Serial Tripper

One of our tour stops in Bohol was the Bilar Man-made Forest smack on the borders of the municipalities of Loboc and Bilar, about twenty kilometers from Tagbilaran City. Our trusty tour guide told us that all the trees of mahogany and narra were planted during the reign of Ferdinand Marcos, and is now protected by the government against illegal loggers. It’s an extreme violation to cut down trees in this area, and it’s a minor offense just to take pictures outside the designated area for tourists.

It’s an amazing sight from inside the forest: looking up, the thick foliage covers the sky and a dense collection of trees surround you from all sides. Just this sight for two kilometers straight: awesomesauce. Come to think of it, they say all these trees were planted thanks to a program that required students to plant three seedlings each prior to graduation. How many students had to plant trees here to come up with a two-kilometer stretch of dense forest?

When we planned for our Bohol trip, we wanted to find things out of the ordinary and this was one of the things that really made the trip to the countryside well worth it. It’s actually like the setting of a movie scene, like the one in Twilight where Jacob and the other werewolves run around either as fully “phased” wolves or, well, just plain, topless men.

I think the forest has already been made one of the basic tourist stops out there in Bohol. It’s best reached with a rented car or motorbike, and best appreciated by just standing there admiring the beautiful scene.

It’s actually like the setting of a movie scene, like the one in Twilight where Jacob and the other werewolves run around either as fully “phased” wolves or, well, just plain, topless men.

Bilar Man-made Forest
Loboc and Bilar Border, Bohol, Philippines