For hundreds of years, the walled city of the Philippines, Intramuros, was Manila: the Spanish settlement at the mouth of the Pasig River was in a strategic location for trade and defense, and settlers ruled their growing Philippine empire from within the walls of their settlement.
Intramuros served as the main commercial link between Spain and China; In exchange for silver mined from Spain’s South American colonies, Chinese merchants provided silks and other fine goods, which the Spanish loaded onto galleons for the long journey back to Acapulco.
The Spanish colonizers defined their environment by the walls that surrounded their beautiful city: Intramuros (within the walls) was where civilized people (that is, Spanish Catholics) lived, traded and prayed; while outside the walls, there lived barbarians and savages.
Intramurals and Philippine culture
The Spanish had good reason to build such high walls around their home away from home: Intramuros was surrounded by enemies. The Chinese pirate Limahong had tried to take Manila twice in the 1570s. Also the resentful natives would also rebel at any moment. Even trading partners could not be trusted: Chinese merchants were forced to settle in the Parian, within the canyon of the Intramuros walls.
However, within the walls, the Spanish created a society that would serve as the foundation for a nation. The seven churches within Intramuros helped strengthen the Catholic position in the country, so much so that the Philippines is almost indelibly Catholic to this day. The Governor General may have ruled from the Palace of the Governor of Intramuros on behalf of the King, but the real power was in the hands of the Catholic Church, embodied in the Manila Cathedral across the street.
The identity of the Philippines was so wrapped up in Intramuros that when returning Americans bombed Intramuros near the end of World War II, they also inadvertently destroyed the core of Filipino culture, something that subsequent generations of Filipinos have tried to rebuild ever since.
The layout of the land
Present-day Intramuros shows some signs of mistreatment in the first half of the 20th century, but the walled city also shows signs of returning to its former glory. Once the walls deteriorated after the war, they have mostly been restored and cleaned of rubbish. The 64 hectares of real estate surrounded by the walls, once a mass of rubble, have undergone a valiant effort of reconstruction: new buildings stand alongside the survivors of the war, new brush with the old.
The undisputed survivor of Intramuros remains the Church of San AgustÃn, a Baroque stone church built in the 17th century. Saint Augustine has survived centuries of war and natural disasters that have since reduced its contemporaries to rubble.
Many of those ruins are slowly being rebuilt: City Hall, a low-rise government building opposite the Manila Cathedral that was eradicated by war bombings, was recently recreated and houses the Philippine Treasury Office. And the Church of San Ignacio, a ruined chapel that was once managed by the Jesuits, is now under reconstruction and will serve as a museum displaying the Intramuros collection of ecclesiastical art.
Some of the most interesting attractions in Intramuros are actually old structures converted to new uses – many old houses now have museums or restaurants inside, and many previous fortifications have been repurposed into gift shops and outdoor restaurants.
The architecture around Intramuros is a mixture of the old, the new and the new to look old. Many of the buildings constructed (or rebuilt) after the 1970s are based on the Spanish-Chinese architecture popular in Intramuros before the American takeover in 1898.
How to get there
To get to Intramuros, you will have to take the LRT (light rail transit) or the jeepney coming in.
Getting here by LRT means stopping at Terminal Central Station, then walking five minutes to Manila City Hall. From here, a pedestrian underpass takes you through Padre de Burgos street. Immediately after exiting the underpass, you will see Victoria Street, which curves through the walls.
When you are inside Intramuros, you will find most of the sights within a ten to fifteen minute walk. The narrow streets are minimally pedestrian friendly; sidewalks are often blocked, forcing you to walk the streets and deal with motorized traffic. If you want to ride Intramuros, you have two options:
- Pedicabs are ideal for moving from point A to point B within Intramuros. These are simply bicycles with side compartments, essentially rickshaws; many of them have queues outside the main tourist attractions of Intramuros. Each trip costs around PHP 50-70 (negotiable).
- The Calesa are ideal for quiet trips around Intramuros, from where you can enjoy the views from a horse-drawn carriage. Calesa can accommodate 1 to 3 passengers on a 30-minute guided tour of Intramuros.
Where to stay
Within the walls, visitors have two accommodation options: one more suited to budget travelers, another offering more comfort at mid-range prices.
The budget Hotel White Knight Intramuros is located right in the middle of Intramuros, within the Plaza San Luis complex. In addition to comfortable rooms and a cozy restaurant on the ground floor, the White Knight offers Segway and bike tours of Intramuros.
The business-class Bayleaf Hotel is located just outside the Victoria Street gate, near the Intramuros walls. Bayleaf is run by the local Lyceum school for the benefit of its hotel and restaurant management students. Bayleaf’s rooftop is one of the best places to relax in Intramuros, with perfect views of the Manila sunset.
In other parts of Manila, you will find many cheaper accommodations if you don’t mind a short trip to Intramuros.
