Sagbayan

Sagbayan Peak is a mountain resort and recreation center located in the town of Sagbayan, about 45 miles northwest of Tagbilaran City. Offering a 360 - degree perspective view of the famed Chocolate Hills plus the distant blue sea separating Bohol from the island of Cebu, the place has captured the interest of the nature loving tourists.

10 miles from Carmen's Chocolate Hills Complex and 1-1/2 hour drive through scenic rice fields, historic towns, coconut and banana groves from Tagbilaran, the resort sits on a five-hectare property suited on a mountain top at the cool mountain town of Sagbayan, Bohol. Compared to the Carmen complex, the resort is more spacious and a whole lot less crowded, with ample parking space for vehicles.

The resort offers many facilities for its guests. Th first facility that you will pass by upon entering the resort is an open-sided chapel. A short trip thru a scenic landscape will bring you to the wide parking area and entrance of the park, where one has to buy P10 tickets to enter.

Going up a wide flight of stairs, one reaches a plateau where you are greeted by a life-size dinosaur known as T-rex. The dinosaur is 19 feet in length and 10 feet tall and really fearsome to look at. At the foot of the stair leading to the pavilion is Pizza Man with his funny grin.

Other cartoon characters are scattered around such as Duffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, Lola, Marilyn Monroe, Donald Duck, Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs, Lion King, Tiger and the other dinosaurs. The cartoon figures give life to the place and are a joy to look at. The kids surely love playing and running around them.

The covered pavilion is provided with tables and chairs where quests can dine and take their snacks. Refreshments are offered at the counter situated at the side of the covered court. Cafe' Baudillo is set in front and at the rolling end of the mountain with sliding glass doors. The Cafe' is air-conditioned and geared for fine dining and overlooks the butterfly dome and the viewing deck in the distance. Room accommodation are available for guests.

A high-powered telescope is on the pavilion's deck. With a 10-peso coin, one can view the Cebu City skyline across the sea for a minute or two.

A few steps down, from Cafe' Baudillo, is th butterfly dome which houses about 18 species of these beautiful winged creatures. Flowering plants augment the inside of the dome with a very big man-made butterfly gracing the center.

Down a flight of stairs and slowly going up a small hill, you will arrive at a massive viewing deck that gives a 360 degrees view of the surrounding landscape including the Chocolate Hills, the sea, and the Island of Cebu. The view here is spectacular and awesome making some mutter a few words of thanks to our heavenly creator for such a grandeur.

How to get there

"For hire" vans are available from Tagbilaran City, at the Dao terminal; and from the town of Tubigon, fronting the municipal building. Following the Tagbilaran- Tubigon- Clarin route, partially on the way to the town of Nahawan, one will see a junction road with a sign indicating the way to Sagbayan. Sagbayan is way up thru a winding road to a point which is more than 900 feet above sea level. one passes by lush vegetations, developed and tilled lands, and common houses of the townfolk. One also sees the shorelines of Tubigon and the vast expanse of water with the silhouette of the island of Cebu across it.