The Manila North Cemetery is one of the largest in Southeast Asia — 54 hectares of mausoleums, family plots, and gravel paths just south of Caloocan's historic centre. It is also a genuinely extraordinary place: families live among the dead, occupying tombs as houses and tending the plots of the wealthy in exchange for shelter. The result is a strange, slightly unsettling community that has fascinated photographers and journalists for decades.
For visitors, the cemetery is best seen on All Saints' Day (1 November), when families gather to tend their dead — candles, food, music, and crowds fill the cemetery from morning until late at night. The atmosphere is closer to a festival than a funeral. The presidents Manuel Roxas and Sergio Osmeña, the boxer Pancho Villa, and Manila's last Spanish-era mayor are all buried here. Hire a tricycle to navigate the vast site; do not visit alone after dark.