Bohol Countryside Tour

The Philippines is simply beautiful. There are so many wonderful sights to see, so many interesting places to visit, so many delicious food to eat and so many generous people to meet. With its 7,641 islands, there is always something that awaits all who come to visit. 

One of the most popular tourist destinations in the Philippines is the island of Bohol. It has it all: alluring white sand beaches, wildlife encounters, crazy adventure parks, historical sites and captivating landscape views. That's basically everything your dream destination should have. 

Our long overdue Barkada travel goals finally came to fruition, as we decided to go to Bohol for a quick weekend getaway to celebrate our first year as young working adults. My friends came all the way from General Santos City. I met them in Cebu City and together, we traveled via Fast Craft to reach Tagbilaran City. How we managed to catch our boat? That is a story that includes shoving, walkie talkies, running, shouting, sweat, basically more like an action movie. Our boat left Cebu at 6pm and we arrived at Tagbilaran around 8pm. We explored the city to get a general feel of local life. We then crashed for the night at our very cheap accommodation as tomorrow will be quite a day.

7 AM - Pickup Time

We rented a van that offers the Bohol Countryside Tour Package. As much as we wanted to see the rest of Bohol, we didn't have enough time since there are still some more places we have to visit back in Cebu. The package already comes with a driver and costs 2500 pesos. It can accommodate up to 12 people, but there are only 5 of us. This is really cheap if you consider 12 people though. Entrance fees to the attractions are not included in the package. 

The driver picked us up at our inn and we were ready to go. We asked him to let us grab some breakfast first though. We wanted to save some time so Mcdonald's takeout it is!

The Chocolate Hills

The Chocolate Hills is not only Bohol's most identifiable landmark, it's also one of the Philippines signature landscapes. It's beauty is something we've only truly seen in post cards. The chocolate hills consist of no less than 1260 hills of almost equal size and uniform shape. The hills vary between 30-50 meter high. With this incredible natural sight to behold, it is truly unbelievable that this isn't a man-made attraction. The hills are green but during the dry season, they turn chocolate brown, hence its name.

Simply Butterflies Conservation Center

Simply Butterflies Conservation Center is the first butterfly livelihood breeding and conservation program in Bohol. It is said to house over 200 species of butterflies. Your entrance fee will already provide you an incredibly entertaining tour guide. Learning about butterflies was more fun than I initially thought. This was a fairly quick stop though. 

Loboc Tarsier Sanctuary

A Tarsier is basically Bohol's tourism mascot. They are cute tiny furry creatures with big googly eyes. They're also the world's smallest primates, however, they are now considered endangered animals. It's nice to see a tarsier, but please make sure that every tourist is responsible. They are suicidal creatures and are easily distressed. The sanctuary has signs and railing all over the place, warning people to strictly observe silence, respect the tarsiers, no touching, no flash photography. Still, while we were there, I've seen tourists cross over the lines just to get closer a closer look at these delicate creatures. Not cool.

Man-Made Forest

The man-made forest is a 2-kilometer stretch of mahogany trees that fill the terrain. Tourists visiting the Chocolate Hills will not miss this, as it situated where Bilar meets Loboc. The trees were planted as part of a reforestation project that started over 50 years ago to replace trees lost from the evils of kaingin (slash-and-burn farming). It was the perfect site. It was cold, silent and peaceful. You do have to be careful of speeding vehicles though.

Python Sanctuary

Bohol's Python Sanctuary is home to The Philippines' largest captive reticulated python (Python reticulatus) or baksan in the native language. Prony, the female python, measures 8 meters and weighs more than 300 kilograms according to a Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) estimate. Prony died in 2013 due to an unknown reason. The locals said that she died shortly after her owner died, which is popular Filipino pamahiin (supernatural belief). The sanctuary still continues to operate, showcasing Prony's offspring as well as Prony's remains. 

Baclayon Church

Bohol has a lot of beautiful old churchs, the most popular of which is probably Baclayon Church. It is just six kilometers away from Tagbilaran City, Bohol and is said to be the second oldest stone church in the Philippines. The church was constructed in 1595 by the Jesuit priests. It currently houses important relics of the Roman Catholic history in the country. Sadly, the church was severely damaged when a massive 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck Bohol on October 15, 2013. It has been undergoing restoration immediately after. We only got to take a picture on this side of the church, construction was still ongoing when we visited. 

Bohol Blood Compact Site

The last place on our list, The Blood Compact Site serves as a historical memorabilia of The Sandugo. This commemorates the mixing of blood between Miguel Lopez de Legazpi and Rajah Sikatuna which symbolized a forged friendship between the Spaniards and the Filipinos. The monument was created by Philippine National Artist Napoleon Abueva, who is also a native of Bohol. The shrine is easily accessible to tourists and offers a fantastic view of the ocean.

After a tiring day, we headed back to the pier and boarded our boat that would take us back to Cebu. Although we only stayed in Bohol for less than a day, this trip will forever hold a special place in our hearts.

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