Bohol: Family Trip at The Heart of Visayan Islands
Within our week-long vacation in the Visayas, we alloted two days for countryside tour and some beach bumming at the oval-shaped island of Bohol. This province is home to one of the Philippines’ top tourist destinations: The Chocolate Hills. Aside from this geological monument, Bohol is also famous for tarsier (world’s smallest primate), white sand beaches scattered in Panglao, diving destinations, and heritage churches with watchtowers declared as national cultural treasures.
Central Visayas (Cebuano: Tunga-tungang Kabisay-an) is a region of the Philippines, numerically designated as Region VII. It consists of four provinces (Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor) and three highly urbanized cities (Cebu City, Lapu-Lapu, and Mandaue).
We departed from Cebu City early in the morning to catch up a ferry bound to Tagbilaran City before noon. At Bohol, our cousin fetched us to drive us straight to Loboc for a river lunch cruise. Then we did the rest of the countryside tour until we end up at our inn near Alona beach in Panglao island.
Bohol is a 1st provincial income class island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, consisting of the island itself and 75 minor surrounding islands. Its capital is Tagbilaran City. History related how the name Bohol has been attributed to the island of Datu Sikatuna and Sigala. Some historians had said that “the name Bohol is derived from Bo-ol, a barrio from the mainland, in a place where Magellan’s men came upon after they toured the island of Panglao. Bohol is my 18th province visited.
In this post, we’ll show the tourist destinations we visited in Bohol province. For Cebu itinerary, refer on this post. Though Cebu and Bohol are the provinces I visited twice, I still included them in my #project81. Note that they both belong to Region VII or Central Visayas. For other provinces, check here my 41st and 42nd: Negros Oriental and Siquijorrespectively. Presenting our itinerary below with Tagbilaran port as our entry and exit point:
Our Bohol Travel Map doing northeast-southwest route from Tagbilaran City Tourist Port
BOHOL PROVINCE HIGHLIGHTS:
Tagbilaran City 📍Blood Compact Shrine 📍St. Joseph the Worker Cathedral 📍Bohol Provincial Capitol 📍Bohol Museum 📍Plaza Rizal 📍Tagbilaran Port Marker
Loboc, Bohol 📍Saint Peter the Apostle Parish Church designated as National Cultural Treasure 📍Loboc River Lunch Cruise 📍Town Plaza 📍Infamous Unfinished Bridge 📍Town Hall 📍Bell Tower 📍Tarsier Conservation Area
Carmen, Bohol 📍Chocolate Hills declared a National Geological Monument
Bilar, Bohol 📍Bilar Man-made Forest
Baclayon, Bohol 📍Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary Parish Church designated as National Cultural Treasure 📍Town Hall 📍Baluarte
Panglao, Bohol 📍Alona Beach 📍Old Town Hall 📍Bohol Watchtower of Panglao designated as National Cultural Treasure 📍Saint Augustine Parish Church and nearby ruins
Dauis, Bohol 📍Shrine Parish of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Complex and Its Liturgical Objects Therein designated as National Cultural Treasure 📍Bohol Watchtower of Dauis designated as National Cultural Treasure
Highlighted are the city and municipalities that we visited at southwestern part of Bohol.
Loboc, officially the Municipality of Loboc, (Cebuano: Lungsod sa Loboc; Tagalog: Bayan ng Loboc), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Bohol, Philippines. Loboc is known for its lunch cruises along the scenic and winding Loboc River. Tourists also come to see the tarsier, a small nocturnal animal with large red eyes. It is one of the world’s smallest primates.The San Pedro Apostol Parish Church (also Saint Peter the Apostle Parish Church, Spanish: Iglesia Parroquial de San Pedro Apóstol), commonly known as Loboc Church, is a Roman Catholic church in the municipality of Loboc, Bohol, Philippines, within the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tagbilaran.Kuradang dance is also known as Curacha, it is a dance originated from Bohol. It is dance during social gatherings such as birthday, baptism, wedding and fiesta. It is dance with the accompaniment of the rondalla. Rondalla is an orchestra composed of string instruments.One of the popular destinations in Bohol is The Loboc River where one can get on board a floating restaurant and enjoy the Loboc River cruise with buffet meal. The cruise and buffet costs P650.00 per person and this includes a short cultural show by the local community.The Chocolate Hills (Cebuano: Mga Bungtod sa Tsokolate, Tagalog: Tsokolateng burol) are a geological formation in the Bohol province of the Philippines. There are at least 1,260 hills but there may be as many as 1,776 hills spread over an area of more than 50 square kilometres (20 sq mi). They are covered in green grass that turns brown (like chocolate) during the dry season, hence the name.The Chocolate Hills is a famous tourist attraction of Bohol. They are featured in the provincial flag and seal to symbolize the abundance of natural attractions in the province. They are in the Philippine Tourism Authority’s list of tourist destinations in the Philippines; they have been declared the country’s third National Geological Monument and proposed for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List.The Bohol Forest is a man-made mahogany forest stretching in a two-kilometer stretch of densely planted Mahogany trees located in the border of Loboc and Bilar towns. Before and after this man-made forest are the naturally grown forests of Loboc and Bilar which are thick with a kaleidoscope of green foliage, different species of trees and giant ferns lining the road. The man-made forest stands out because of the uniformity in height of the big trees, the spread of its branches, thickness and design of leaves. Seedlings abound around the older trees. Trunks, some thick and others just a few months old, grow resplendently straight up towards the sky which is obscured by the branches and the thick leaves.Tarsiers are any haplorrhine primates of the family Tarsiidae, which is itself the lone extant family within the infraorder Tarsiiformes. Although the group was once more widespread, all of its species living today are found in the islands of Southeast Asia, specifically the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei.Baclayon, officially the Municipality of Baclayon, (Cebuano: Lungsod sa Baclayon; Tagalog: Bayan ng Baclayon), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Bohol, Philippines. Baclayon was the first municipality to be established in Bohol by the Spaniards. Its original name was Bacayan, from the root word bacay, meaning “detour” in reference to the fact that travellers used to make a detour there around a rocky cliff.
Tagbilaran, officially the City of Tagbilaran, (Cebuano: Dakbayan sa Tagbilaran), or simply known as Tagbilaran City, is a 3rd class city and capital of the province of Bohol, Philippines. The city is a start-off point to Bohol province’s attractions: the Chocolate Hills, tarsiers, white sandy beaches, dive spots, heritage sites and old stone churches. Blood compact (Spanish: Pacto de sangre, Filipino: Sanduguan) was an ancient ritual in the Philippines intended to seal a friendship or treaty, or to validate an agreement. The contracting parties would cut their wrists and pour their blood into a cup filled with liquid, such as wine, and drink the mixture.A famous example of the blood compact was the 1565 Sandugo between Spanish explorer Miguel López de Legazpi and Datu Sikatuna, the chieftain of Bohol. Another blood compact was contracted between Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and Rajah Humabon of Cebu.Panglao, officially the Municipality of Panglao, (Cebuano: Lungsod sa Panglao; Tagalog: Bayan ng Panglao), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Bohol, Philippines. The name Panglao may have come from its former name Panglawod, meaning “to the open sea”, or derived from the word panggaw, referring to a fishing implement used by locals.The church of St. Augustine stands on the southwestern side of Panglao Island, and is 18 kilometers from Tagbilaran City, the capital of the province of Bohol. It snugly nestles on a plain, its back close to the seashore, its right side facing a big, wide plaza which serves as the venue of the town’s many religious and social activities. In addition to the massive stone church which is clearly of Spanish-time vintage, one can see across the spacious plaza other landmarks of Spain’s occupation: the watch tower, said to be the tallest of its kind in the Philippines, and the old municipal building and school houses made of huge stone blocks.The Alona Beach is one of the most famous tourist spots in Bohol province, Philippines, because of its white sand and the rocky cliffs. The beach is located near a “house” reef, where corals and colorful fishes can be seen even without diving equipment. It is a popular scuba-diving and snorkeling spot. It is situated less than two miles from the new Bohol-Panglao international airport.
Dauis, officially the Municipality of Dauis, (Cebuano: Lungsod sa Dauis; Tagalog: Bayan ng Dauis), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Bohol, Philippines. Dauis’s major tourist attractions are Our Lady of Assumption Church and Hinagdanan Cave. Our Lady of Assumption Church is locally known as Señora de la Asunción. The church was built by Boholanos under forced labor imposed by the Spanish. It is constructed of solid rocks or stones and has paintings on the walls. There is a tower with a bell, outside the church another tower and also a small well.The Cathedral of St. Joseph the Worker: The parish of Tagbilaran is one of the first 6 parishes founded by the Jesuit missionaries who came to Bohol in 1595. Saint Joseph the Worker, a favorite among the Jesuits, was enthroned as the patron saint by Rev. Fr. Joaquin de San Jose in 1767, a year before the Jesuits were expelled from the country.
Relief Goods from Bohol: Peanut Kisses from Island City Mall of Tagbilaran Shirt and refmagnets from a store near Blood Compact ShrineThanks couz for showing us the treasures of Bohol island! 😊 From hills, to rivers, to seas and heritage churches, we also got to know world’s smallest primate and witnessed how tourism is booming since the last time I went 5 years ago (post earthquake). Until next time! #laag#Bohol#familygoals#happiness😁
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