360 view of Caramoan on top of Mt. Caglago
This will be the first in the series about Caramoan. Since there are some people asking how to get there, this would serve as a simple guide.
Dutch travelers in the 1600s call this island as Guta de Leche, a name that used t describe the milk-drop stalagmites found at the Gota Beach port. Later, the Spaniards arrived and called the place Carahan, due to the nuerous sea turtles found at the beach at that time. It was later renamed to what is called today as Caramoan in 1687 by Spanish friar Francisco De la Cruz Y Oropesa.
To get to Caramoan which is around 501km from Manila, you have to get to Naga first. Cubao has buses going to Naga even straight to Sabang port. If you decide to stop first in Naga, you have to ride a Van to Sabang which is around 2 hours. Then from Sabang port, you’ll be riding a boat to Caramoan port, Guihilao which is about 2 hours. From Guihilao you’ll have to ride a jeep to the Centro which is about 30 minutes more. From there you can ask for lodgings available at the area. The Centro will be your Hub while at the area.
First interesting stop would be climbing Mt. Caglago in Barangay Tabgon. It is one of the tallest mountains in Caramoan and one of the easiest to climb as well. They said it has about 527 steps, which I didn’t manage to count, but once you get on top, the large statue of Our Lady of Peace will greet you. It has an amazing 360 degrees view of the whole Caramoan and it will serve as a preview of the islands you’ll be visiting. Oh yeah, going up you have to bring one sack which contains very few rocks (about ¼ filled) when going up the steps. It’s a tradition.
