Lording it over the Legazpi cityscape is the venerable Mayon Volcano, whose 1814 eruption devastated the town of Cagsawa. One of the best places to view Mayon Volcano and Legazpi City is the Lignon Hill (also spelled as Ligñon Hill and pronounced as /li-NYON/). This 143-meter high cinder-cone hill located 11 kilometers southeast of the volcano’s summit is the highest location in the city’s downtown area and towers over the adjacent Legazpi Airport.

Photo by a certain Sixtango4.

A long and winding road crawls up the sides of Lignon Hill where there is an observation station constructed on top (seen in the article thumbnail). This is where the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) has a permanent station to observe Mayon. See a ground-level photo of the observation station in Panoramio.

I remember seeing this hill when I went on a family vacation to Bicol about eight years ago. Too bad I didn’t know that this was one of the best places to take pictures of Legazpi and Mayon; otherwise, I would’ve insisted we go up the hill.

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