Bohol Geopark

The Hinagdanan Cave is one of the many wondrous karst caves in the Province of Bohol. This cave was accidentally discovered by a farmer while clearing his land. Stumbling on a hole in the ground, curious, he dropped stone and heard a splash. He built a ladder, “hagdan”, and went down to find the cave’s hidden beauty, hence the origin of its name Hinagdanan. It boasts of several stalactite and stalagmite formations and a clear lagoon that is about 10 to 20 meters deep. Aside from its awe-inspiring natural beauty, Hinagdanan also played a significant role in the history of Bohol. The cave was used during Second World War as a hideout by locals to escape from the Japanese Imperial Army.

A 7.2-magnitude earthquake that rocked Bohol on October 15, 2013 brought devastation everywhere on the island and some nearby island provinces. The shaking was the result of a demonstration of nature’s power that has been changing the face of the Earth for millions of years: uplift of blocks of land during movement along a fault. This time the coastal areas of Loon-Maribojoc were pushed approximately 1.5 meters upwards when motion occured along a new fault in Inabanga. What was once a portion of the sea bottom and an underwater reef was now thrusted above sea level, creating a newly raised marine terrace and shifting the coastline 50 meters seaward. This is the Maribojoc Uplifted Marine Terrace. It is declared as the Loon-Maribojoc Geologic Monument by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources under the DENR Administrative Order No. 2015-08. The geological monument covers 1.37 kilometers (137 hectares) of uplifted coastline within the towns of Loon and Maribojoc.

Older marine terraces can also be found inland as part of the limestones of Maribojoc Formation. They too were a result of tectonic uplift in the not so distant geologic past, proof of the immense power of nature to create ever changing landscapes.

The Alicia Schist which appears to be Cretaceous is the lowest formation in Bohol area and the Ubay Volcanics which appear to be Paleocene approximately 100-145 million years old are exposed in the eastern to northern Bohol. The entire basement complex is overlain unconformably by a 2000m thick sequence of Lower Miocene to Pleistocene carbonate and clastic sedimentary rocks and igneous units.

The uplifted marine terrace in Baclayon is a similar landform to the more recently uplifted marine terrace in Maribojoc. However, the terraces in Baclayon are much older. It was formed during the Pliocene-Pleistocene time (5 miion years – 10,000 years ago). Fault movement along the coast caused the uplift of formerly underwater reefs raising it at height above the sea and creating marine terraces seen at Baclayon. The three-step terraces there stand at 20 meters, 40 meters and 60 meters above sea level signifying at least three episodes of progressive tectonic uplift in the area. The Ancient marine terraces can be observed in the step-like quality of uphill roads that branches inland from the highway in Baclayon.

Princess Manan-aw cave is one of the numerous caves included in the Cagong-cagong cave system. It has a total length of 195.5 m, the entrance is measured to be 5.6 m. and width f 3.7m. The cave is carved out of coarse and reefal calcareous rocks belonging to the later Milocene Sierra Bullones Limestone. It has plenty of speleothems and underground river flowering inside the cave.

Aside from the fine white sand beaches in Quinale, the Cave Pools of Anda are becoming common destinations in the southeastern part of Bohol for adventure seekers. Due to the large percentage of land underlain by limestones, cave pools or basically limestones filled with spring water forming pools are common sights in Anda. Among the famous cave pools are Cabagnow and Combento, and the smaller Kaligoon Cave Pool, East Coast Cave Pool and Kalorenzo Cave Pool.

The area is underlain by the Middle Miocene Anda Limestone belonging to the Sierra Bullones Limestone Formation. Years of dissolution and weathering of this limestone body resulted in karst features like these caves.

Underlain by extensive calcareous rock unit, Trinidad municipality, located in the northern part of the island, is also home to a number of caves. The most popular of these caves is the Batungay Cave located in a forested area of Brgy. Santo Tomas, in the interior part of the town. Batungay is derived from the word “bato”, meaning rock, and “ngay”, meaning twins. Literally, it means that the cave is beneath two solid rocks known as Batungay Twin Peak. Inside the cave is a flowing stream of clear water and majestic stalactites hanging from the cave ceiling and stalagmites jutting out from the cave floor forming different shapes like chandeliers and curtains.

The cave is uniquely known as having designated habitats for some species and unique cultural practices. The “Langub sa Has” or the cave of the snakes houses some snakes in the cave. The “Langub sa Kabyaw” is a habitat for the bats, and is a rich source of guano or bat manure used as fertilizer. The “Langub sa Simbahan” contains magnificent stalactites that glitter in the dark, hanging from the ceiling like huge chandeliers in cathedrals. There is also the “Langub sa Binlanan” where the traditional healers or the “tambalans” prepare their medicinal herbs and do their oraciones or rituals. They leave some of the concoctions they made in the cave, along with some food as an offering to the “apo” of the cave. The tambalans can go through the cave’s canals to reach a cave in Ilihan, Alicia, in another town. Ilihan Cave is known to be a sister cave or Batungay.