Did you know that you can tour Fort Santiago in Intramuros without leaving your house? By using a virtual tour, you’ll be able to visit this tourist spot even if you are not in the Philippines.
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This is a project of the Department of Tourism and Intramuros Administration. The video runs for more than 7 minutes, allowing the viewers to see the national shrine.

See Fort Santiago Online
Visiting historical sites takes us back to our past. Hopefully, we can better appreciate our national heroes and our heritage.
The Fort Santiago virtual tour shows you the other areas in Intramuros like the Plaza Moriones. During the Spanish occupation, it was used as marching grounds of the soldiers. Other structures that can be seen are the Baluartillo de San Francisco Javier and the Reducto de San Francisco Javier.
In the Almacenes Reales and the nearby American barracks, you will see the remains of the wars as well as the list of Filipinos who were incarcerated during World War II. You will also the Baluarte de San Miguel and the Medio Baluarte de San Francisco. These served as Fort Santiago’s defenses in land and water.
Eventually, you will see the main gate of Fort Santiago. You are probably more familiar with Fort Santiago as the place where our national hero, Jose Rizal, was incarcerated before he was shot in Bagumbayan (now called Luneta). In fact, the tour will show you the prison cell of Rizal. You will also see the Rizal Shrine.
Aside from this prison cell, the virtual visitors can also see other interesting sites such as the Rajah Sulayman Theater. This is where plays of the Philippine Educational Theater (PETA) are shown. During the Spanish occupation, this area housed artilleries and other firearms that the Spanish soldiers used.
Another interesting stop is the dungeon, where many prisoners of war died. It was a storage area for gunpowder before it became a prison cell. Outside, there is a memorial site for those prisoners in the dungeon.
You will also see the Baluarte de Santa Barbara, which is the entrance from Pasig River. At present, the ground floor of Baluarte de Santa Barbara is converted into an educational facility called the “iMake History LEGO Educational Center.” LEGO pieces were used to recreate familiar buildings in Intramuros.
You can watch the complete virtual tour here:
Here’s hoping that you will add Intramuros and Fort Santiago to your itinerary when you are in Manila. Not only will you remember your history lessons, but you will also support local tourism.
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