Culion Heritage

In 1906 the American colonial government designated Culion a leper colony and began shipping patients there from across the archipelago, by force in many cases. At its height several thousand people lived on the island under segregation, with their own currency, their own institutions and a rule separating children from parents at birth. Treatment with sulphone drugs from the 1940s changed everything; the colony was progressively wound down, the island became an ordinary municipality in the 1990s, and the World Health Organization has recognised Culion's role in the elimination of leprosy as a public health problem. The town today holds the Culion Museum and Archives in the old laboratory building - medical instruments, patient records, photographs and the colony's own money - along with the hilltop church built by patients, the old hospital buildings and a cemetery. It is a sober, well-run museum about a difficult history, and the reason to make the crossing.

What to look for

• The museum and archives - records, instruments and colony currency.
• The hilltop church - built by the colony's residents.
• The hospital buildings - the old medical complex above the town.
• The cemetery - the burial ground of the colony years.

When to go

November to May for calm crossings from Coron. The museum keeps weekday hours - check before travelling, since a wasted crossing costs a whole day.

Good to know

This is a place of real suffering within living memory, and the museum treats it that way - visit accordingly. The boat from Coron takes one to two hours and depends on weather. Accommodation on the island is basic.

Nearby

Coron town and its lakes are back east; Malcapuya and the southern islands lie on the route between them.