Corregidor
The Fortress Island At The Mouth Of Manila Bay That Held Out For A Month After Bataan Fell, And Was Retaken By Parachute In 1945 · Cavite City, Cavite
CORREGIDOR IS A TADPOLE-SHAPED ISLAND IN THE MOUTH OF MANILA BAY, FORTIFIED BY THE AMERICANS WITH ENORMOUS COASTAL GUNS AND HELD AS THE LAST POSITION IN THE PHILIPPINES AFTER BATAAN FELL IN APRIL 1942. MACARTHUR LEFT FROM HERE BY TORPEDO BOAT, WHICH IS WHERE HE SAID HE WOULD RETURN; THE GARRISON SURRENDERED IN MAY. In February 1945 the Americans took it back, partly by DROPPING PARATROOPERS ONTO A CLIFFTOP GOLF COURSE AND PARADE GROUND - one of the most audacious and costly small operations of the Pacific war. WHAT IS LEFT IS RUIN: THE MILE-LONG BARRACKS ROOFLESS AND SHELL-TORN, the disappearing guns still on their mountings, and MALINTA TUNNEL, where the hospital, the headquarters and, at the end, a great many Japanese defenders died. IT IS A WAR GRAVE, and the day tour treats it more lightly than it deserves. The ferry is the only practical access and has been suspended for long stretches, so confirm it is sailing before building a day around it; the tram circuit leaves when it leaves.
Corregidor Island, Manila Bay, Cavite, Cavite City, Cavite, Philippines
CORREGIDOR IS VISITED AS A DAY TRIP BY FERRY FROM MANILA, roughly AN HOUR EACH WAY, leaving early and returning late afternoon - THE FERRY IS THE ONLY PRACTICAL ACCESS AND SERVICE HAS BEEN SUSPENDED FOR LONG STRETCHES IN THE PAST, so confirm it is running before planning anything. THE STANDARD VISIT IS A FIXED TRAM-AND-GUIDE CIRCUIT included in the fare, with almost no flexibility - you go where the tram goes and you leave when it leaves. THE MALINTA TUNNEL LIGHT-AND-SOUND SHOW is a separate ticket and is dated. OVERNIGHT ACCOMMODATION EXISTS on the island and is the only way to see it without the tram. THE ISLAND IS HOT AND LARGELY UNSHADED and the ruins have no facilities between stops. Crossings are cancelled in rough weather.