All roads lead to Manila’s Dangwa Flower Market as Valentine’s Day once again approaches. Well, the statement is true at least for guys hunting for the most affordable bouquet of flowers to give to their girlfriends.

The country’s most popular flower district is abuzz with activities for the upcoming event. Flowers directly delivered from all over the Philippines color its streets once again. Some of these come from as close as Laguna, Tagaytay City and La Trinidad in Benguet and as far away as Davao and Cotabato City in Mindanao.

Besides local flowers, the area also sells imported ones from Thailand, Ecuador and the country that has made its fortune in the business, Holland. But be that as it may, the flowers here are still so fresh you’d find them still raw and clumped on corners of the stores, waiting to be arranged to magnificence.

Dangwa is located on the streets of Dos Castillas and Laong-Laan. It is named after Dangwa Transport Inc., a bus terminal near the area which used to transport flowers from Baguio City to Manila. The street used to be the drop-off point for flowers before being distributed to various shops in the city.

Business started booming during the Marcos Era when even the Malacañang Palace was using the market’s flowers to decorate its interiors. But Dangwa has been an active flower hub even before that, as it was an already teeming market as early as 1976.

One can never run out of flowers when visiting the area. They practically have everything. A rainbow of roses, chrysanthemums, Malaysian mums, gerberas, carnations, tulips, sunflowers, stargazers, spider whites; I can never possibly name them all.

And although prices usually spike up during the holidays, they’re still much cheaper than if you get them at flower shops at the mall. Bouquets will cost you Php300.00 to Php600.00 depending on its size while the popular rose fetches for Php50.00 to Php180.00.

The only downside in visiting the area during the peak season is the thick crowd of buyers to contend with. The stalls are so busy peddling their colorful wares that it might take a few minutes for you to get your turn. But visit during the lull hours and you’d find the vendors following you with offers for their flowers like bees to nectars.

But in the end, all that jostling and haggling is all worth the trouble. You will never leave the streets of Dangwa empty-handed no matter how measly your budget is. And that sweet kiss and tight hug you’ll get once you hand over those flowers to your girl, is of course, priceless.

Dangwa Flower Market
Address: Laong Laan and Dos Castillas Street, Sta. Cruz / Sampaloc, Manila
Open Hours: Open 24 Hours

GPS Coordinates: 14.614565,120.989336
View on Google Maps: Click Here