.

REGION - 5 : THE BICOLANDIA

Bicol Region or Bicolandia is one of the 16 regions of the Philippines occupying the Bicol Peninsula at the southeastern end of Luzon island and some other islands. It consists of six provinces, namely, Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Masbate, and Sorsogon. It has one independent chartered city, Naga City, and six component cities, Iriga City, Legazpi City, Ligao City, Masbate City, Sorsogon City, and Tabaco City. The inhabitants speak one of the Bikol languages, Masbatenyo, or a Warayan language, and the commercial/financial centers and transportation hubs are Legazpi City, the Regional Center and the Gateway City to Bicolandia, and Naga City, The Heart of Bicol and The Home of Our Lady of Peñafrancia. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

POINTS OF INTEREST	PROVINCES	TOWNS / CITIES
Considered as the most perfect-coned volcano in the world, Mt. Mayon is also the country's most active volcanoes!    Albay has a total land area of 2,552.6 square kilometers, which makes it the 26th smallest province. Most of Albay is located on mainland Bicol Peninsula and it has four major islands to the east: Rapu-Rapu, Batan (part of Rapu-Rapu), Cagraray (part of Bacacay), and San Miguel (part of Tabaco City). Lagonoy Gulf borders the province to the northeast, separating it from the province of Catanduanes. Burias Island in the province Masbate can be found to the southwest across Burias Pass. The province is generally mountainous with scattered fertile plains and valleys. Mayon Volcano, standing at around 2460 meters, is the most famous landform in Albay, and in the whole of Bicol, in fact. This active volcano is nearly perfectly-shaped and is considered by many to be more beautiful than Mt. Fuji in Japan. Other mountains and volcanoes in the province are Catburawan, Masaraga, Malinao, and Pantao.	ALBAY    Albay is a province of the Philippines located in the Bicol Region in Luzon. Its capital is Legazpi City and the province borders the Camarines Sur to the north and Sorsogon to the south. Also to the northeast is Lagonoy Gulf leading to the Philippine Sea, and to the southwest is Burias Pass. Mayon Volcano is the symbol most associated with the province. This nearly perfectly-shaped active volcano forms a scenic backdrop to the capital city of Legazpi 15 kilometers to the south.	Cities Legazpi City Ligao City Tabaco City Municipalities Bacacay Camalig Daraga Guinobatan Jovellar Libon Malilipot Malinao Manito Oas Pio Duran Polangui Rapu-Rapu Santo Domingo Tiwi
.	CAMARINES NORTE    Camarines Norte is a province of the Philippines located in the Bicol Region in Luzon. Its capital is Daet and the province borders Quezon to the west and Camarines Sur to the south.	Municipalities Basud Capalonga Daet Jose Panganiban Labo Mercedes Paracale San Lorenzo Ruiz  San Vicente Santa Elena Talisay Vinzons
Camarines Sur lies at the center of the Bicol Peninsula. The province is also the largest in the Bicol Region with a land area of 5,266.8 square kilometers. At the center of the province is Bicol Plain. Surrounding it are mountains, two of which are Mt. Isarog and Mt. Iriga. The eastern part of the province lies on the mountainous Caramoan Peninsula, which faces the island of Catanduanes to the east. The Bicol River drains the central and southern parts of the province into San Miguel Bay. Mt. Iriga is surrounded by three lakes: Buhi, Bato, and Baao. Climate. The climate in Camarines Sur like most of the rest of the country is very tropical. It is dry from March to May and wet the rest of the year. June to October marks the typhoon season. Annual average rainfall is 2,565 millimeters. Camarines Sur has an average temperature of 27.0 °C and a relative humidity of 25.8%.	CAMARINES SUR    Camarines Sur is a province of the Philippines located in the Bicol Region in Luzon. Its capital is Pili and the province borders Camarines Norte and Quezon to the north, and Albay to the south. To the east lies the island province of Catanduanes across Maqueda Channel. Camarines Sur is the largest among the six provinces in Bicol both in terms of population and land area. Naga City is the province's commercial and cultural center, boasting malls like the LCC Central (a branch of Legazpi City-based LCC Chain), Robertson's along Diversion Road, Nagaland E-Mall, small- to medium-sized shops, and educational institutions. Lake Buhi is where the smallest commercially-harvested fish can be found, the Sinarapan (Mistichthys luzonensis).	Cities Iriga City Naga City Municipalities Baao Balatan Bato Bombon Buhi Bula Cabusao Calabanga Camaligan Canaman Caramoan Del Gallego Gainza Garchitorena Goa Lagonoy Libmanan Lupi Magarao Milaor Minalabac Nabua Ocampo Pamplona Pasacao Pili Presentacion Ragay Sagñay San Fernando San Jose Sipocot Siruma Tigaon Tinambac
.	CATANDUANES    Catanduanes is an island province of the Philippines located in the Bicol Region in Luzon. Its capital is Virac and the province lies to the east of Camarines Sur across Maqueda Channel.	Municipalities Bagamanoc Baras Bato Caramoran Gigmoto Pandan Panganiban  San Andres  San Miguel Viga Virac
Lake Bulusan, in the Province of Sorsogon,with Mt. Bulusan volcano in the background.	SORSOGON  Sorsogon is a province of the Philippines located in the Bicol Region in Luzon. Its capital is Sorsogon City and borders the province of Albay to the north. Sorsogon is at the tip of the Bicol Peninsula and faces the island of Samar to the southeast across the San Bernardino Strait.	City Sorsogon City Municipalities Barcelona Bulan Bulusan Casiguran Castilla Donsol Gubat Irosin Juban Magallanes Matnog Pilar Prieto Diaz Santa Magdalena
.	MASBATE  Masbate is an island province of the Philippines located in the Bicol Region. Its capital is Masbate City and consists of three major islands: Masbate, Ticao and Burias.	City Masbate Municipalities Aroroy Baleno Balud Batuan Cataingan Cawayan Claveria Dimasalang Esperanza Mandaon Milagros Mobo Monreal Palanas Pio V. Corpuz  Placer San Fernando San Jacinto San Pascual Uson