Siquijor: Around the Mystic Island of the Philippines

Siquijor is a small island with so much to offer, from beautiful beaches to century old churches. It’s a place where you can enjoy tranquility and have a glimpse of its history.

We had a chance to see some of the tourist destinations in Siquijor. Our driver Kuya Danny was very kind to show us the most beautiful places on the island.

St Isidore de Labrador Church or Lazi Church
Location: Lazi, Siquijor

DCIM100GOPROG4422008.DCIM100GOPROG4402001.

The church is one of the oldest Roman Catholic Church which is located in the municipality of Lazi. Being colonized by Spain for 333 years, the influence of Christianity in regards to the belief and faith of the people are mapped on the walls of this old church. Made of sea corals and wood, the church was completed in 1884. Amazingly, the church stood for decades without compromise to its original design. No obvious modern restoration is shown on the walls of the church. Opposite to the church is an old convent which was used to be a home of the church congregation. Today, the convent houses some of the surviving church relics.

St. Francis of Assisi Church
Location: Siquijor, Siquijor

0be67f_d2e43109ef5e4f1c843dd060cb98c970-mv2DCIM100GOPROG4221807.

St. Francis Church a beautiful old church on the islan. The church has served the Catholic community since 1774. To withstand the test of time, the parishioners of Siquijor recondition the church structure regularly. At the back of the church, there is a convent and a spacious park maintained by volunteers and clergies. The most recent reconstruction was completed in 2006. A separate church bell was used for church ceremonies and was once a watch tower to protect the island during Moro tribe attempts to occupy Siquijor.

Tulapos Marine Sanctuary
Location – Siquijor Circumferential Road, Enrique Villanueva, Siquijor

  • No entrance fee
  • Snorkeling 25.00
  • Scuba Diving 100.00
  • Boat Rental 500.00

DCIM100GOPROG4261826.DCIM100GOPROG4261832.

Aside from the 14 hectares of white sand beach, mangroves, and coral reefs , the sanctuary is a home of sea turtles and fishes of various species. Since fishing is one of the main source of income of the locals, marine sanctuaries aim to generate more revenue to help fishermen. To those who would like to enjoy the rich marine life, the sanctuary offers dive and snorkeling packages, a boat can be rented with a guide for 500.00 – 1000.00.

Salagdoon Beach Resort
Location: Siquijor Lang, Maria, Siquijor

  • Entrance Fee: 15.00

0be67f_de8b7f094480473f8009e8e9d09d4feb-mv20be67f_2f81e643394841708aeac0fa78ea61c8-mv2_d_1894_1614_s_2

The resort is managed and owned by the local government of Maria, one of Siquijor’s Municipality. A forest park of Mahogany trees called Salagdoon Forest welcome visitors on their way to the resort. The cottages cost 100.00 with no corkage fee. Visitors can bring their own food or order from the resort’s restaurant. Room accommodation is available at reasonable prices. To those who would like to tour around the island, the resort offers tour packages to its customers for convenience. Aside from swimming and snorkeling, cliff jumping for the thrill seekers can be enjoyed.

Cambugahay Falls
Location: Lazi, Siquijor

  • No entrance fee
  • Parking fee: 10.00 scooter / 20.00 multi-cab and jeepney

0be67f_7f7bc155bcfc40fe879583645d7d7921-mv20be67f_b8d2b8b275584efa8beebd4b048472ae-mv2 (1)

There are various activities and tourist destinations in the Municipality of Lazi. The most popular waterfall is the Cambugahay Falls. From the main road, a descent of more or less 150 steps to reach the cool water. You need to have strong legs to go down and stronger legs to climb up. The way down is steep. The falls is composed of 3 tiers that smoothly flows from one basin to another . There were plenty of locals hanging around the area when we were there, observing tourists while having fun themselves. If you want to test your arm strength, there is a vine you can use to swing yourself and dive into the water. Yey!!!

Guiwanon Spring Park
Location – Luyang, Siquijor

  • Entrance fee: Adult – 10.00 /Children 5.00
  • Tree house for rent – 250.00

0be67f_83e8c7ae17da4f49b8337c5e9aae6522-mv2IMG_9965

The park is another livelihood project of the local government to protect the marine life. The protected area is surrounded by mangrove trees. From the entrance, a wooden pathway will lead you out to the sea. The mangroves make the place picturesque with its rich green color surrounding the area. Tree houses on top of the mangrove trees are available for rent.

Century Old – Balete Tree
Location – Lazi, Siquijor

  • No entrance fee

DCIM100GOPROG4432013.

Most of the time when people talk about Balete trees, there will always be horror stories associated with it, talk about Filipino myth. How about the Balete tree in Siquijor Island?

When we reach the Enchanted Old Balete Tree, I was looking for something odd that would personify the stories I heard. The Balete tree was next to the main road. There was nothing unusual or what not. There were 2 souvenir stalls that sell T-shirts , potions, and herbal medicines. There is also a fish foot spa right at the foot of the tree. Tourists both local and foreign were enjoying a fish foot spa for free. Want to share your blessings?  You can drop some coins or bills into the donation box. No eerie feeling around except for the fishes tickling our toes. It was a fun fish foot spa day.

Lilibeth’s Pan Bisaya
Location: Enrique Villanueva, Siquijor

DCIM100GOPROG4291848.0be67f_212412a5774a4a45b189220177741f8e-mv2

When in Siquijor, do not forget to visit Ate Lilibeth’s Pan Bisaya. It’s a pasty stuffed with bokayo (sweetened coconut) baked using the traditional (wood-fired) oven. A humble little bakery made of nipa and bamboo managed by a bubbly little lady. Lilibeth, as what the locals call her is a proud contributor to Siquijor’s tourism. Tourists stopped by the bakery to try the tastiest pan bisaya on the island. Aside from pan bisaya, bokayo, ensaymada and torta are available.

Cang-isok House
Location: Enrique Villanueva, Siquijor

Entrance: Free

0be67f_c890db0dce9446e7b9fbc1555fe645d7-mv2

The Spanish colonization in the Philippines greatly influenced the architecture of the whole archipelago. The Cang-isok house is one of the examples of its influence. Made of Molave trees or Tugas, houses built during this era are sturdy and strong. The oldest house on the island is made of the same material, tattered by harsh weather and withered by time, Cang-isok house is still standing after decades of strong adversaries. Although the house is inhabited, the thought that it still exists, is the reason why plenty of curious tourists would stop by and take pictures of the old house.

It was a long day. We finished the tour tired, but satisfied. So many places to see, so little time we had. During our 1-day tour, we were able to visit a few of the many beautiful tourist destinations on the island. There are still more to see, more to enjoy.

DCIM100GOPROG4472022.

We had a good experience with our driver Kuya Danny. He took us to the nicest place in Siquijor. Kuya Danny charged us 1000.00 for 5 people in his tricycle.

Contact No: 0916-265-6184

Rent with driver for a day tour:

  • Tricycle – 1000.00 – 1200.00
  • Multi-cab – 1500.00 – 1800.00
  • Van – 2000.00 – 2500.00

Travel Tips:

  • Make sure to get enough rest before the tour. It is going to be a long day.
  • Bring water and food.
  • Bring extra clothes, swimming gears, camera and etc.
  • Please don’t haggle too much for the tour price. These people are trying to feed their families, not unless you feel like they are ripping you off.
  • If you will contact Kuya Danny, please provide lunch, water and snacks for him during the tour.

Tour Expenses:

We traveled as a group and divided the expenses.

  • Tour – 1000.00 / 5 = 200.00
  • Food, water and etc – 250.00

12 Comments Add yours

  1. sofeebella says:

    Would love to come here.. 😍

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Januaryrain Pagalan says:

      You should. 🙂 Don’t miss to check my next blog post about Siquijor. Siquijor is just beautifu.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. sofeebella says:

        Yes.yes.thank you.. 😇

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Januaryrain Pagalan says:

        Thank u. 😃😃😃

        Like

  2. Ace&Demi says:

    This is a very helpful post for our Siquijor trip, soon. 🙂

    Thanks for sharing.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Januaryrain Pagalan says:

      Glad to share. I will have one more post maybe tomorrow about Siquijor might help too. Enjoy your trip. 😊🎒✈️

      Liked by 1 person

  3. Thanks for the tip! Would love to go there soon! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. My Little Backpack Adventures says:

      Sure. My pleasure. Enjoy your trip. 😊😊😊

      Liked by 1 person

  4. lincolnlifesite says:

    Reblogged this on Lincoln Life Blog.

    Liked by 1 person

  5. lincolnlifesite says:

    Looks fantastic, really great post

    Liked by 1 person

    1. My Little Backpack Adventures says:

      Thank you! 🙂

      Like

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s