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Home , Bohol, Napoleon Abueva

Bohol , ever smiling, ever friendly

Scenic Bohol casts a spell on visitors drawn to this – oval-shaped island Getting There – from the Hills to the , Major Airport Gateway: from 16th century watchtowers to City airport (TAG), the capital of the province of Bohol Baroque Jesuit mission churches, from Bohol Air Transport: the River to Tagbilaran City itself. Several domestic carriers fly daily to Tagbilaran from Add to these are palm-fringed coastlines (MNL). It’s an hour and 15 minutes away. that are blessed with a myriad of white Water Transport: sand beaches and sheltering coves. Numerous passenger ferries and fast craft services are available from Manila, and to Tagbilaran And of course, the ever-smiling, and other ports in Bohol. Tagbilaran is a regular stop-over ever-friendly Boholano! point for vessels headed for de Oro, and other cities in Northern . Bohol in a nutshell is a little bit of Cebu, and Boracay rolled into one Hotels and Resorts – Cebu for its rich history and Spanish Bohol already has a large number of hotels, resorts, heritage; Palawan for its lush flora and pension houses, tourist inns and other facilities for unusual fauna; and Boracay for its white tourists. Most of these are concentrated in the capital sandy beaches and resort atmosphere. and along the beaches and coastal regions of Panglao But make no mistake – Bohol has a island. A few more are scattered around the island. unique local flavour unseen in any other Accommodations are hospitable, safe and affordable. part of the . Throw these all Eating Out and Nightlife into the mix, and you have one great Special buys include the very popular Peanut Kisses (a famous Bohol delicacy shaped like the holiday destination. Much of the excitement of dining in Bohol lies not in the usual restaurant fare. The dampa style of famous , but made out of peanuts), choosing your own selection of food from the purple yam (locally known as Kinampay or ubi), local wet market and letting the local chef cook baskets from the town of Antequera and woven products from the town of , which are Fast Facts them home-style will be your best bet for an Time Zone: GMT + 8 affordable yet extremely sumptuous option to made from local fibres and buri leaves. savour excellent seafood. A wide range of the Visa: Only required if staying more than 30 days freshest catch is available daily. These can be Sports Activities and Exploration Climate: November to February – cool and grilled right off the hook for an instant native Bohol is an exotic mix of the best that the mostly dry; March to June – warm and mostly dry; gourmet treat, with the ever-popular San Miguel Philippines has to offer. The rolling hills and low July to October – warm and mostly wet Beer to help you wash down your meal. mountains are ideal for trekking and mountain

Average Temperature Year-round: 24°C – 32°C Most of the nightlife is found along the beaches of biking excursions. Because of its limestone Attire: Light casual clothes all year round , where the majority of tourists foundation, the province is also a land of surreal caves that come to life at dusk, with the Philippine Pesos. Check with the local prefer to stay. There are only a few clubs and bars Money: emergence of hordes of insect-feeding bats. banks for current exchange rates. All major credit in Tagbilaran City, as Bohol remains more of a Officially, there are 1,400 caves in this small cards accepted family vacation destination. island, many of which are unexplored and are said

Water: Bottled water available in resorts, Shops, Markets and Crafts to contain "hidden treasures" from World War II. restaurants and convenience stores Countryside tours are popular and one can enjoy Philippines Department of Tourism Communications: International and direct dial Bohol’s handicrafts are famous throughout the any of the tours that are organized by local tour 10 -11 Suffolk Street , SW1Y 4HG country, including mats, baskets, raffia woven operators to places like Loboc (River Cruise), phone and fax. Internet cafes are widely available Tel: 020 7321 0668 Fax: 020 7925 2920 cloth, fashion accessories, woodcraft, processed Carmen (the Chocolate Hills), Cambuhat (Oyster What to Bring: Sun block, tanning lotions, E-mail: [email protected] food and ceramics. There are also countless gift Village) and others. And for city-dwellers wishing insect repellant, personal medication, swimwear www.itsmorefuninthephilippines.co.uk and accessories, etc. shops all over the island where native delicacies for a bit of urban living, Tagbilaran provides and souvenirs are available. enough shopping and entertainment activities. Of course, there is always the 5. Busay Falls (Loboc, 26 km from Tagbilaran City) 9. Anibogan Massacre Site Useful Websites for the Region: (, 73 km from Tagbilaran City) beach. For those who are called Busay Falls is 12 metres wide and 4 metres deep. It caters to Bohol www.bohol.gov.ph out from the inlands and into the A memorial to valour, glory and heroism, the site swimmers and sightseers who would be enthralled to commune www.bohol.ph sea, beaches here are exquisite commemorates the massacre of Filipino victims during www.bohol-philippines.com with nature. The Floating Restaurants had been anchored there as – ideal for relaxing and taking up World War II. Tagbilaran http://www.tagbilaran.gov.ph/ venue for meetings and conferences. some rays. Just a little bit further 10. Dagohoy Marker (Danao, 92 km from Tagbilaran City) Other useful Websites for nearby Regions: out into the ocean, more 6. Rajah Sikatuna Protected Landscape Cebu http://www.cebu.gov.ph/ adventure awaits. All sorts of The Dagohoy marker honours , who Rajah Sikatuna Protected Landscape is classified as an Important inspired an 84-year revolt against from 1744 to http://www.negor.gov.ph/ water sports are found on Birdwatching Area frequented by foreign birders for possible 1829 – the longest revolt in the country’s history. http://www.mysiquijor.com/ Bohol’s waters and shores, sightings of threatened and restricted-range species of the everything from parasailing, windsurfing, kayaking, 11. President Carlos P. Garcia Memorial Park Useful Contacts: Attractions within the Region Mindanao and Eastern Endemic Region. These include boating, jet skiing, water skiing, wake-boarding, (Tagbilaran City) Department of Tourism Offices: BOHOL the Mindanao Tarictic and the Mindanao subspecies of the skim-boarding, to island hopping – with around NATURAL ATTRACTIONS Erected in loving memory of the greatest Boholano, London +44 (0) 20 7321 0668 plus must-see species like the Wattled Broadbill, 73 islands to choose from. And when you thought 1. Philippine Tarsier Carlos Polistico Garcia, the fourth President of the [email protected] Steere’s Pitta and the Yellow-breasted Tailorbird. www.itsmorefuninthephilippines.co.uk you’ve done everything possible in Bohol, you (Corella, 10 km from Tagbilaran City) Republic of the Philippines. It sits on a rolling site Manila +63 (0) 459 5200 discover a whole new universe of wonders as you This is one of the rarest faunas found in the chosen by the late president himself, when he was 7. Kain-git Beach (Tagbilaran City) then-governor of Bohol. The exquisite monument is Cebu +63 (0) 32 254 2811 take a dip in the ocean. Philippine archipelago and considered as the made by National Artist , another [email protected] smallest primate in the world. Measuring four to A popular beach area that is close to the heart of Tagbilaran City and frequented by local bathers. It is being developed and maintained famous son of Bohol. Airlines: Diving five inches, a few of these tiny creatures are housed by the city government and is fast becoming a major entertainment Philippine Airlines +63 (0) 2 855 8888 Bohol diving is a celestial experience. It boasts of an in Loboc, for viewing by tourists. However, if you're www.philippineairlines.com really interested to see them in their natural area offering kiosks selling drinks, seafood and local delicacies. RELIGIOUS ATTRACTIONS underwater panorama of impressive coral gardens Cebu Pacific +63 (0) 2 702 0888 habitat, there is a 15-kilometre pathway through www.cebupacificair.com teeming with colourful marine life. Noted for their In addition, the southern coast of Bohol province is strewn with The entire island is studded with stone churches that the rolling terrain of the interior towns of Corella, date back centuries. Most towns boast of a church [email protected] deep, steep walls, Bohol’s unique dive sites were numerous white sand beaches, from world-famous in Sikatuna, and Loboc where the thrive. that was built during the Spanish era, the most Air Juan Aviation, Inc. +63 (0) 2 718 8111 created by the continental shifts during prehistoric the west to Anda Beach in the east. Most resorts are concentrated notable being at and . It is Spain’s www.airjuan.com times. Diving is close to most resorts, which means 2. Chocolate Hills in Panglao island, so this is where visitors prefer to stay. Bohol’s never-ending legacy in Bohol, and a testament to the Air Asia +63 (0) 2 722 2742 you do not have to travel far from the dive shop to (Carmen, 55 km from Tagbilaran City) www.airasia.com eastern shores, however, offer unpolluted and unspoilt places to very religious nature of the Boholano. the actual dive site. This is the most famous attraction of the province, Ferries: visit, relax and try things that only the locals do. with 1,268 perfectly symmetrical hills located near 2GO Travel https://travel.2go.com.ph/index.asp The majority of Bohol diving is concentrated around FESTIVALS Negros Navigation +63 (0) 2 245 5588 the south western end of the Bohol mainland. The to the town of Carmen. Named as a National HISTORICAL ATTRACTIONS If you want to experience the fiesta in the real sense www.negrosnavigation.ph/index.shtml islands of Panglao, Balicasag, and Cabilao are Geological Monument, these hills look like chocolate 8. Site ( Bool, Tagbilaran City) of the word, come to Bohol in the month of May, Super Cat Fast Ferry +63 (0) 32 232 4511 to 16 all synonymous to excellent diving year-round. bonbons when their green grass cover turns to where each day is a fiesta day in some town or other. www.supercat.com.ph brown during summer. Among these hills that This spot is where a native Boholano chieftain, and Panglao is a great place to base yourself, but resorts Weesam Express +63 (0) 32 412 9562 abound in Central Bohol, two have been developed Kinsfolk from all over the world come home to join in are also available in the outlying islands. Whichever Don Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, representing the King of Spain, forged FastCraft www.weesamexpress.net into top-class resorts and provide facilities including the celebrations. suits your taste, diving is close to shore and very the first "Treaty of Friendship" between the brown and white races in Sulpicio Lines +63 (0) 32 232 5361 to 80 a view deck, a youth hostel, and a restaurant. accessible. 1565 with drops of their blood. Every year, the event is re-enacted Other notables: http://www.w3fire.com/web/ sulpicio/index.html during a major festival known as the "," or "One Blood." Ubi Fiesta (January) 3. Hinagdanan Cave Trans-Asia Shipping Lines +63 (0) 2 325 4773 (Dauis, 6 km from Tagbilaran City) It is normally held in the month of July. Pana-ad sa Loboc (Holy Thursday and Good Friday) +63 (0) 32 254 6491 to 95 It has clean, fresh water gushing from rocky sides. www.transasiashipping.com Tagbilaran City Fiesta (May 1) An eerie underworld of stalactites and stalagmites Cokaliong Shipping Lines +63 (0) 2 232 7211 Bolibong Kingking Festival (May 23 -24) with a bathing pool underneath, this cave is about +63 (0) 38 411 3874 / 411 5242 1 Sandugo Festival (July 1-31) www.cokaliongshipping.com 2 /2 kilometres away from the poblacion of Dauis. Ocean Jet Fast Ferry +63 (0) 255 7560 Sambat Mascaray Festival Regatta 4. www.oceanjet.net (1st Saturday of December) (Loboc, 21 km from Tagbilaran City) Suroy sa Musikero (December 25 – February 2). Other useful Contacts: Enjoy a refreshing boat ride in the serene waters of British Embassy Manila +63 (0) 2 816 7116 Loboc River, starting from Loay Bridge which is the British Consulate Cebu +63 (0) 32 346 0525 outlet of the river and along the palm-fringed banks Provincial Tourism Office +63 (0) 38 411 3666 inland. The ride via motorized pump boat ends near +63 (0) 38 501 9186 the Tontonan waterfalls, which provides a pleasant Police Department, Tagbilaran City Hotline: 166 bathing session. Some tours offer a lunch menu of Fire Department, local delicacies with serenaders en route.

J.S. Torralba St., Tagbilaran City Hotline: 112 Robinson Alex photo by Cover