Magellan's Cross

Magellan's Cross marks the spot where Ferdinand Magellan planted a cross in 1521, at the baptism of Rajah Humabon, his wife and their followers — the beginning of Christianity in the Philippines. The cross standing today is a hollow tinadalo-wood casing; the Basilica del Santo Niño records that the original is believed to have been destroyed long ago, and the casing was made to protect what may remain of it. It shelters under an octagonal coral-stone pavilion at Plaza Sugbo in downtown Cebu City, built in 1834 and repainted with a ceiling mural of the 1521 landing. Admission is free and the pavilion is open to the street.

• See the cross casing and the 1834 coral-stone pavilion that shelters it
• Read the ceiling mural depicting Magellan's 1521 arrival and the first baptism
• Walk across Plaza Sugbo to the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño
• Continue on foot to Fort San Pedro and the Plaza Independencia waterfront