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Where to stay Other Amenities Related Destinations
Popular Destinations Bulusan Barcelona Sorsogon City Matnog Prieto Diaz Gubat Sta Magdalena Pilar Magallanes
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West Sorsogon
Mt. Bulusan
The Mt. Bulusan Natural Park, one of the parks in the country declared by the national government as such in order to protect its ecosystem and maintain its natural beauty, covers a complex of primary and secondary forests, mystical lakes, rivers and natural springs, and the still active Mt. Bulusan which has an elevation of 5,077 feet above sea level. The lake itself, which has a circumference of 2,006 meters, has an elevation of 2,084 feet upon the slopes of the volcano. There is a smaller lake higher up the volcano called Lake Agingay. The tragic love story of Bulusanand Agingayis an interesting local folk legend. The Bulusan Mountain Lake is a favorite of visitors who want to commune with nature, with a concrete pathway rimming the lake, affording the visitor a pleasant and serene, leisurely nature walk The Park complex is a sanctuary for rare flora and fauna. Eager mountaineers regularly scale the volcano up to its crater and marvel at the ancient, moss-covered trees, giant ferns and rare wild orchids that they see on their way to the peak of the volcano. __________________________________________________________________________________________ Rizal Beach Resort
This long, wide white sand beach is located in Gubat town, just 25 minutes ride by car from Sorsogon City. It is a favorite picnic destination for locals and visitors. There are now two resort hotels along the beach, offering air-conditioned rooms, including restaurants, function halls, beachside cottages, and souvenir shops. __________________________________________________________________________________________ San Mateo Spring
Located in Barangay Monbon, Municipality of Irosin, the resort, which has dormitory-type accomodations, including poolside picnic cottages, shower and dressing rooms, features swimming pools with hot to tepid water, and cold spring water. Soaking in the hot water pool is soothing and relaxing, and is believed medicinal. The hot spring water flows from the Bulusan Volcano since the resort is located at its foot. __________________________________________________________________________________________ Mapaso
Mapaso means “hot”. The spring water in the swimming pool here is a real hot bath. In fact, the pool can be seen to emit thin, whispy smoke. But a person can soak in the volcanic spring water for as long as he wants. The spring water is soothing and relaxing to the body. It is also believed to banish many types of skin problems. Available around the pool are picnic cottages. This hot spring is also in Irosin town.
__________________________________________________________________________________________ Irosin Hilltop Church
Irosin’s old Catholic church sits atop a hill situated right in the center of town, affording churchgoers and visitors a panoramic view of the town and the surrounding countryside beyond, including the peak of Mt. Bulusan, which, at this vantage point, appear almost near enough to grab. The church can be reached via a hundred-step concrete stairs going straight up the hill until one reaches the massive 2-door entrance into the interior of the old church at the top of the stairway. __________________________________________________________________________________________ Masacrot Falls
Masacrot is Bikol for “tart”, which is the taste of the spring water that flows into a man-made earthen swimming pool. The spring water in the place is believed to be natural soda water flowing from nearby Bulusan Volcano. There are picnic cottages along the sides of the pool, including a store where picnickers can buy food and drinks. The water here is believed to be medicinal or curative. __________________________________________________________________________________________ Palogtok Falls
It is a pleasant, leisurely 20-minute walk through rolling hills carpeted with green grass, under a canopy of tall coconut trees, as one steps off the Bulusan road down to the place. At the site, one finds a man-made earthen swimming pool where the gurgling water flows from just a few feet up the hillside. It is actually just a mini-falls, but the cool spring water is sweet, refreshing and bracing. Available alongside the pool are picnic cottages. __________________________________________________________________________________________ Coastal Environment Site
Prieto-Diaz was the recipient of the 1998 Best Community-Based Coastal Resources Management Program Award given by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), thus making it the CEP Model Site, or the show window of activities under the program. Covering 11 barangays, the Prieto-Diaz site, with jump-off base at the Sabang Beach Resort, which also offers white sand beach and beachside picnic cottages, now showcases 112 hectares of natural mangrove forest, 267 has. mangrove plantation, the widest stretch of seagrass with 836 has. and tidal/mud flats of 1,200 has., 800 has. of protected coral reefs, and a marine sanctuary just 2 kilometers from Sabang Beach. The program also maintains a mangrove nursery. Just across Sabang Beach is the mangrove plantation featuring a wood and bamboo canopy walk. It is a haven for marine biologists, environmentalists, and people interested in coastal resource management and protection. Students from different parts of the country regularly come to the site to study how a coastal resource program is maintained. __________________________________________________________________________________________ Nagsurok Cave
Nagsurok Cave is so named because one literally has to crawl, or “surok”, on all fours to get into the interior of the cave. The entrance into the cave allows only one person at a time, who must crawl in feet and butt first because the entrance slides down, ramp-like. But it is cavernous inside, with an underground river that snakes through the whole long length of the cave. According to local legend, it was here where the giant Mampak bird squeezed in to hide from the irate people of the area. Legend has it that the Mampak, long before the coming of the Spaniards, had been preying on the people of what are now the towns of Prieto-Diaz, Gubat, Barcelona, Bulusan and Irosin. With every visit of the Mampak, the people would tremble and cower in fear because it would mean another human sacrifice to appease the insatiable appetite of the Mampak for human flesh. There is another cave nearby, called “Pinanaan”, meaning shot with an arrow. It was here, according to legend, where the people cornered the fearsome giant bird and rained arrows upon him, resulting in his getting wounded, but the evil bird still managed to escape. The are other caves in the other adjacent towns, most of them somehow connected.with the legendary story of the fearsome giant Mampak. These caves are just waiting to be explored. __________________________________________________________________________________________ Barcelona Church
The old Barcelona Church, built in the 19th century by the Spanish colonizers, is perhaps the most well-preserved old church in the entire province, although there are already some alterations in its interior. The thick stone walls of the church, including its bell tower, are the original walls, still relatively intact and well-preserved. Fronting the church, facing the sea, are the ruins of a stone structure that was then known as the casa tribunal and baluarte, or fort, and a schoolhouse made entirely of stones. During the Spanish period, it is believed that construction of stone structures used beaten egg whites mixed with tuba, the native coconut wine, and lime as binder. The huge slabs of stones were taken from the sea and arranged on top of each other to create a wall. Old folks also say that the place was called Barcelona by the homesick Spaniards because the place’s topography reminded them of Barcelona of Spain. __________________________________________________________________________________________ Because of its shallow waters and coral reefs teeming with marine life, the place is ideal for snorkeling. On its beach front, the Philippine Tourism Authority built several concrete picnic cottages, including a store and canteen now ran by a local community-based cooperative. Across the road is a resort hotel offering air-conditioned rooms and a swimming pool. The resort is located just off the road as one enters the Bulusan poblacion from the town of Barcelona.
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