Bohol, the Place Endowed with 1400 Caves

Bohol is an island province in the Philippines gifted with mountainous interior, one of which is the world’s famous Chocolate Hills. It is located in the Central Visayas region, with Tagbilaran City as its capital. It is considered the tenth largest island of the Philippines. To its west is Cebu, to the northeast is Leyte, and to the south is Mindanao.

The island of Bohol can be reached via air flights of Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific from Manila to Tagbilaran with approximate travel time of one to two hours. From Mactan airport in Cebu, it will take 25 minutes to reach Tagbilaran City. Other options are to travel by sea via WG&A Super Ferry, Lite Shipping, Trans Asia Shipping Lines, Weesam Express, and Supercat with travel time of approximately two to three hours.

Bohol is a tropical haven of natural beauty. Aside from its world-class numerous mounds of limestone formation, its coastline are abound by gentle coves and white sand beaches. It may not be as famous as Boracay, but is well-known to divers and snorkelers as an awesome paradise. Some beautiful places in Bohol that are recommended as tourist destinations are as follows:

1. Chocolate Hills in Carmen is the most popular attraction that consists of 1268 almost-uniformed hills. They are covered with grass, which, at the end of the dry season, turns chocolate brown.

2. Panglao Island in southwest of Tagbilaran City is a famous diving spot. It is also the place where you can find the second smallest primate in the world which is the Philippine Tarsier. It also houses the most beautiful beaches of Bohol namely Aloha Beach, Dumaluan Beach, Bikini Beach, Momo Beach, and Doljo Beach.

3. Mag-Aso Falls is a walking distance from Antequera. The water is cool and often creates a mist in humid mornings which can hide the falls.

4. Inambacan Falls is a cascading waterfall in Antequera town which is proposed to be a source of drinking and irrigation water.

5. Kawasan Falls can be found in Balilihan.

6. Dimiao Twin Falls is an ideal place for trekking and picnic.

7. Busay Falls are the destination of the floating restaurant trips.

8. Hinagdanan Cave in Panglao is one of the approximately 1400 caves in Bohol. It has large number of stalactites and stalagmites that leads to the underground cavern that contains a pond.
9. Dagohoy Cave in Danao is the most famous of these caves for it is considered a historical landmark. It is believed to be the hiding place of Boholano patriot Dagohoy, who started a rebellion against Spain in 1744.

10. Hagakgak Cave is considered undisturbed because of its wet and muddy passage.

11. Inambacan Cave is often filled with flowing water and contains some small stalactites and stalagmites.

12. Sudlon Cave is the largest cave in the province located in a lovely mountain environment that serves to be a hide-out for a huge population of bats.

13. Bingag Cave is a big cave with several compartments, with passages so low that one has to stoop low in order to pass through. It is also the habitat for rare gold fishes.

Aside from these natural wonders, a lot of activities can be done in Bohol like snorkeling and diving to witness the spectacular Bohol’s coral reefs and fishes which are very rich in life. You can also do bird watching in the natural forest of Olango Island or Dolphin and whale watching on Bohol Sea.