Manila Explorer

Manila is but one of 17 cities and 1 municipalities that comprise the area known as Metro Manila or the National Capital Region (NCR) of the Philippines.

The NCR is located in the southern portion of the island of Luzon, in between the Central Luzon and Southern Tagalog Regions, between Manila Bay and the inland lake of Laguna de Bay.

The City of Manila, where most of the historical attractions are located, lies at the confluence of Manila Bay and the Pasig River.

The City of Manila is in the western part of Metro Manila. It is bordered to the west by Manila Bay, to the north by Quezon City and Kalookan City, to the east by San Juan and Mandaluyong City and to the south by Pasay and Makati.

The City of Manila is distributed into 16 territorial districts, which are all original towns except one, the Port Area District. All of these original towns except Port Area have their own churches and several of these districts have attained identification in their own right.

The eight districts north of the Pasig River are:

Binondo - country's Chinatown before the arrival of Spaniards in 1571 and the city's main center for business

Quiapo - Hometown of the Black Nazarene and also a place which offers cheap prices on items ranging from electronics to native handicrafts

Sampaloc - means tamarind fruit is the district wherein the University of Santo Tomas, Asia's oldest university and the famous Dangwa Flower Market is located (near Windsor Inn at Maceda Street).

San Miguel - known as the University Belt District and the location of residence of the Philippine Government, Malacañang Palace

San Nicolas - shares Divisoria Flea Market with other co-district is the hub for the adventurous shoppers that may venture for cheap buys

Santa Cruz - is on the edge of Chinatown, which is the district of usual frenzied mix of commercial and residential premises

Santa Mesa - from the Spanish term Holy Mass, this district marks the first shot of the Filipino-American War

Tondo - the largest, historically 1100 years old, it is one of the first provinces to be established and rebelled against Spain and is now the Southeast Asia's Most Densely Populated District

The other eight are:

Ermita - one of the two Tourist Belt (another is the Malate district) is the former Red District and offers numeorus coin and antique shops aside from nightlife business

Intramuros - taken from the Latin, intra muros, literally "with in the walls", the History Town of the Philippines and considered as Old Manila itself during Spanish times

Malate - the Gay Capital of the country which is known as the center of bohemian night life in the city and in the metropolis

Paco - lies city's historic but mysterious octagonal park cemetery

Pandacan - district home of many of the country's literary and musical geniuses

Port - the country's chief seaport consisting of North and South Port where one can witness the dramatic sunset of Manila Bay

San Andres Bukid - was previously part of Santa Ana, this district has a touch of Moslem culture and has a mosque

Santa Ana- known as Sapa in ancient times, this district is the old capital of Namayan Kingdom which is the precursor of modern Metro Manila