated with Kiping

Every famous festival in the Philippines is always

colorful, and Pahiyas Festival, without a doubt, is
one of the most colorful and vibrant festivals in the
Philippines. You can trace Pahiyas Festival history
way back in the 15th century. Farmers then used to Panagbenga Festival – Baguio City
offer their harvests at the foot of Mount
Banahaw. The Pahiyas festival place of origin is
Quezon Province.

This is an annual celebration to pay homage to San

Isidro Labrador, the patron saint of farmers, for a
bountiful harvest in town so it’s one of the 10
examples of religious festivals in the Philippines.
Houses are decorated with the town’s best
agricultural products, mostly colorful Kipings— a
traditional Filipino leaf-shaped wafer made from
glutinous rice.

What’s more exciting about Pahiyas festival is that

FREE and grab-all-you-can fresh fruits and
vegetables are everywhere for the visitors to taste Date: February 1 – March 8, 2020
and enjoy. 
Main Highlights

 Grand Street Dance Parade

 Grand Float Parade

Panagbenga is a local Kankana-ey term in

Cordillera, which means “a season for blossoming.”
Panagbenga Festival is a month-long festival in
Baguio. Tourists flock to the city during this time to
watch the Grand Float Parade which features giant
floats in different characters made of flowers. Many
celebrities also perform here. Because of this,
Panagbenga has become a famous festival in the
Philippines.
Related article: Panagbenga: The Baguio Flower
Festival That Everyone’s Been Talking About Lechon Festival – Batangas
Where to stay in Baguio
Rates start at P2,000/night

1. ZEN Rooms Basic Camp Allen Rd Baguio

2. ZEN Rooms Mountain Lodge Baguio
3. ZEN Rooms South Drive Baguio

Date: June 24, 2020

Main Highlights

 Parades of Lechon
 Water Splashing Activity

Parada ng Lechon for the Lechon Festival is held

every 24th of June in honor of St. John the Baptist.

Lechon (roasted pig) is always present on special

Filipino occasions, especially on fiestas. During this
festival, lechons are paraded dressed in fun
characters, while the whole town is participating in a
water splashing tradition. After the whole activity,
everyone can already feast on the lechons in the Kadayawan Festival – Davao City
festival.

Where to stay in Batangas

Rates start at P2,000/night

1. ZEN Rooms Park B&B Batangas

2. ZEN Rooms Yellowbell Batangas
3. ZEN Rooms Rosario Resort Batangas

Date: August 2020

Main Highlights

 Indak Indak sa Kadalanan Street Dancing

 Kadayawan Floral Parade
 Parada sa Dagat
Kadayawan is a native expression in the Dabawnon
tongue. It’s derived from the word “madayaw”
which means good, valuable, and superior.
Dabaweños celebrate the annual Kadayawan as a
thanksgiving festival and a tribute to its indigenous
people. This Philippines festival is usually held every MassKara Festival – Bacolod
3rd week of August.

Must-read: Kadayawan Festival: Every Traveler’s

Ultimate Guide for a Fun Festival Experience

Where to stay in Davao

Rate starts at P1,000/night

ZEN Rooms Roxas Avenue

Date: October 2020

Main Highlights

 Electric MassKara (Bacolod’s biggest street

party)
 MassKara Street Dance and Arena
Competition
MassKara Festival is a very popular festival in the
Philippines. MassKara is derived from the words Tuna Festival – General
“mass” meaning “many” and “kara” meaning
“faces,” thus, calling it the Festival of Many Faces. Santos City
Many tourists visit Bacolod in October to witness
this grand Filipino cultural festival. Being known as
the City of Smiles, Bacolod parades many smiling
masks worn by the locals during this festival in the
Philippines. 

Where to stay in Bacolod

Rates start at P500/night

1. ZEN Rooms Basic Mercenary Inn

2. ZEN Rooms Middle Town Inn Bacolod
3. ZEN Rooms Check Inn Bacolod

Date: September 2020

Main Highlights

 Tuna Festival Float Parade

 Sugbahan sa Dalan

Aside from being the hometown of the world boxing

champion, a.k.a. Pambansang Kamao, Manny
Pacquiao, General Santos City is also the premier
fish producer of the Philippines. It houses the
country’s 7 tuna canning plants, thus, making it the
Tuna Capital of the Philippines.
During the Tuna Festival, locals showcase the
province’s bountiful catch with colorful, ocean- Higantes Festival – Angono,
themed floats. Another activity that everyone’s
looking forward to is the Sugbahan sa Dalan where Rizal
a long line of grills is set up on the street and
hundreds of kilos of tuna are grilled on the spot.
And the best thing about this festival in the
Philippines is, everything’s FREE.

Date: November 23 – 23, 2020

Main Highlights

 Higantes Festival Parade

 Water Splashing Activity

Angono, Rizal is known as the “Art Capital of the

Philippines.” Aside from this, the town is also
famous for its Higantes Festival.
Based on the Angono folklore, the “Higantes” or
paper-mache giants were done by locals as a form
of protest during the Spanish colonization. Now,
Dinamulag Festival
these paper-mache giants now play the part of one
of the most unique festivals in the Philippines. Mango Festival – Zambales
Higantes Festival is celebrated every 4th week of
November in Angono, Rizal to honor San Clemente,
the town’s patron saint.

Date: April

Main Highlights: 

 Mango eating challenge

 Street dancing

Zambales is known for its beautiful islands

and beaches that have become the go-to
destination of weekend travelers. But aside from
these, Zambales is home to the sweetest mangoes
in the Philippines and across the globe, that even
the Guinness World Records recognized. 
Bangus Festival –
Mango Festival in the Philippines is the celebration
of the bountiful harvest. It aims not only for the
locals to have a great time but also to promote what
Dagupan City
Zambales has to offer.

Photo credits to Christina Estrada via Flickr

Date: April

Main Highlights: 

 Street party
 Street dancing
 Trade fairs
 Bangus cook off

Held in Dagupan City in Pangasinan, Bangus Festival

is celebrated to give thanks to the city’s thriving
aquaculture, especially in bangus or milkfish.
Bangus Festival started in 2002 to promote the
bangus industry. Among the highlights of this non Moriones Festival –
religious festival are the bangus cook off, street
party, trade fairs and of course, the electrifying Marinduque
festival dance in the streets.

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons

Date: It depends on the month when the Holy Week

is observed

Main Highlights: 

 The Parade of Morions

 Moriones Festival dance 
 Short acts re-enacting what happened during
the time of Longinus
Unlike other festivals in the Philippines, Moriones
Festival is, according to religious sectors, not a Ibalong Festival – Bicol
festive occasion. This religious festival is a
traditional activity held every Holy Week in the
island province of Marinduque in the Philippines. 

Moriones is derived from the word “Morion” which

means mask or visor hence, the mask in the
Moriones Festival costume. This religious festival is
a re-enactment of the biblical story of a Roman
soldier whose one eye was blind named Longinus.

Photo by albay.gov.ph

Date: August 10 to 19

Main Highlights: 

 Street dancing
 Giant floats
 Re-enactment of Ibalong Epic

Ibalong Festival, far from the other festivals in the

Philippines, is a non religious festival about
harvests. It is a celebration in recognition of the
socio-historic-cultural heritage of Bicolanos as based
on the Ibalong Epic showcasing the bravery and T’Nalak Festival –
strength of three heroes—Baltog, Handyong and
Bantong—who got to battle against the elements, South Cotabato
one-eyed monsters, giant flying sharks, crocodiles
as big as boats, and other such fearful creatures.

Photo by Constantine Agustin via Flickr

Date: Every second week of July

Main Highlights: 

 Street dancing
 Mutya ng South Cotabato
 Tri-People Grand Parade

T’Nalak Festival in the Philippines is a way to

promote and preserve South Cotabato’s cultural
heritage. It is an annual celebration that
commemorates the Foundation Anniversary of
South Cotabato.This non religious festival has two
primary objectives: first is to celebrate the founding
anniversary of the province, and the second is to
honor the rich cultural heritage of T’nalak.