Bakhawan Eco-Park

Bakhawan began in the late 1980s as a community project to plant mangroves along an eroding stretch of Kalibo's coast, and the several hundred hectares of dense forest there now are the result - one of the most-cited mangrove restoration successes in Southeast Asia, and a working sea defence that has measurably reduced flooding in the barangays behind it. A bamboo boardwalk over a kilometre long runs out through the trees to the shore, passing through tunnels of arching roots with mudskippers, crabs and herons in the mud below, and ending at a viewing area over the sea. There is a small interpretation centre, a nursery where seedlings are still grown, and food stalls at the entrance selling the local mangrove-adjacent specialities. It takes about an hour, sits fifteen minutes from Kalibo airport, and makes a sensible use of the wait for a flight or a Boracay transfer.

What you actually see

• The bamboo boardwalk - a kilometre of walkway through the trees.
• The root tunnels - arching mangrove roots overhead and below.
• The mudflat life - mudskippers, crabs and wading birds.
• The nursery - where replanting stock is still raised.

When to go

Year-round, with drier walking from December to May. Early morning and late afternoon for birds and cooler air; high tide changes what you see in the mud.

Honest expectations

The boardwalk is bamboo and can be slippery and uneven in places. Mosquitoes are serious - repellent matters. It is a walk through trees, not a spectacle; the interest is in what the project achieved.

Nearby

Kalibo town and the airport are minutes away; Boracay's ferry port at Caticlan is about an hour and a half.