Heritage Tour of Southern Cebu

What to do with a few days in Cebu? I had already seen a bit of Cebu City so I decided to take another popular tourist trail in the island – a heritage tour of Southern Cebu (particularly, its eastern coast). I took the bus to Boljoon, 2 hours south of the Cebu City, and then made my way back by hopping to each town/city along the way. A majority of Cebu’s towns and cities still have its old Spanish-colonial churches still intact. I was surprised to have discovered some of the most beautiful churches in the Philippines I’ve seen so far.

Southern Cebu Heritage Trail

I had slept during the whole bus ride from Cebu City and awaken when we were on the highway between Alcoy and Boljoon. The coastal highway winding at the edge of rocky cliffs had an amazing view of Cebu’s calm blue waters. After the last bend approaching Boljoon Town Proper, my jaw dropped at the sight of the Boljoon Church and Convent. It’s now one of my favorite churches in the Philippines. Not only was the structure itself beautiful but its setting at a natural cove bordered by verdant hills and the seaside promenade made me “shutter happy.” Unlike the Churches in Iloilo, the ones in Southern Cebu seemed to be a part of an integrated complex along with a few of the most important buildings of the town and enclosed with fortress-like walls.

Boljoon Church – Nuestra Senora del Patrocinio Parish

Boljoon Coast

Boljoon Watchtower

Alcoy Church – St. Rose of Lima Parish

Dalaguete Church – San Guillermo Parish

Argao Church – San Miguel Archangel Parish

Argao Municipal Hall

Argao Torta at Chitang’s

Sibonga Church – Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Zaragosa Parish

Carcar Church – Santa Catalina de Alexandria Parish

Carcar Old Houses

Carcar Gazeebo Rotunda

San Fernando Church – San Isidro Labrador Parish

Naga City Church – San Francisco Parish

Mingalanilla Church – Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish

Pardo Church, Cebu City – Santo Tomás de Villanueva Parish

Cebu City

In Cebu City, there were still a lot of places I haven’t experienced yet so I made sure to take them off my Cebu Travel Wishlist. I went to Colon district, which is the heritage core of Cebu City. For some downtime, I joined a few of my friends for food trips and a night out around a few places in the city like Asiatown IT Park, Mango Square, and Banilad area. Before my flight back to Iloilo City, I explored an alternative way of commuting to the Mactan-Cebu International Airport from Cebu City by riding a ferry to cross the Mactan Channel (instead of going over the bridge).

Mactan Shrine

Cebu City Hall

Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral

Crown Regency Tower

The Walk at Asiatown IT Park

Cebu City – Mactan Ferry

Muelle Osmena, Lapu Lapu City Ferry Port

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"Heritage Tour of Southern Cebu" is part of the Southern Cebu Roadtrip (2 days) series