Based in the northern hemisphere, the Philippines is made up of 7014 islands, the archipelago being divided into three island groups: Luzon in the north, Visayas, central, and Mindanao in the south.

The Philippines covers an area of 300,000 square kilometers (115,831 square miles)

Most of the islands used to be covered by tropical rain forests. However, illegal logging has reduced forest cover to less than 10% of the total land area.

The islands are volcanic in origin, being part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, and are mostly mountainous. The highest point in the country is the peak of Mount Apo in Mindanao, which is 2,954 meters (9,692 ft) above sea level.

The Philippines is divided into a hierarchy of local government units with the 81 provinces and 38 independent cities as the primary unit. Provinces are further subdivided into component cities and municipalities, both of which consist of barangays, the smallest local government unit.

The islands have a tropical climate dominated by a rainy season and a dry season, although certain locations have no dry season (meaning, all months have an average rainfall of above 60 mm) and certain higher-altitude areas can have a subtropical climate. The summer monsoon brings heavy rains to most of the archipelago from May to October, whereas the winter monsoon brings relatively cooler and drier air from December to February. Manila and most of the lowland areas are hot and dusty from March to May. Even at this time, however, temperatures rarely rise above 37 °C (98.6 °F). Mean annual sea-level temperatures rarely fall below 27 °C (80.6 °F).

The Philippines is home to some of the most spectacular geological sites in the world from the caves of the Palawan underground river to the alien like forms of the Chocolate Hills in Bohol to the majesty of the volcanic Mount Mayon in Luzon.

And that is not even mentioning the fantastic coral reefs surrounding the islands, second only in size the Great Barrier Reef and the spectacular unspoilt, white, powder sand beaches which are seemingly everywhere.

Have a look at the link to Visiting the Philippines to view the outstanding natural beauty of these wonderful islands.