Have you been to Siquijor?
When you hear the word Siquijor, what comes to your mind?
I visited this town two years ago. Before I went there I've heard a lot of speculations about this place. They said that this is where witches, shamans, and all the bad spirits are living. I don't know the truth about those but when I went there, I was amazed by the places, the people and everything.
Did you know that Siquijor is the third smallest province in the country, in terms of their population as well as land area like Camiguin and Batanes? It's the fifth provincial income class island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region. The capital municipality also named Siquijor. Facing the north of Siquijor is Cebu, to the west is Negros, the northeast is Bohol, and to the south, across the Bohol Sea, is Mindanao.
Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siquijor
Also did you know that because of the eerie glow of fireflies that lived in the trees, Spaniards called Siquijor as Island of Fire ? For a time Siquior was a sub-province of Negros Oriental and became independent province on September 17th of 1971. This province is just about an hour boat ride from Dumaguete City which provides the easiest and fastest access to the island. The mystical island of Siquijor is known to have magic potions, sorcerer, witches, and shamans (all bad spirits) before. I remembered when I asked our guide if there's really a shaman in their place and he told us that he doesn't believe in that and he believes in God so his not afraid. But he heard a lot of speculations about it but never encountered anything about shaman.
Let me share with you my dear friends how beautiful Siquijor is.
How to get there:
- Find a flight bound to Dumaguete.
- Take a tricycle to Dumaguete's Port (near the boulevard). Travel time: 15-30 minutes.
- Buy a ticket and board a ferry to Siquijor. Travel time: 1 hour.
In case you want to check their shipping schedule, check this out: http://siquijordirectory.com/ferryshippings/
My sister and her travel buddies came to Dumaguete a day before our flight. We decided to meet at Dumaguete's Port/ We didn't expect that our flight bound to Dumaguete Airport will be delayed.
Sky treats =)
We had a funny struggle moments there with my travel buddy.
Since our flight was delayed and our buddies were all panicked because they already bought us tickets bound to Siquijor. They asked the sailor man to wait for us and gave us 15 to 20 minutes to be in the port. Sadly, we didn't make it. HAHAHA! Other reason why we didn't make it, it's all because of my travel buddy's #selfiepamore activity.
We had to wait for another 3hrs to ride in Roro. We decided to roam around first and consume the 2 hrs while checking what's in Dumaguete. Luckily, there's a parade to entertain ourselves. Then we had a lot of time to take a selfie.
- Siquijor's Port
This province is composed of six towns; Enrique Villanueva, Larena, Lazi, Maria, San Juan and Siquijor. Finally, after a struggled day we arrived safely. We took a tricycle going to Tori's paradise where we were staying located on a long stretch white sand beach in Dumanhog, Siquijor. The beach front view is amazing. A free pool and water all day free of charge. The room rates are affordable and it's air-conditioned. This is a good place for budget travelers especially those who travel alone because they have dorm rooms. The dorms are clean & spacious.
- Tori's Paradise Pool
- The beach front and it's low tide.
- Their website; https://www.torisparadise.com/
Places to visit in Siquijor;
Since Siquijor has a lot of wonderful places to offer and we need to maximize our time. We had to choose our stops well.
Lily Tatong Medicinal Herbal Accessories, they're known for their anting-anting, herbal infusion oils & their potions also.
St Isidore de Labrador Church, this is the largest and oldest church in Siquijor. They're located in the municipality of Lazi, Siquijor, Philippines. It was built in stone and hardwood by Filipino artisans. The church was finished in 1884 and the church bell a year after.
Inside the church
Old Enchanted Balete Tree, the tree stands at 8 meters up to 20 meters high with adventitious roots. This can be found at Brgy. Campalanas, Lazi, Siquijor. The tree is said to be around 400 to 500 years old.
Salagdoong Beach is a public beach and as such, it is a government-owned resort. This is located in the town of Maria. White sand beach and turquoise water, Awesome!
Perfect Spot for Cliff Jumping
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Man-made Molave Forest, is along the narrow passage to Salagdoong beach. This is also located in the town of Maria. The Molave tree branches cover the road forming like an archway, feels like your entering a palace.
Cang-Isok House - Oldest wood House in Siquijor, this house is more than a hundred years old. This old house is located at Barangay Libo in the Town of Enrique Villanueva. We saw this after our tour in Salagdoong beach. It's wooden bahay kubo made by molave, nipa and bamboo.
Cambugahay Falls, this is my favorite spot in Siquijor, this beautiful scenery is located in the town of Lazi, Siquijor. We're so fascinated by the ambiance. Even locals within the island enjoy spending their time in this enchanting waterfalls. It has 135 steps using the stairs. It’s very easy to reach. People usually crowd at the 2nd and 3rd tier to do the Tarzan swing and jump.
And the most challenging part of our Siquijor tour...
The Cantabon Cave, it will takes 2 to 3 hours to explore the cave.
Selfie muna!
in this case, being flexible is what you need. We need to SLIDE, FLEX, BEND CRAWL, AND ESPECIALLY BE WET & DIRTY but IT'S ALL WORTH IT!!!!
Sadly, we didn't reach the top where you will see there the rock formations which they called "king's bed", "showerbell" and "angel's bath".
But all in all, this is a fun-thrilled experience. Thanks to my travel buddies who made my Siquijor tour memorable. Thank you for sharing your adventures with me.
*I hope I've encouraged you to visit Siquijor. Enjoy traveling!
Thank you for dropping by and reading my post.