Gigantes is an island located in the northerm most part of Iloilo. I would like to call this island, the mini Palawan of Iloilo. It is part of the town of Carles and is a peaceful group of Islands in the Visayan Sea.
I went to Gigantes Island in Estancia Iloilo in 2015, but I just found out that I wrote a blog about my travel to the island in a notebook. Luckily, I found my notes today and just had the time to transcribe everything thru the net. So, here is my giant Gigantes experience.
THE MYTH OF THE ISLAND
Gigantes Island derived its name from the Hiligaynon word "Higante"(giant). Long time ago, archeologists found many giant coffins in different caves in Gigantes Island. The coffins measure about 7-9 feet long, which is unusual to be the size of Filipinos/Ilonggos. Gigantes is just a small island but has 50+ caves. Some caves are trekkable and most are not. The giant coffins were mostly found in Gigantes Norte. When your boat drop off the port(there is no port actually), you will see huge rock formations. In those rock formations, caves can be found. Locals believe that giants lived in the island, thus they called the island Gigantes Island.
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| Longon or Coffin |
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| Chinas believed to exist since Hahn Dynasty |
Joel Decano, tourism officer, as well as owner of Gigantes Hideaway Inn said that during early years, people from nearby places would travel to Gigantes Island to buy remnants of the giant coffins. They believe that coffins and bones in Gigantes are good amulets. Locals from Gigantes would sell parts of the coffins, which depleted the artifacs. Good thing, Joel was able to retrieve two remaining "longon" or coffins. Archeologists also found some chinas in the cave, which believed to exist since Hahn Dynasty. These two coffins and some chinas can be found in Gigantes Hideaway Inn, since Gigantes do not have museums.
Gigantes has more than 10 islets which includes Gigantes Norte and Gigantes Sur.
Here are the list of the islets:
1) Gigantes Norte
2) Gigantes Sur
3) Isla Way Dahon- no trees nor plants during summer
4) Isla Gigantillo
5) Isla Gigantuna
6) Isla Pulupandan/Isla jacket-jacket - you can see only 1 coconut tree in the island, before the typhoon Yolanda, there were 2.
7) Isla Gigantito
8) Isla Bulubudyong - you can walk during lowtide starfishes can be seen on your way to the island
9) Bantigue Sandbar
10) Cabugao Gamay(small)
11) Cabugao Dako(big)
12) Isla Balbagon
MY REMARKABLE GIGANTES EXPERIENCE
When I first set foot on the island, I know that I will surely have a blast. To cut the story short, my habal-habal driver/guide, as previously contacted by Joel, fetched me at the docking site of the island and advised me that we can still experience the sunset viewing in the lighthouse. Yes! The island has an old Spanish lighthouse located in Gigantes Norte. It is said that the lighthouse is made of corals and eggyolks, which made the pillars sturdy. During the Spanish colonization, locals were made as slaves and forced to build the lighthouse. The lighthouse is located in Sitio Parola(lighthouse) in Brgy. Granada. Nowadays, photographers said that this is the best sight for prenup and pictorials during sunset. I never missed taking pictures of the sunset and the parola.
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| Sunset in Sitio parola |
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| Lighthouse in Sitio Parola |
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| lighthouse from afar |
At six in the morning, the next day, my guide advised me to experience caving. To those who are adventurous enough, caving is one of the best activities and exercise in the island. We headed to Bakwitan Cave. It derived its name from the word "bakwit" meaning evacuate. This cave serves as an evacuation area for the locals during typhoons. According to my cave guide, there were 8 families who evacuated in the cave during typhoon Yolanda. Please be advised that you will have a different guide from your tour in the island and your caving.
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| The mountain where you can find Bakwitan Cave |
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| At the other side of the mountain |
At the entrance of the cave you will be welcomed by bone remains of the said giants, well there were only few left. Beautiful rock formations, stalactites and stalagmites can be found in the cave. It is believed that the cave has treasures based on the bone remains of Higantes-teeth were made of gold.What less known to them is that, the island itself is the treasure they have been looking for. According to the guide, cave were shining like crystals long time ago due to the reflections of the stalactite and stalagmite minerals. However, locals would cut them and sell it. Proper patrolling of the cave will help preserve the place. The cave has a good oxygen ventilation. Crawling and rock climbing skills are needed in some parts of the cave. Once you reached the peak/exit of the cave, which is near the top of the mountain, the full view of Gigantes Norte as well as the nearby islets will welcome you. It is not advisable to trek the cave during rainy seasons. There are only 3 caves that are trekkable by visitors and Bakwitan is one of them.
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| At the entrance of the cave |
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| Bone remains near the cave's entrance |
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| Finally at the cave's exit |
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| The view at the top of the mountain |
AN ORGANIZED ISLAND HOPPING
My tour guide woke me up at 5:30am to prepare for our caving. Caving needs a different guide. Caving started at 7:00am after drinking coffee in the resort. Caving lasted for just an hour. After that, we headed back to the resort to eat breakfast. After breakfast, I put on sunscreen and my tour guide prepared our packed lunch for island hopping. We left Gigantes Norte at 9:30am and fun began when we visited the lagoon.
The Tanke Lagoon of Gigantes Sur
Gigantes Sur is just 15-20minutes boat ride from Gigantes Norte. Along the way, you will see a lot of rock formations and caves. Tanke Lagoon is said to be an open cave. It is a best place to visit during high tide. Your guide knows what time is going to be high or low tide. The water from the lagoon comes from the sea entering a small hole at the entrance of the lagoon. You will see boulders of rocks inside. If the water is high you can jump from the cliff and feel the aquamarine water inside the lagoon. Other rocks were altered by typhoon Yolanda,but it never disappointed me. The lagoon is also home for wild monkeys. You will see them while taking a bath in the lagoon.
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| Rock formations in Tanke Lagoon |
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| Praying in Tanke Lagoon |
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| My attempt to cliff dive |
The Other Picturesque Islands of Gigantes
After staying in Tanke Lagoon for an hour, we headed to Isla Antonia. I played beach volleyball with the locals. Isla Antonia is a white beach best for picture taking, picknicking and swimming. We ate our lunch there. The island attendants will provide tables and seats and you can enjoy your lunch under the coconut trees. They also serve wasay-wasay(like oysters but sweeter in taste). It derived from the word "wasay"(axe) because the shell is shaped like an axe. Our packed lunch includes calamari,grilled fish and rice. After lunch, I took pictures at rock formations just few walks away from our table. I also snorkelled and fed fishes in the snorkelling area beside the rock formation. We stayed in the island for 2 hours. Entrance fee is just P20 per person.
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| Isla Antonia from afar |
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| Wasay-Wasay |
Next, we transferred to the nearby islet-Cabugao Gamay. I told my guide that I would like to go to Cabugao Daku but he said that it is a private island and they do not allow visitors. Cabugao Gamay has a white beach, with a hill on the west and rock formation on the east where you can take pictures of the entire island. Once you are on top of the rock formation, the view is breath-taking. You will see Cabugao Daku on the other side and the entire shoreline of Cabugao Gamay on the other side. The blue green color of the water is a testament that this island is blessed with natural resources. The islet also has cottages for visitors to rest. Entrance fee is P50/person, worth it for a very nice view.
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| Praising in Cabugao Gamay |
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We also went to a sand bar islet called Bantigue Sandbar. Your guide will tell you what time of the day will be best to go to the island. In our case, we went there at around 2:00pm during lowtide. We spent an hour resting in the place, snorkelling and feeding fishes in the shoreline. Yes, there are fishes in the shoreline, you do not need to swim farther to see them.it is also the best place to witness the sunset or the sunrise. There is no entrance fee in this island.
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| Bantigue Sandbar from afar |
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| Bantigue Sandbar |
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| My attempt for a jumpshot |
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| Jumpshot in Bantigue Sandbar |
