Fun side of Cebu

September’s ‘Lakbay Lingaw’ campaign to rev up Cebu City’s visitor appeal

The wide-mouthed Satuhan Cave in barangay Sudlon Uno, Cebu City is a special site for the Moncado community, which has a small chapel inside. (Photo/ cebucitytourism.com)

Caves used as World War II shelters.

A botanical garden of local orchids and wildflowers.

Waterfalls, vegetable farms and fresh mountain air — all in the backyard that is the hillylands of Cebu City.

These lesser known attractions form part of a new Highlands Tour being introduced in a campaign by tourism stakeholders to rev up Cebu city’s appeal as a fun, vibrant destination for travel, heritage and shopping.

The month-long celebration “Lakbay Lingaw” to be launched in September  coincides with the international spotlight on Cebu.

Over 3,000 foreign and local delegates of the 2015 Asia-Pacific Cooperation are holding meetings in Cebu City from Aug. 22 to Sept. 11, a period organizers stress is also an opportunity to promote the host city on a global scale.

The fresh take on the city’s identity beyond Magellan’s Cross, Sinulog dancing  and urban trappings, however, is firmly staked on pride in being Cebuano.

The campaign’s name uses the local language. “Lakbay” is a Cebuano word for journey, while “lingaw” means “fun”.

New destinations are needed to make Cebu competitive as a travel destination, said Tetta Baad, chairperson of the Cebu City Tourism Council, who conceptualized Lakbay Lingaw as an annual celebration.

Cebu is already known abroad for beaches, the Sinulog Festival, and its warm, welcoming people, but the city itself needs to reinvigorate its offerings, said Baad.

READ: Eco-tourism push in midwest Cebu | Aloguinsan ecotourism groups trained to promote town

A new website, cebucitytourism.com, features the triple offerings – the Highland Adventures, Shopping in The Bag for weekend sales and shopping discounts, and “Pasiyo sa Kabilin” which means “heritage walk” in Cebuano, a stroll through landmarks in downtown Cebu City.

The project  has pushed efforts to rehabilitate iconic monuments like Fort San Pedro,  Plaza Parian, Magellan’s Cross and ancestral houses aside from developing new attractions, like the Cebu Highlands tour.

LESS THAN AN HOUR

The tour is one of eight package tours prepared exclusively for APEC 2015 delgates by the Department of Tourism.  The 5-hour to 6-hour tour in the uplands is  offered for groups of 20 delegates  at P4,260 to P8,736, according to DOT senior tourism operations officer Judilyn Quiachon.

In less than an hour’s travel from the urban center, visitors can explore the mountains of Cebu City, which occupy over 70 percent of the land area of the city.

Later this month, the CCTC in partnership with the private sector will open public access to waterfalls, caves, trails  and gardens for visitors with an eye for nature spots and adventure.

CAVES AND GARDEN

The tour includes two caves. The Bombahanan Cave in barangay Sudlon Dos has stalactite and stalagmite formations, and an underground river.

Baad said the water in the cave was potable, and that local residents would pump from the underground river, hence the name ‘bombahanan’.  During the Japanese war, local residents also used the cave as their hideout and shelter.

The Satuhan Cave in barangay Sudlon Uno has its own story. The wide mouthed cave has a small chapel inside used by the Moncadistas, a community of ultranationalists founded by WW2 five star general Federico Jayme Moncado.  Members keep vegetarian diets.

In barangay Cantipla, Betty’s Botanical Garden is a six-hectare spread of land dedicated to organic farming and the preservation of endangered indigenous orchids and wildflowers.

Managed by Betty Abellana, the farm has floral species no longer seen in the mountains. The site has a lookout point that provides visitors a clear few of the Tabunan pocket forest and far away, the shoreline of Camotes Island in northern Cebu.

The CCTC plans to arrange a Farmer’s Market every weekend of September, starting September 5 and 6. The ‘Tabo sa Bukid’, will be located along Canada Drive outside Ayala Heights.  On weekends, local farmers will display and sell their produce.

“We’re also asking barangay captains in the area to showcase cultural aspects that are beginning to disappear,” Baad said. “These include songs and dances. We also asked them to invite carvers or crafters to also sell their handicrafts to tourists.”

A permanent Farmer’s Market is still being planned and designed by green architect and urban planner Joy Onozawa.

This will be the ‘anchor’ for the Highlands Tour, said Baad.

Plans also call for developing the surrounding area for first aid and emergency area, briefing room for visitors and stock room for the farmers’ produce.

Baad said discussions are ongoing with the barangays to draft an agreement to protect and preserve the environmental health of the hilllylands of Cebu City.

“We don’t want urbanization to creep up the mountain areas,” she said.

“We want to be able to protect our natural environment and natural attractions as well.”