Ilocos has many churches of distinction which include two that are inscribed in the World Heritage List. In Ilocos Sur is the salmon-bricked Santa Maria Church. Built in 1769, it sits atop a hill towering over the town proper. In Ilocos Norte is Paoay Church. Built by the Augustinians in 1596, the church looks like a cross between a Javanese temple and a European church. The town of Bantay was the scene of fierce uprising led by Diego Silang against the tobacco monopoly in 1762. The town’s savage seascape has been immortalized in the films of Philippine Action King Fernando Poe, Jr. The town church is an architectural gem combining Baroque with Gothic motifs.

Currimao has a burgeoning beach resort industry. Visitors to this coastal town never fail to appreciate the sight of fishermen pulling in their nets shortly before dusk while performing a song-and-dance ritual for a bountiful harvest. Everybody is welcome to join in and each participant is given a rightful share of the catch. The town of Pagudpud offers a breathtaking landscape which includes the enchanting Bantay Abot-abot, a natural sculpture carved by the wind and sea, the white sand Saud beach and the majestic Mabogabog Falls. Impressive living canvasses unravel as one traverses the winding Patapat and Calvario roads.