JVR’s ‘Island in the Sky’

Talisay City Mayor Johnny V. delos Reyes shows his mountain resort in Balamban town. (CDN Photos/Tonee Despojo)

Pine trees line  the walkway of the Island in the Sky, a 15-hectare mountain resort  owned by Talisay City Mayor Johnny delos Reyes in barangay Gaas, Balamban town in midwestern Cebu.

The resort is located a few kilometers away from Ayala Heights in Cebu City.

Visitors can get there by riding a van-for-hire (V-hire) at the Ayala Terminal for an hour-long trip at P100 fare.

Or one can take a  motorcycle-for-hire (habal-habal)  for a faster trip and negotiated fare.

Along the way, visitors can stop by roadside stalls to buy freshly picked fruit and vegetables  along the Transcentral Highway.

Entrance fee in the resort is P50 for adults and P25 for kids.

Low temperature
What first greets visitors is a  500-meter-long multi-colored wooden hanging bridge that one must cross to enter the resort.

Midway down the bridge, it actually sways to and fro.

The hanging bridge in the Island in the Sky. (CDN PHOTO/ TONEE DESPOJO)

At the end, visitors are rewarded with the sight of cottages and a small strawberry farm.

There are cottages for daytime picnics and cottages for guests wishing to stay overnight.

Sometimes a thick fog lowers the temperature to a cool 20 to 25 degrees Celsius evoking  memories of Baguio City, one of the country’s premiere summer destinations.

Delos Reyes said the temperature gets even cooler  during the rainy season.

Walking distance
“When it’s very warm in the urban areas, people  want to go up to the mountains  and find a cooler place to stay,” he said.

The hanging bridge is built about 200 meters above  the ground with  thick metal cables on both sides which visitors could hang on to especially when the bridge starts to swing.

The 15-hectare resort  has  a pool for  kids and another for  adults, as well as an improvised  cable-car.

Within walking distance is Cebu’s first Adventure Café that  offers zip-line rides and a vertical wall for wall climbers.

Good view
The cable-car ride gives visitors a good view of the coastal waters off Balamban.

For P150 per person, one can head to a nearby hill.

The resort’s makeshift cable-car ride. (CDN PHOTO/ TONEE DESPOJO)

Since the cable-car’s route takes visitors above the trees, passengers also have a good view of birds flying from one tree to another.

The return trip uphill gives a good view of the mountains of Balamban.

After a brief tour, guests can take a dip in the swimming pool.

Swimming pool at the Island in the Sky

Dream
Since the resort is located in a protected area, they have a spring which they use for their water source.

Delos Reyes said he used to dream of owning his own mountain resort.

In his youth, delos Reyes helped manage a Dipolog resort owned by his uncle William Villaester.

He worked on landscaping and identifying the infrastructure needs of his uncle’s resort.

“At first, I thought it was impossible for me to have a resort for myself.  But God saw that I really wanted to own one and he helped me own one,” delos Reyes said.

Panoramic view
In 2000, delos Reyes said he passed by barangay Gaas on his way to nearby Asturias town to bring home a 17-year-old patient whom he bailed out from the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center.

When he passed by the area, delos Reyes said, he went down from his vehicle for a breath of fresh air and a clear view of the vast forest area in front of him.

“A very thick cloud formation was within eye sight and the tip of the mountain was very visible from where I stood as if there was an island in the sky,” he recalled.

Delos Reyes said he started to acquired the 15-hectare property.  He developed seven hectares of his property into a mountain resort.

“I fell in love with its panoramic view. Island in the Sky became the first mountain resort in barangay Gaas,” he said.