Bohol: Budgeted Country Eco-Cultural Tour

Bohol Blood Compact Site is located in Barangay Bool, Tagbilaran City, Bohol, Philippines. This particular site was made in honor of a very important event in the Philippine history done between Miguel Lopez de Legazpi of Spain and Rajah Sikatuna of Bohol.

This Sikatuna-Legaspi blood compact is considered as the First Treaty of Friendship between two different races, religions, cultures and civilizations. It was a treaty of friendship based on respect and equality. This event is commonly known as “Sandugo”.

The Bohol Blood Compactsculpture was made by the National Artist, Napoleon Abueva, a Boholano himself. It is placed on an open and raised dais portraying five (5) life-sized images of men gathered around a table with Legazpi and Sikatuna supposedly making a toast. Standing on the dais, visitors are treated to a good view of the Bohol Sea and the contour of that particular side of the island of Bohol.

The Church of Immaculada Concepcion in Baclayon is considered to be one of the oldest in the Philippines. Construction began in 1717 where some 200 native forced laborers (obras pias) cut and dragged coral blocks from the sea, using only bamboos in moving and lifting the stones in position.

Millions of white eggs were said to have been used as cement. The current building was completed in 1727.

In the 19th century, the Augustinian Recollects added a new facade- pictured here- and a number of stone buildings that now surround the church.

Old broken glasses no longer can be replaced. The colored panes locally available now are different- pattern is limited only to the basic quatrefoil "florentine" patterns and color choices are only 3: amber, green and blue.

The original ones which date back to 16th century are thicker and deeper in color.

the Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception in Baclayon is one of the oldest stone churches in the Philippines and is located in Bohol, in the Visayas region.

The construction was started by the Jesuits in 1596. As is happening in most grand historical structures in the country, the church is in partial disrepair.

In Canapnapan, a barangay of Corella, you can see saucer-eyed tarsiers in the wild at the Philippine Tarsier Sanctuary. Over 100 of these territorial primates hang out in the immediate vicinity of the centre, though only eight are in the viewing area. The guides will bring you right to them via a short jungle trail; no flash photography is permitted. The visitors centre includes good information boards and the whole forested sanctuary is well managed and a pleasure to visit.

The simultaneously crazy and cuddly looking tarsier can fit in the palm of your hand yet leap 5m, rotate its head almost 360 degrees and move its ears in the direction of sound. It has huge imploring eyes, 150 times bigger than a human's in relation to its body size.

The tarsier is not only one of the world's smallest primates and the oldest surviving member of the primate group at 45 million years old, it is also an endangered species. The main threats to its survival are habitat destruction, introduced species, hunting and the pet trade. While also found in Samar, Leyte and parts of Mindanao, Bohol is the province that is doing the most to promote awareness of the tarsier and attempting to ensure its survival.

Keen hikers can arrange longer guided walks in the surrounding wildlife sanctuary, although you are unlikely to spot tarsiers outside the immediate vicinity of the visitors centre.

Take the Loboc River Cruise and enjoy lunch on a floating diner while you listen to the relaxing splash of the water and the welcoming songs of Boholanos. This river in Bohol is known to be one of the cleanest rivers in the country. Tourists take an hour-long cruise along the river while enjoying food, drinks and music.

Local musicians play native and novelty music. There are days when guests can request songs, too. The cruise will stop in the middle of the river for souvenir shopping and some native dancing.

Once the cruise ends, you will see the refreshing sight of the Loboc Falls. Those who wish to can take a quick dip into the waters. If you are not prepared for swimming, though, you can take photos of the very scenic Loboc River, everyone’s favorite hobby.

The Bohol Forest is a man-made mahogany forest stretching in a two-kilometer stretch of densely planted Mahogany trees located in the border of Loboc and Bilar towns. Before and after this man-made forest are the naturally grown forests of Loboc and Bilar which are thick with a kaleidoscope of green foliage, different species of trees and giant ferns lining the road.

The man-made forest stands out because of the uniformity in height of the big trees, the spread of its branches, thickness and design of leaves. Seedlings abound around the older trees. Trunks, some thick and others just a few months old, grow resplendently straight up towards the sky which is obscured by the branches and the thick leaves.

Simply Butterflies Conservation Center is the first butterfly livelihood breeding and conservation program in Bohol. Its main goal is to protect and strengthen the natural environment of the butterflies through plant research, breeding and releasing.

Aiming to raise the butterfly population in Bohol, the Center also seeks ways and means to bring money into the local economy using butterflies and butterfly by-products. Local town folks have been taught how to breed butterflies and at present, a community of paid breeders has been formed.

Likewise, the Center is into the study, research, and preservation of host plants which are dwindling due to illegal poaching and deforestation. The breeding of common butterflies for export plus their by-products help to fund host-plant research, development and the breeding of rare butterflies.

Only hand bred sources, not those captured from the wild, are used by the center to protect the butterfly population. A large number of hand bred butterflies are also released into the wild from time to time thus increasing local population. Only the surplus from these hand bred butterflies are used for making by-products for both the local and foreign markets.

The Chocolate Hills are probably Bohol's most famous tourist attraction. They look like giant mole hills, or as some say, women's breasts, and remind us of the hills in a small child's drawing. Most people who first see pictures of this landscape can hardly believe that these hills are not a man-made artifact. However, this idea is quickly abandoned, as the effort would surely surpass the construction of the pyramids in Egypt. The chocolate hills consist of are no less than 1268 hills (some claim this to be the exact number). They are very uniform in shape and mostly between 30 and 50 meters high. They are covered with grass, which, at the end of the dry season, turns chocolate brown. From this color, the hills derive their name. At other times, the hills are green, and the association may be a bit difficult to make.

Legend has it that the hills came into existence when two giants threw stones and sand at each other in a fight that lasted for days. When they were finally exhausted, they made friends and left the island, but left behind the mess they made. For the more romantically inclined is the tale of Arogo, a young and very strong giant who fell in love with an ordinary mortal girl called Aloya. After she died, the giant Arogo cried bitterly. His tears then turned into hills, as a lasting proof of his grief.

However, up to this day, even geologists have not reached consensus on how they where formed. The most commonly accept theory is that they are the weathered formations of a kind of marine limestone on top of a impermeable layer of clay. If you climb the 214 steps to the top of the observation hill near the complex, you can read this explanation on a bronze plaque.

The Philippines' largest captive reticulated python (Python reticulatus) or baksan in the native language, is found in Bohol. Prony, a female baksan named after its owner Sofronio Salibay, measures 27 feet (8.23 metres) and weighs more than 300 kg according to a Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) estimate.

If the measurement is indeed true, Prony is longer than Fluffy, current titleholder of Guinness Records 2011's longest captive snake. Fluffy, also a reticulated python, lives in Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in Powell, Ohio, USA. When measured in 2009, she was found to be over 24 feet (7.23 metres) long.

Prony was captured in 1996 in Upper Sta Filomena in the town of Albur, where she also lives for more than a decade. Prony lived in an animal sanctuary built by the tripartite partnership of PepsiCo, Animal Kingdom Foundation Inc and the Municipal Tourism Council of Alburquerque (Albur's full name).

When Prony was younger she was fed live chickens and then cats and dogs. Nowadays, Prony's diet consist of a white pig or two goat fed after Prony molts.

Although Prony is still the main attraction in the mini-zoo, tourists will also be able to see some of Bohol's endemic wildcats like the Malay civet cat, Philippine mongoose and a flying lemur. There is also a cage for Brahminy Kite, Green Heron, hornbill, crakes and rails and a few orioles.