BATANGAS - a province that is famous for excellent dive sites and the world’s lowest volcano, Batangas is going nowhere but up. It is a thriving tourist destination replete with open beaches and sheltered coves, subterranean caves and deep harbors, a preserved heritage and brave men in history. Found in the province is world-known Anilao and its many dive sites that are ideal for poking around and observing marine life, and outstanding for macro photography. Multi-hued crinoids are prolific. The variety of nudibranchs is unmatched. Night dives are especially nice and often reveal unusual creatures like sea hares, sea goblins, catfish eels, ghost pipe fishes, blue-ringed octopuses, mandarin fishes, and snake eels. The area’s best known dive site, coral-covered Cathedral is spectacular at night. One of the prettiest dives in the area, Sepok has nice coral gardens and a vertical wall. Taal Lake and Volcano in Batangas is Southern Luzon’s centerpiece attraction. Known to be the smallest in the world, it is a volcano within an islet within a lake within a crater within a volcano. The town of Taal reigns as one of the two most culturally preserved sites of the Spanish colonial era; the other is Vigan in Ilocos Sur. The village in Taal conforms to the old town layout combining the municipal hall, school, church, and houses. Among the multitude of popular tourism activities to be had in the province are heritage tours, pilgrimage tours, scuba diving, shopping, mountain climbing and trekking, swimming, and snorkeling. Batangas is located only 110 kilometers south of Metropolitan Manila, and is very accessible from the national capital by land.