Camarines Sur

Camarines Sur is located in the central part of the Bicol peninsula, which forms the southeastern part of the island of Luzon. The province is 450 kilometers from Manila at the north and approximately the same distance from Cebu Island. Camarines Sur is largest among the six provinces in Bicol, its total land area is 5,266.82 sq. kms, which is about 30% of the entire region and about 2% of the national land area.

The 400 year-old Naga Metropolitan Cathderal in Naga City, known as “Nueva Caceres” during the Spanish-colonial era of the Philippines

Camarines Sur is known in elementary school textbooks for Lake Buhi where the world’s smallest edible fish, locally known as tabios (scientific name Mistichttys) abound in its serene and scenic waters. Today, the Province has become one of the Philippines’ top tourist destinations because of the CamSur Watersports Complex, a world class cable park designed for wakeboarding and wakeskating, and the Islands of Caramoan, a favorite site for international franchises of the popular reality show “Survivor” in Serbia, Israel, France, Bulgaria, and Sweden.

Matukad Island in Caramoan town, one of the rising tourist destinations in the Philippines

Thirty-five municipalities and two cities classified into four districts compose the province of Camarines Sur. Naga City, the former capital of Camarines Sur, was founded in 1573 as “Nueva Caceres” namesake of the Province in Spain and among the original five royal cities of the Philippines during its Spanish-colonial era. Naga City was designated as the Province’s Capital from March 10, 1917 until June 6, 1955, when Pili, the adjoining town was declared as the new Provincial Capital.

Naga City’s Peñafrancia Festival, the largest Marian devotion in the Philippines

Camarines Sur Photos