A shroud of concealment and mysticism seemingly looms over Isla Gigantes, group of islands off the coast of Carles and Estancia in Northern Iloilo. If you ask most Ilonggos about Gigantes Islands, they will probably return your question ask you what that is. That’s because the nothern part of Iloilo is the least visited and only a few have dared to travel to those parts since it is not as accessible compared to the towns along the main highways of Panay Island. The few that have gone there, however, are rewarded with a surprising experience of witnessing beautiful sceneries of virgin islands, white sand beaches, colorful marine life, and extraordinary land formations, unchartered by the tourist crowd.
For now we’ll take a virtual tour of South Gigantes Island, also called Isla Gigantes Sur, one of two big islands that comprise Isla Gigantes, located approximately 25 kilometers northeast or an hours travel from Estancia Port by boat. A kilometer stretch of white sand beach, where a small village settlement is located, greets first time travelers to the island. On the right is a glimpse of the steep cliffs that characterize the southern coast of Isla Gigantes Sur.
There are no resorts or hotels in these parts. Vistors wishing to spend the night in the island usually ask permission from one of the locals to spend the night in their house. There is electricity in the island that runs only at nighttime. To go on a boat tour around Isla Gigantes Sur and visit nearby islands, visitors could rent fishing boats from the local boatmen.
The picturesque line of jagged cliffs in the southern part of Isla Gigantes is worth a visit. The scene could almost be mistaken to be in the exotic seascapes of Palawan or in Thailand. It is astonishing how the nature could have made these formation over centuries.
Climbing over one of the cliffs will take visitors to “Tangke,” a salt water lagoon formed by a surrounding wall of monolithic cliffs. Tourists can take a dip and immerse themselves in the serenity of nature.
Another exceptional place to visit in Isla Gigantes Sur is “Pawikan Cave,” which can be reached by conquering a steep cliff and entering a hidden forest on top. The trek to the top is not for the weak, the incline is around 45 to 70 degrees and 200+ft high, however, the effort is worth it after seeing the spacious caverns inside the cave with its otherworldly mood and rock formations. The cave is surprisingly well lighted because of several holes on the cave’s roof, which form an atrium of sorts.
Here’s our attempt to capture the mystical allure of Pawikan Cave:
There are still many islands that dot the coast of Carles. This is just one of them, there are so many sights to explore and discover in these parts. For those wanting to visit Gigantes Island for themselves, Estancia Port is the main jump off point to Gigantes Islands. There are no established resorts or hotels in the islands so visitors usually rent a room in one of the resorts in Estancia town proper and go to Estancia port during the day to find boatmen willing to take them on a boat tour.
21 Comments
WOWWW! Ang galinnggg!!! Speechless about Pawikan CAVE shots, Marcos!! I thought Tangke was enough for the day… may ara pa gali pa-aman! Hehehe. I saw Isla Gigantes at a distance en route to Sicogon Island in the mid-90’s and I never thought nga may ara gali nga mystic cave didto!!! Not until you revealed it here! Again, EXCELLENT job, Marcos! BTW, did you take video as well? The shots reminds me of my favourite nature shows that I watched on HDTV. Couldn’t help myself but switched to intense imagination mode while panning around inside the cave! Hehehe…Danay guid, can’t help noticing the guy posing in your last shot…si Vince ato?
Thanks Lee for the comment. I’ll make a post about Pawikan Cave next time, there’s a story behind it that the locals are very intrigued about. Unfortunately, no videos, I didn’t take a video cam. I wished we could spend an entire day to explore the cave, but oh well. It’s not Vince in the photo.
Now, you get me going here! Ikaw ato? Sirit na, who then?
iv been there… for 2 nights. island hoping…
tani naka saka kamu xa ila nga bukid. nami ang view. kta nyo tanan. damu pa ko pics…
there used to be a resort on balbagon island, a smaller island not far from gigantes. i wonder what happened to that resort kay katahum sang balbagon.
MARCUS, thanks for the pixs almost everyday i go to your site…i miss iloilo so much thanks to you…USN
ang ganda naman ng pawikan cave, musta pala ngaun yong sicogon islands?
wow are you a carleseño? wel I am.. I had pics in multiply http://ekrementosh.multiply.com/photos.. its quite scrambled ..hehe
ganda naman panalo yung cave
ifeature ko din to sa site ko :)
Hello there, my parents once civilized the the Gabi Place, we lived almost 5 years in that Island, had Fishing boats and helped alot of people as far as I remembered. Now am living 17 years already in Germany and was amazed seeing this place again. there were alot of entchanted stories about this place but real facinating. Those who wants to visit the place you can as some native folks of they know the Palma Family. what a surprize seeing this in Internet.
a nice Virgin Place but now I don’t know how publicly wellknow is the place.
i like your pictures! I am an employee of the municipality of Carles and in my own little way would like to thank you for showing your pictures about our town being a potential tourist destination. We are trying to promote our place so as to maximize the benefits of tourism industry. At present, we are introducing package tours. We also have a number of beach resorts that offers overnight stay. for inquiries our e mail address is carles_isle@yahoo.com
Thank you and more to you Marcos!!!
Hello there,
I miss the place so much!!!!as in!!!!I was the tour guide of Coral cay,balbagon island.It was the best job for me exploring the islands everyday.locals were sooooo hospitable and accomodating.lipay-lipay gid mga turista kay nami na ang place kag sang mga tawo.sa cabugao,gin saloman kmi ka clam kag mga pinana nga isda!”UNBELIEVABLE”NEVER HAPPENED TO MY FAMILY BEEN SERVED LIKE THIS”!!!!!!ang hambal ka english tourist with his family.gindala ko sila sa tangke daw indi na mag talakas mga kabataan nya asta na lng mag low tide na.anyway…more pa gid tani dugang ko ba.got to go to work na.thanks gid sa mga pictures.mabuhay!!!!!
I am very proud to seen those photos from the island where I been. I miss back home to that island. Been years that I wasn’t able to visit that place but have home and sister and her family living there still.
Anyway, hope one day that place will become one of the most famous attration for the tourist once there’s a portion that will be develop in that island as a beach resort.
Thank you very much for those photos and hopefully more photos soon. More Power and God Bless.
so much thanks for this feature. Its really nice to know that there are also other people aside from us locals who admire the splendor of the islands of Gigante. I’m pretty sure you went to our part of the islands, Gigante Sur and you stayed in Brgy. Lantangan (I am from Brgy. Gabi). Without a second thought, I can easily point which part of the island you took your pictures and I even know the two teens sitting on top of the rock (24th picture from top). They are the sons of Brgy. Sec. Arcaya.
I have been promoting Gigante in facebook and friendster through my accounts. I also took pictures of the islands and posted it but the the quality of your pictures are very good (pretty sure you have a high specs SLR), and also your angles are great. I can say that yours is the most fitting way to capture the beauty of our majestic place. For that, we will always be grateful to you.
I also recommend that in your next trip to Gigante try to visit Gigante Norte and its wonderful caves, try also a climb to the summit of Gigante Sur (we call it “the Boulevard”). Its approximately a 1.5 kilometer exhausting climb, but if you reach the summit, the view is very rewarding. There is also a plateau where you can set up a tent for an overnight stay, just be sure to bring portable light.
Thanks and more power…
Kuya! Im really sure it’s you! Haha! So happy our place got featured. But I am a lil jealous thou.. It took me 8 years to go back there.. :(
But Im looking forward to visit there next year! :)
Hi Marcos, your article is awesome! I’m getting ready to go back to Iloilo and I’ll definitely follow what you’ve posted here. I’m hoping that Dec. 8-10 will still be fine… no tropical storm. I’m very excited! I hope you can share who your guides are and if they have contact information, that would be great!
Wow, I’m so proud my hometown got featured! :)
Thank you ever so much for bringing our beautiful place into the attention of nature lovers. I got lucky enough I visited the Pawikan cave when I was 15. I didn’t regret my new slippers got ruined because of sharp stones on our way to that cave. :)
God bless!
is a day trip possible? if not, is there a place where backpackers can stay?
…wow…ang ganda aman po nun..
..yung sa pawikan cave?..ang galing…
..di ko alm na totoo pla ang wento about dun..
…sna mapuntahan ko yun..
..pti na rin yung tangke…
…congratsx po sa nagpose..
…ang galing mu poe…
wow… i born in carles but i never visit in gigante island… its really beautiful… sana makapunta ako jan even once….
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