When in Siquijor: “The Mystique Island”

Siquijor Day Tour

Summer 2017 with Batch 2004

For most people, Siquijor is always associated with magic, mystic traditions, and supernatural creatures. But inside Siquijor are beautiful white sand beaches, crystal clear waterfalls, historic landmarks, and colorful festivities that attract tourists both local and international.

Located in the Central Visayas, Siquijor is the third smallest province in the country. During the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines, the Spaniards called the island “Isla del Fuego” meaning the “Island of Fire”.
Siquijor has two ports. One in the municipality of Siquijor and the other one in Larena.

If you are coming from Manila, you need to take a plane bound for Dumaguete City (Manila-Dumaguete). From Dumaguete, you will ride a ferry boat going to Siquijor. The fare is around 250 pesos. It will only take you an hour to get to Siquijor from Dumaguete.

After months of planning and organizing, we decided to have our summer getaway in Siquijor-Dumaguete and Cebu. It was a five-day trip. Luckily, one of our friend is a local in Dumaguete. She offered her home for us to stay in so we didn’t book to any hotel. We had a 1-day tour and adventure in each place. The first leg of our summer adventure was in Siquijor.

We arrived at Siquijor around 7 am, the weather was a bit gloomy and it was raining. We rented a van for our day tour in Siquijor. Our first stopover was at Capilay”s Spring Park in San Juan.

We only stayed for 20 minutes taking pictures at Capilay”s Spring Park. Then we went straight to Old Balete Tree, our second stopover, and had some foot spa with the fishes.

The place is open in public for free but, if you want to have a foot spa, you will only pay 15 pesos. The proceeds will be for the maintenance of the place.

There’s a souvenir shop also where you can find some kinds of stuff for souvenirs.

The third stopover of our tour was at Lazi Church. The church, also known for its huge convent, was declared a National Cultural Treasure by the National Museum of the Philippines. It is also nominated for the UNESCOWorld Heritage 

According to locals, the church is made of sea stones and woods.

After taking photos, lighting a candle, and praying at Lazi Church our fourth stopover was at Cambugahay Waterfalls.

Before you can reach the waterfall, you’ll need to walk down one hundred and thirty-five stone steps.

The waterfall is a multi-layered fall, with its clean, green, and warm water coming from the natural springs you will surely love to swim and dive! Yes, dive! There’s a diving board and a rope tied to a tree used for diving, making you feel like Tarzan!

Our swimming and diving adventure didn’t stop there. After Cambugahay Waterfalls, we headed to Salagdoong Beach. Our fifth stopover.

Salagdoong Beach is a white sand beach with a blue-green, calm, and clear water. There’s a restaurant and some cottages for rent around the beach. Cliff diving is one of the main attractions, and it is for free. Unlimited dive and jump. You can also try kayaking for 150 pesos for one hour.

We stayed at Salagdoong until 2 pm. The scheduled time for our ferry boat was at 5 pm. On our way to the port, we dropped by at a house selling “Pan Bisaya” (Pan-meaning bread in Visayan language and Bisaya refers to the locals). Our tour guide said that it is the oldest bakery and it was featured on local television because of its delicious bread.

I bought two bokayo bread and bibingka and it tasted good!

We also passed by at Talingting, a local community in Siquijor, and had a quick photo shoot at their welcome sign.

We departed Siquijor at exactly 5:00 pm going back to dumaguete. It was an amazing daytrip! We will definitely come back!

“Take every chance you get in life, because some things only happen once.”– Karen Gibbs