The Province of Guimaras is one of the provinces that comprise Western Visayas or Region 6 in central Philippines. The island province is the smallest of the six provinces of the region both in population and land area. Before becoming a full pledged province on May 22, 1992, Guimaras was considered as a sub-province of Iloilo. Presently, the island province consists of five towns from the three original towns. These are Jordan (the administrative center), Buenavista (the oldest town among the five), San Lorenzo, Sibunag, and Nueva Valencia. San Lorenzo and Sibunag are the latest addition to the three original towns. The seat of the government which used to be located in Barangay Poblacion and Hoskyn along with one of the province's principal port is currently situated in Barangay San Miguel, all in Jordan town.
Guimaras island is known to most Filipinos because of their mangoes which are famed to be the sweetest in the Philippines or even in the world. In fact their main festival showcases primarily mangoes - the Manggahan Festival. That could be one reason why Guimaras is always visited by tourists both local and foreign. Actually, the province of Guimaras has a lot more to offer than that. Guimaras is now gaining wide acceptance as a popular sun-worshipper's paradise because of the fact that this limestone island province has numerous white sand beaches and even more numerous islands dotting its coasts. One of the most famous beaches of Guimaras is Raymen's Beach Resort or more popularly known as Alubihod beach. Most of the islands are found in the municipalities of Nueva Valencia and Sibunag while the beaches are scattered all along its breathtaking coast. Aside form the beaches, the province is also famous for their Trappist Monastery producing delicious take-home foods such as dried mangoes, mango-flavored barquillos, biscocho, and many other mango-flavored stuff. Due to the rich marine ecosystem of the island, several institutions have helped hands in preserving and protecting several areas along its coast.
The TINMR is under the protection of the DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources) along with the neighboring islets and Tandog island. One hectare of land in Taklong island was donated to the University of the Philippines - Visayas. This piece of land was used to build a research station for students and professors of the said university. Last April 30, 2013, I (with my classmates) went to TINMR (Taklong Island National Marine Reserve) to spend two weeks of field work in the protected island. We travelled from Iloilo City to Jordan using a pumpboat then rode a jeepney from Jordan to Sitio Luzaran, Barangay Lapaz, Nueva Valencia for about an hour. From there we hired a pumpboat that would take us to the island. The journey from sitio Luzaran to Taklong island is only about 10 minutes.
Guimaras island is known to most Filipinos because of their mangoes which are famed to be the sweetest in the Philippines or even in the world. In fact their main festival showcases primarily mangoes - the Manggahan Festival. That could be one reason why Guimaras is always visited by tourists both local and foreign. Actually, the province of Guimaras has a lot more to offer than that. Guimaras is now gaining wide acceptance as a popular sun-worshipper's paradise because of the fact that this limestone island province has numerous white sand beaches and even more numerous islands dotting its coasts. One of the most famous beaches of Guimaras is Raymen's Beach Resort or more popularly known as Alubihod beach. Most of the islands are found in the municipalities of Nueva Valencia and Sibunag while the beaches are scattered all along its breathtaking coast. Aside form the beaches, the province is also famous for their Trappist Monastery producing delicious take-home foods such as dried mangoes, mango-flavored barquillos, biscocho, and many other mango-flavored stuff. Due to the rich marine ecosystem of the island, several institutions have helped hands in preserving and protecting several areas along its coast.
The TINMR is under the protection of the DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources) along with the neighboring islets and Tandog island. One hectare of land in Taklong island was donated to the University of the Philippines - Visayas. This piece of land was used to build a research station for students and professors of the said university. Last April 30, 2013, I (with my classmates) went to TINMR (Taklong Island National Marine Reserve) to spend two weeks of field work in the protected island. We travelled from Iloilo City to Jordan using a pumpboat then rode a jeepney from Jordan to Sitio Luzaran, Barangay Lapaz, Nueva Valencia for about an hour. From there we hired a pumpboat that would take us to the island. The journey from sitio Luzaran to Taklong island is only about 10 minutes.
Riding a pumpboat (motorized banca/boat) in Ortiz wharf in Iloilo City heading to the port of Jordan in Guimaras island.
While riding the pumpboat...
After arriving in Jordan port, we rode a jeepney through the spectacular Guimaras roadside scenery.
One of the best stretches of the road from Jordan to Sitio Luzaran. Feels like the US wild west.
Now in Barangay Lapaz, it's only about 0.90 km to Sitio Luzaran.
Sitio Luzaran, Lapaz, Nueva Valencia, Guimaras
This is the front/main dock of Taklong Island where most bancas and pumpboats load/unload the passengers.
Another view of the place.
This building is the UPV Research Station in TINMR.
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This is the view from the back dock ideal for smaller bancas.
This islet is really cute, it doesn't have any visible plants growing on it but is the nesting site of numerous black birds.
A different islet.
A view of one the sandbars (tombolo) found in TINMR. This particular one is named Calaparan.
In the Calaparan sandbar (tombolo).
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Taklong island at dawn.
Guimaras is really a wonderful place to explore. There are a lot of other must-see places in the island. So next time you travel to Western Visayas, don't forget to stop by Guimaras island.
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