Santa is a town in Ilocos Sur.
Understand
[edit]Santa is one of the oldest settlements in Ilocos Sur, having been founded by the Spanish in 1576. It was originally called Santa Catalina de Baba, but was shortened to Santa to avoid confusion with the town of Santa Catalina, west of Vigan. Downtown Santa was built based on a unique octagonal spiderweb layout, with a circular plaza at its center containing the Municipal Hall and the parish church in one side.
The town is hemmed in between the South China Sea to the west and Northern Luzon Heroes Hill National Park, a protected area created from a spur of the Cordillera Mountains isolated from the rest of a range by the Abra River, which forces its way into the South China Sea through a picturesque gorge that marks Santa's boundary with the town of Bantay.
Get in
[edit]Santa is along Route 2 (Manila North Road). Buses also ply this highway.
Get around
[edit]Tricycles are the main form of transportation in town.
See
[edit]- 1 Northern Luzon Heroes Hill National Park. A 1,316 hectares (3,250 acres) ridge that is popular among hikers and motorists for the dramatic coastal views along Manila North Road. Along the highway is a historical marker of heroine Gabriela Silang.
- 2 Saint Catherine of Alexandria Parish Church (Santa Church), Magsaysay (in front of the town plaza). Santa's main Roman Catholic church, built in a Baroque style during the Spanish era in 1854.
- 3 New Quirino Bridge (Banaoang Bridge), Manila North Road, Banaoang. A two-lane bridge over the Abra River Gorge marking the boundary between Santa and Bantay to the north. At both ends of the bridge are viewing platforms with panoramic vistas of the area, including the old arch bridge east of the river, which has now lost much of its span following typhoons and flooding.
- 4 Calungboyan Bridge. An arched steel bridge connecting mainland Santa with Isla Azul, an island on the delta of the Abra River.
Do
[edit]Buy
[edit]- 1 Santa Public Market, Manila North Road, Labut Norte.
Eat
[edit]Drink
[edit]Sleep
[edit]Connect
[edit]Go next
[edit]| Routes through Santa |
| Vigan ← Bantay ← | N  S
|
→ Narvacan → Candon |