Matinloc Shrine

The shrine on Matinloc Island was built in the 1980s as a chapel to Our Lady of Matinloc, and it has been derelict for most of the time since - a concrete building with empty window frames and a bare altar, standing on a terrace above the water with a caretaker collecting a small fee at the door. It is not the building people climb for. Behind it, a path leads to a gap in the limestone and a scramble up the rock to a viewpoint on the ridge, where the whole of Bacuit Bay opens out below: the karst islands scattered across green water, the boats crossing between them, and Cadlao standing over the far side. It is the best land-based view on the El Nido circuit and it is genuinely exposed - sharp rock, no railings, a drop on both sides. The shrine sits on Tour C with Hidden Beach, Secret Beach and Helicopter Island.

What you actually see

• The empty chapel - the derelict shrine building.
• The rock gap - the scramble up behind it.
• The bay viewpoint - Bacuit Bay from the ridge.
• The karst islands - the scatter across the water below.

When to go

November to May. Tour C runs later in the day than Tour A, so the light on the bay from the viewpoint is often good in the afternoon.

Honest expectations

The scramble is on sharp limestone with real drops and no protection - shoes matter and it is not for everyone. There is a separate fee collected at the shrine on top of the tour price. The building itself is a ruin.

Nearby

Hidden Beach, Secret Beach and Helicopter Island are the rest of Tour C.