Lapac Beach-Maria,Siquijor

Uncrowded white beach? Siquijor has a lot of them. This posts will take you to the finest beach I’ve visited in the province, less the swarms of tourists, less the crowd, minus the resorts, free of other visitors, no developments. Fun in the sun meets tropical tranquility, stroll on a stretch of white sand, add the beautiful ocean view and azure sea, plus serenity and solitude equals Lapac beach.

Lapac beach is another secret beach located en route to the coastal areas of Liloan in Maria town. This town has a number of hidden beaches, but discovering them before the masses do can be challenging. So I’m counting myself as the lucky ones that are able to step on its shore.

The state-protected woods of Liloan forest overlays the beach of Lapac, Bacong and some other unknown beaches. From Brgy Liloan I took the same route to Bacong Beach but before reaching the forest, another established route to the left I took to an unfamiliar direction to the other side of the forest.

A few meters I noticed there were no houses around, nowhere to ask, just road, bushes, shrubs and trees there were, plenty. I continue driving on the very end until I finally saw a house come into view. I approached a woman inside, greeted her and ask:

“Is there any beach around?”

“Lapac” she replied

“How do I get in there?”

She pointed her finger on the motorbikes. “From those motorbikes, follow that way and walk down to the bottom. There you’ll find the beach area”.

 At once, I walked through the forest then to a descending trail. Soon the descent grew steeper and I began to be exhausted. I rested halfway and drunk all the water I got.

As I draw near the shore, there were voices I’ve heard. They were chanting. They were happy.

Upon seeing Lapac beach, it was jaw dropping, extremely surprising. I couldn’t believe it exist. A surreal mix of reality and imagination of an untouched paradise. An illustration of a remarkable view on a postcard.

Being the solitary tourist, I sauntered on the white shore from end to the opposite end. The local fishermen were looking at me but they didn’t bother. I couldn’t help but to appreciate more in this island. It felt like every visit I make is an endless discovery. Every visit is a new journey.

On my journeys, I’ve learned to enjoy now being alone. The less people I see, the better. And so I rest on the sands, just staring at the clouds. Enjoyed the scenery and listened to the silence.

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Polo island-Maria,Siquijor

Undoubtedly, Salagdoong Beach Resort in Maria is one of the top tourist destinations in the province of Siquijor. Tourists flock to this beautiful beach with unbelievably turquoise water, magnificent views and white sandy beach but the majority miss out on a nearby gem completely untouched.

Have you heard of Polo Island in same town? This posts will take you to a remote area, a stretch of beach and a nearby small island of which I haven’t heard before. I thought I’ve known Siquijor very well as I’ve been there eleven times already but to my surprise as I look closely to a detailed map there is more attractions in Siquijor that is not much visited.

Part of the fun of my visits to any destination is uncovering those unique and hidden gems that are often found off-the-beaten path. The wild beach and Polo Island is camouflaged with Molave trees particularly in Salagdoong Forest Reserve.

As for the information of everybody, Salagdoong Forest is a man made molave plantation covering an area of 202.15 hectares of which is considered the biggest in our country and in Southeast Asia.

How to get there:

En route to Salagdoong Beach Resort, your guiding landmark is shown in the above image. The road to the right is going to the resort while on the left is an unknown route which I took. The way was not as bad as I thought; it was a bit rocky but was a bearable drive. I was driving amidst the forest without knowing where I am heading and was not sure if I took the right way. But when I saw another motorbike of which I am sure they were fishermen then I continued all the way to the coast.

Upon arrival I saw the rest of the fishermen gathered in the shaded area where the wives were preparing for their lunch together with their children. It was fun to watch their families taking their lunch together with a vibe of music they played setting up huge speakers on a tricycle.

I was alone but never lonely. Nothing beats the sight of its water and dazzling beauty. The untouched areas along Maria Bay is the perfect place to explore for those that love to get off-the-beaten path.

The stretch of the beach consist mainly on all white coral stones making it very unique. The state of tide during that time is at its lowest so more of the beach can be seen. People can go offshore up to the small island but I prefer stay ashore this time. The beach was all by myself. Finally, to end this posts, I’ll take a selfie :D. Cheers!

 

 

Kawasan Falls-Lazi,Siquijor

A newly discovered waterfall and cave in Siquijor proves that we should never stop exploring. Kawasan Falls is situated in Lazi town en route to Brgy. Cangclaran, just a nearby attraction to one of the most visited Cambugahay waterfalls.

An intersection route will take you to Brgy. Cangclaran and Cambugahay where a visible sign is placed as a guiding sign towards Kawasan, then drove uphill for less than 5 minutes.

As soon as I reached Brgy. Cangclaran, I was welcomed by the residents and a local guide. Because I don’t know where it was, I approached a young man to lead my way. 10 pesos was levied for each visitor for the parking fee.

As I’ve seen in their log book, I was one of the few visitors. The only way to access the new waterfall is to descend into a hill with newly established track of around 200 steps.

Upon reaching the bottom, immediately  the waters of Kawasan greeted me with a hue of color blue sharing a similar attribute to that of Cambugahay. The location is concealed chiefly of trees and wild plants.

The stillness of the environment is accompanied with bird sounds and the flowing waters. There were no other visitors that time except myself and four other local guides. The entrance to the cave is located beneath the waterfall, which I opted not to go inside, for safety reasons, there were no gears provided, the distance of the cave has not been mapped and so I find it more dangerous.

It was just a quick side trip and I am always grateful every time I see a waterfall, whether of towering height and small. When visiting Siquijor, don’t miss on discovering the hidden falls of Kawasan.

Bacong Beach-Maria,Siquijor

It was high tide when I visited Kagusuan beach for the third time, thus some seaweeds were carried along the shore but still one of the gorgeous beach I’ve seen in the island. There were few fishermen at the end of the beach preparing for a catch. One of the fisherman approach me while I was taking photos, as we were talking, he recommended another lovely beach in their area which he says a much longer drive.

They call it Bacong beach, located in the same town en route to Brgy.Liloan. Bewildered of how it looks like, I shall allow my intuition to guide me today as I felt an exhilaration of a hidden paradise. The wind blows wherever it wishes, the trees where swaying of its direction, then we were lead to a dense forest. On a sunny drive at noon, it was so nice to have abundant tall shade trees canopies our way through Liloan forest, some bare roots of aged trees had crept over the track amidst the woodland covered with dried fallen leaves.

The beach and the forest are bordered by a vertical cliff and of surrounding vegetation. The end of the cliff serves as a parking space for visitors where I left mine and some other four motorbikes. Standing on top of the cliff, my eyes were met with the vast ocean. Upon hearing the sea waves, instantly I went down to the bottom.

In a few distance, I saw some local fishermen gathered around the coast, some were hoovering their meal while others are preparing their fishing boat, at the end of the stretch are teenagers reveled the clear waters of the area.

The lovely beach is completely virgin, both ends of the stretch have spectacular rock formations, waters are magnificently clear were it was irresistibly I took a dip, though I didn’t went that far, colorful fishes are visible near the coast. The beach face and the wrack line consist mainly on coral rocks and stone deposits while white sands stay at the berm section.

This is one of the many virgin beaches in the province you shouldn’t miss too, start planning your tropical getaway now, pack your picnic and head off to discover the untouched beauty of Maria town, get off-the-beaten track and enjoy a tranquil experience in Bacong beach.