Tourism By Discovery

With classes and graduation out of the way, it’s time to shift to vacation mode, to plan the great summer getaway, the adventure that will make the summer of ’06 one memorable summer in the sun.

While your favorite beach resort or your lola’s farm may be part of your annual summer ritual, there are many places in our 7,100 islands just waiting to be discovered and explored–stretches of pristine beaches that have hardly seen any footprints, secret mountain hideaways with birdsong only a few have heard, local festivals that will fascinate even the most jaded traveler.

Women in Travel (WIT), a gathering of seasoned airline and travel executives, initiated a nationwide search for such destinations called Hiyas ng Turismo. Mobilizing local governments and tourism offices in the various regions all over the country, 28 sites were submitted for consideration.

The destinations were checked out by the energetic ladies, led by project proponent and immediate past president of WIT Emy Aguirre. Among the considerations were accessibility, available facilities for visitors, security/peace and order, natural attractions as well as unique customs, festivals or crafts. Initial judging was done in the various regions, after which nine finalists were shortlisted. These finalists were presented to the national board of judges headed by Tourism Undersecretary Oscar Palabyab with audio-visual and printed dossiers. In addition, representatives of each destination answered the judges’ questions before their scores were tabulated. The public also participated in the judging through text voting.

At a grand fiesta last Tuesday night at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, the winners were finally presented to the public.

Romping off with top honors was Sipalay City in Negros Occidental. It is not called the Jewel of the Sugar Island for nothing, for a jewel indeed it is. Beaches, with fine sand ranging from white to gold, include Langub or Sugar Beach and Punta Ballo Beach, both with resort facilities owned by Swiss, Germans, Belgians and Filipinos.

Several caves await exploration by the adventurous, including the cavernous Banderahan and the Vicente Caves. The enchanting Tinagong Dagat is just that–a hidden sea sprinkled with lush little islets with old growth mangroves. Campomanes Bay offers excellent opportunities for all kinds of watersports, and a vast coral garden at the bay’s entrance. Other attractions include the Omas Waterfalls, Malinab Lagoon and a former copper mining pit that has been turned into a man-made lake.

The city’s charter anniversary is celebrated every last week of March with the Pasaway sa Sipalay festival, featuring street dancing and merrymaking by residents of the city’s 17 barangays. Sipalay is accessible by land from Bacolod, Dumaguete and Cebu.

First runner-up honors went to the Bugang River in Antique, one of the cleanest rivers in Western Visayas. The Bugang River Cultural, Nature & Adventure Tour is part of the "Ocho-Ocho Panay Island Tours" that includes eight eco-tours to eight destinations in Aklan, Antique and Iloilo.

The Bugang River tour includes leisurely boat rides as well as rafting experiences through lush vegetation, a refreshing swim in the Malumpati Cold Spring, a trek around the Malumpati Spring and Watershed Area within the last low elevation forest in the Visayas, and a visit to the community handicraft center where the unique bariw woven products are showcased.

Second runner-up was the municipality of Cavinti in Laguna, nestled in the Sierra Madre mountains. It is home to the 200-foot Nakulo Falls, upstream from the more popular Pagsanjan Falls. The Cavinti Rapids experience is said to be even more spectacular, stretching over two kilometers through a dramatic landscape of solid rock, smaller waterfalls, and lush vegetation that is home to monkeys, monitor lizards and pythons.

Other highlights are the White Rock Twin Falls in the mountain barangay of Simucab and the twin caves called Kwebang Puti which has white rocks and Kwebang Itim with black rocks.

Third runner-up is the hidden paradise of Sibang Cove, limited in accessibility but kept pristine by that very limitation. From Aparri in Cagayan North, one takes a five-hour ride on a twin-engine boat to the poblacion in the island municipality of Calayan, and from there another half-hour boat ride to Sibang. The trip may be long, but the sight of frolicking dolphins and breaching whales make the long boat ride an adventure in itself. The Babuyan Channel is reported to be the mating ground for 11 species of whales and dolphins.

That long journey is amply rewarded though, with a two-kilometer beach of the finest white sand and water as clear as nature intended. All that with a backdrop of virgin forest covered mountains, with secrets just waiting to be explored.

The other finalists in the competition are the town of Rosales in Pangasinan; Sacobia Valley in Pampanga; the municipality of Magdalena in Laguna; Lake Apo in Valencia, Bukidnon; and Mount Hamiguitan in Davao Oriental.

Admittedly, much work has yet to be done in improving infrastructure and facilities in these destinations. The aim of the competition though is the identification of areas with rich tourism potential, which can then be the objects of responsible and sustained development.

The indefatigable Women in Travel should rightfully be applauded for this pioneering endeavor, as should their partners and sponsors Philippine Airlines, Pagcor, Asian Gems & Tourism Foundation, Rep. Tonyboy Floirendo, Galileo and Air Phililippines.

Other sponsors include Pearl Farm Beach Resort, Asya Boracay Resort, Asian Spirit, Ambassador Designate to Mexico Antonio Lagdameo, Abacus, Edison Ang of Rotary Dist. 3800 and Jaime Dee of Rotary Dist. 3800. Text voting partners were Globe, Sun Cellular, Smart, Confiance, Inc. and Caspian Wireless Technologies.

For information on any of the destinations of Hiyas ng Turismo, please call Women in Travel at tel. 851-0891.