Bohol Spots

Chocolate Hills, Carmen

The Chocolate Hills are one of the top tourist attractions in Bohol. The hills are known for their ability to change color: they are vibrant green during the wet season when the grass thrive on top of the distinctly-shaped domes, and then turn brown as they wilt during the dry season. The Chocolate Hills is a protected site as well as a developed tourist spot. A resort caters to visitors’ needs there.

Tarsier Encounter

The Philippine Tarsier is the smallest primate in the world. We have our own species that is endemic to the country, and some of them can be found in Bohol. There is a sanctuary dedicated to the preservation and the protection of the endangered species in Corella, Bohol. However, since the sanctuary is off the tourist path, an alternative way to view is through the displays set up by private individuals along the banks of the Loboc River.

Loboc River Cruise

The Loboc River Cruise is the best way to experience the serenity and the cleanliness of the river. Enjoy picturesque landscapes and beautiful scenes of the life of river people as you travel on a floating restaurant, with in-boat bands serenading as you take in the beautiful scenes and the delicious Filipino food being served to you as passengers and tourists of the river. At the end of the trip, you are treated to a brief view of the majestic Busay Falls before the ship turns around to take you home.

While you’re at it don’t forget to visit the Loboc Church as well. It is the second oldest church in Bohol and a sight worth seeing by history buffs and enthusiasts.

Baclayon Church & Museum, Baclayon

Baclayon Church is important not only to the history of Bohol but also to the history of the entire Philippines. Baclayon is one of the oldest churches in the entire country, being established in 1596 when the Jesuit missionaries Fr. Juan de Torres arrived in the town from Cebu. Its age has prompted authorities to turn it into a museum in order to preserve the numerous relics of early Spanish rule found in the Church. These relics include those of St. Ignatius Loyola and an ivory statue of a crucified Christ. In the innards of the Church you can also find a dungeon that the Spaniards to rein in people who doubt the Catholic faith.

Blood Compact Site, Tagbilaran City

The Blood Compact Shrine in Tagbilaran City is a memorial dedicated to the memory of the blood compact between Miguel Lopez de Legazpi and local ruler Datu Sikatuna of Bohol in 1565. This agreement between the Spanish conquistador and the Filipino royalty in Bohol is a crucial point in the early history of Spanish colonization of our country, as it was the beginning of the conquest that eventually made Legazpi successful in conquering the Philippines – with the help of his native allies – where his predecessor Ferdinand Magellan failed and paid for with his life. The blood compact started a series of battles that began in Cebu and ended with the conquest of Manila, and the start of Spanish occupation.

Python Sanctuary, Alburquerque

The Python Sanctuary is owned by Sofronio Salibay, who has turned his pet into a tourist attraction for all those that want to see and even touch it – for those that can dare it, anyway. The python’s name is Prony, and is a female who measures about 7 meters or 23 feet. Prony also weights an incredible 300 kilograms. Prony belongs to a breed called the “baksan” in the local language, and is the largest python to have ever been captured and kept in a cage.

Clarin Ancestral Houses, Loay

If you want to see a perfect example of a Spanish colonial house in the Philippines, you should definitely see the Clarin Ancestral House in Loay, Bohol. This house once belonged to the Clarins, a political family based in Bohol whose scions included former governor Don Aniceto Velez Clarin and his son Jose Aniceto Butalid Clarin, who is one of the first senators of the Philippines under American administration.

Here you can find a perfectly preserved house dating back to 1840, which houses a museum on the second floor and Café Olegario in the ground floor. The gardens are in prime condition as well, and are a part of Café Olegario which caters to guests at the ancestral home turned museum.

Daius Bee Farm

If you’re curious about the lives of bees and how they work to produce honey, then you should try our Bee Farm tour. We will take you to the Bohol Bee Farm in beautiful Panglao Island, managed by Ms. Vicky Wallace, where you will not only see the bees up close but also be exposed to lessons and on-site applications of an organic and healthy lifestyle which the Farm strongly supports and promotes.

Man-Made Forest, Bilar

Who says man can only destroy forests? Man can rebuild things as well. The man-made forest in Bilar is a testimony to man’s creative capabilities when it comes to nature. This forest is composed of naturally planted Mahogany trees that were originally part of President Diosdado Macapagal’s reforestation efforts in the 1960’s. Now, the trees have thrived and provide perfect cover for 2 kilometers of road on the way to the Chocolate Hills. Tourists, locals and foreigners, alike are known to stop by here and take pictures. There also have been rumors of wild tarsiers already establishing a part of the ecology at the forest but that is yet to be proven.

Cebu Spots

Magellan’s Cross

Magellan’s Cross, just like Tagbilaran’s Blood Compact site, is a remnant of the earliest Spanish colonizers who arrived in the Philippine Islands. It is a replica of the original cross that have been planted by the Spaniards under the command of Ferdinand Magellan. The original cross is said to be encased under the tindalo cross now in display at a kiosk or chapel near the Basilica del Santo Niño Minore which is just a few steps away from the cross. However, some sources are also saying that the “original” cross inside the one in display is the second cross planted by later Spanish colonizers as the first one planted by Magellan has been lost or destroyed due to old age.

Sto. Niño Church

The Basilica Minore del Santo Niño is yet another church that was built during the early years of the Spanish colonization of the Philippines. The priests, Fathers Andres de Urdaneta and Diego de Herrera, who went with the Legazpi expedition who arrived in the Philippines in 1565, were the founders of the church. Legend has it that, when the flames of battle had subsided in a town in Cebu, the Spaniards found an image of the Child Jesus in a hut unharmed and placed inside a wooden box. The Spaniards knew that this was a relic left behind by Magellan’s man barely 40 years earlier. The Basilica now stands at approximately the exact place where the image was found.

Fort San Pedro

Fort San Pedro, or more formally known as the “Fuerza San Pedro” or The Fortress of St. Peter, was a fort built by Legazpi’s men as a port and refuge for arriving Spanish dwellers and was initially a defense against the locals who resisted the takeover of the Europeans. It was first constructed in 1565 and was supposedly finished two hundred years later in 1738; little is known historically about the fort between those years. Throughout the Spanish occupation, the fort was used mainly as barracks of the Spanish military personnel as well as being a prison during the Philippine revolution.  It also served as barracks for the two subsequent colonizations: American and Japanese, after which it became a Philippine military camp. Subsequent uses included being a chool, then a zoo and ultimately a historical park.

Much of the original structure of the fort was lost to war damage and neglect over the years, and restoration has been attempted to preserve the fort to its original form. In the fort, you can find a museum housing artifacts like Spanish weapons, uniforms as well as Ming China utensils and items. At either side of the fort, you can find statues to Ferdinand Magellan and his historian Antonio Pigafetta.

Taoist Temple

Up in the highlands in the suburbs of Cebu, there stands a huge Taoist Temple that had been built with financial assistance from the Chinese community of the city. It was first constructed in 1972, and was intended as a place of worship for Taoist Chinese people living in Cebu City. Known for its towering architecture and bright color themes, the Temple is not only a place of worship for devout Taoists but also for non-Taoists to relax and enjoy the smell of fresh air from the sea. Standing 300 meters above sea level, it offers good panoramic views of the urban part of Cebu as well as Mactan and Bohol in the seas beyond.

Casa Gorordo Museum

Once a residential palace to the first Filipino bishop, the house is now a converted museum owned and operated by the Aboitiz Foundation. The house is named after its first resident, Juan Gorordo. In here, you can find that the home is perfectly preserved in its original form: an architecture that blends the use of coral stones and wood.

The museum houses exhibits that showcase the Filipino middle class lifestyle in the middle 19th century until the early 20th century. There are antique pieces in here like furniture, books, memorabilias and capiz windows that date back to its first resident. There is also a 19th century structure standing beside Casa Gorordo, but that is fairly new: it has been built as a service office for the administrators of the museum.

Lapu-Lapu Shrine

The Lapu-Lapu Shrine in Punta Engaño, Mactan Island is said to mark the spot where Magellan fell by the sword of Lapu-lapu himself, or one of his men, as his men retreated to their ships. The shrine is fronted by a beautiful mangrove colony, and inside the park you can find a huge statue of the first hero of the Philippines, Datu Lapu-Lapu of Mactan. There is also an obelisk there which is supposed to be a shrine to the fallen Portuguese explorer, Ferdinand Magellan.

Right next to the shrine/park is the famous sutukil restaurant. Sutukil is a famous Filipino cuisine composed of raw fish dipped in vinegar. In here, you can taste some of the most delicious and freshest seafood in the Philippines.

Guitar Factory

Mactan is home to several family-owned guitar factory businesses. One of this is Alegre’s guitars, one of the oldest in the island. Currently managed by classical guitarist Bebot Alegre, the factory produces guitars with bodies made of several high-quality wooden materials. Its shops are located right next to the stores, so tourists and visitors can see how the process of making the guitars goes about.

Pasalubong Center

As a fitting last stop for our Cebu Twin City tour, the Pasalubong Center is where you can shop for souvenirs and items that you can bring home with you to give to your loved ones back home. Located just 3 minutes from the Mactan International Airport, the Pasalubong Center is hands down the biggest souvenir shop you can find in the island. Shop to your heart’s content in the Pasalubong Center.