Tourism Spot in Aklan

 Tigayon Hill

Tigayon Hill is the highest point of Kalibo. Trek or hike through The former secret sanctuary of the province’s freedom fighters and see the lush flora reflective of Kalibo’s natural wealth.  

On top of the hill, one gets a view of the length and breadth of the Aklan River, the town of Kalibo and its neighboring municipalities. Limestone formations are also found in the historic caves of the hill. 

Boracay island 

Culture

 Boracay has an extensive community life. Civic organizations as the Kiwanis and Rotary Club meet once a week and undertake many public activities. The Boracay Foundation, Inc. organizes also many activities.

 

Business Hours

Most businesses are open from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM weekdays and 8:00 AM till noon Saturdays.

Banks are open from 9:00 AM till 3:00 PM Mondays through Fridays. When banking in the Philippines, it is advisable to have your passport with you for identification.
The post offices are open from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM weekdays only. Local postage is PhP 4.00 for a standard letter and PhP 16.00 for letters to America and Europe. Stamps for postcards are frequently available from the Concierge Desk at most major hotels. The Philippines uses ZIP codes, please include them in addressing local mail.
NOTE: The Standard lunch hour is noon to 1:00 PM. Most businesses and government offices are closed.

Language

English is one of the official languages of the Philippines and there are no communication problems in English.They are the best English speakers in Asia. If your mother tongue is not English, you may have some difficulties in listening to Filipino English because of their strong accent.

Their language abilities depend on individuals and education background.Some people speak English as if they were brought up in USA.

Newspapers & Other Media

The newspapers in the Philippines have been called the freest in the world, as you will see for yourself, with more than 24 different morning papers to choose from, most of them in English. There is also a wide selection of magazines printed in English including Time, Newsweek and Asiaweek. In Metro Manila you can buy the Asian Wall Street Journal, The International Herald Tribune and USA Today.

In Boracay vendors walk around selling the Philippine Enquirer and other Filipino newspapers.

Television is "on the air" from early morning to midnight, showing American programming as well as local programming. The standard channels are 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 13, and 23. If you need more channels, most of the major hotels are with Cable TV bringing in TV programs from all over the world.

There is also AM and FM radio broadcasting with the pop stations primarily on AM in Filipino and the English language programs on FM.

Basang and Hurom-Hurom Cold Springs 

May 2009- Our plan was to visit the cold springs in Aklan. Our route was from Iloilo to Antique to Aklan. We stopped by at Lawaan, Antique to have our breakfast.

         Antique is the ideal place to have a roadtrip. The roads are beautiful and well constructed. After our breakfast, we  headed to Nabas, Aklan where cold springs are popular especially the Hurom Hurom cold spring and Basang spring. These cool places can be an alternative summer destinations.

           These summer spots offer the beauty of fresh water oozing from nature-hewn rocks and we had a chance to take a quick dip into its the cold, fresh, spring water. 

 

People coming from Boracay usually have sunburns. I personally hate sunburns. It’s on top of everyone’s list of the worst body pains one could get from excessive swimming at the beach and exposure to sunlight.

But fortunately for us, there are quite a few places we could visit in Aklan wherein we could chill out and relax from the fast paced life of Boracay. Our favorites are the cold springs of Hurom-hurom and Basang, located in the municipality of Nabas which is a good 18-kilometer drive from Caticlan.

You will reach the resort area in about 15-30 minutes from the main highway depending on the condition of the 2-kilometer rough road by the river beds of a white water river (right side of the road).

That river is actually the Gibon River and is one of the longest rivers in the country. It is said to stretch all the way to Pandan, Antique. During rainy days, when the current is strong, kids usually go on rafting trips using old make-shift salbabida (lifebuoys) with a bunch of their friends waiting downstream to catch them. It’s their version of white water rafting. We haven’t tried it yet but the locals say that it's really fun. I’d like to try that someday. I bet it’s better than paid rides. *eyes widen*

At Basang, there is nothing like enjoying the cold water while occasionally sneaking up behind our two companions who took charge of preparing lunch. Taking a few slices of bite-size, grilled salted pork and plunging back into the cold, free-flowing water is probably one of the best ways to spend a rainy get away from the city.

Going there during a rainy season had lots of advantages. One: It was freaking cold but we loved it. Even during summer, they say that the waters of both resorts are as cold as ice. The rains make the place even cooler. If you forgot to buy ice cubes for your drinks, improvise! Put your bottles of soft drinks into one of the pools and check it out after a few minutes. You’ll know what we mean.

Two: we had the place all to ourselves! There was no one in the resort, except for a few caretakers. You’ll have no problems renting lifebuoys and grills.

Basang Cold Spring has this shallow canal which supplies the cold spring water for the whole resort. Kids will surely enjoy riding on of the large salbabidas and make their way down to one of the smaller pools through an opening underneath a small bridge. We tried it and believe me when I say we felt like we were back in 5th grade.

Go there with your friends (anytime of the year except peak seasons) or maybe you and your family might actually end up having a private pool party. 

Correction – an awesome private pool party.