Lake Danao National Park (Ormoc)

Lake Danao is considered as Ormoc City’s main natural attraction. This violin-shaped lake on the mountains of Ormoc was previously named Lake Imelda but was changed to Lake Danao Natural Park afterwards. It is covering an area of 148 hectares and is about 700 meters above sea level. The lake that also includes the Amandawin mountain range is 18 kilometers northeast of Ormoc City, half an hour drive along the Milagro – Lake Danao and San Pablo – Tongonan roads.

According to experts, this lake is volcanic in origin like the popular Taal Lake in Tagaytay City. It is a depression produced by the Leyte Central Fault, an active fault passing through the lake area in N-S direction. Most rock formations that surrounds the lake are andesitic volcanic rocks. At more or less 700 meters above sea level, Lake Danao lies on an altitude similar to Tagaytay, making the area cooler than the average Philippine temperature.

HOW TO GET THERE

Via Boat/Fast craft from Cebu City. If you are from Cebu City, you will have to travel to Ormoc City via slow boat for P430/head or fast craft for P800/head. There are 4 companies operating from Cebu City to Ormoc: Cebu Ferries, Weesam Express, Super Shuttle Ferry, Roble Shipping, Supercat.2Go Travels, Lite Shipping, Ocean Jet with a total of more or less 35 trips per week:

Going to Lake Danao from Ormoc City Proper. You will witness the serene and beauty of the lake by traveling for about 30 minutes to one hour from the city proper. A terminal for jeepneys and multicabs bound for Barangay Lake Danao can be found near Ormoc City Public Market, just across Ormoc City Port. If you want more fun and adventure, you may also opt to ride a habal-habal from Ormoc City. The fare is from P25 – P40 pesos.

 

San Juanico Bridge (Tacloban)

The San Juanico Bridge is the longest bridge in the Philippines, with a length of 2 km. It crosses the San Juanico Strait, bridging the islands of Samar and Leyte. It is also known as the Marcos Bridge, it is said to have been presented as a Gift and “Testimonial of Love” by the Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos to the first lady, Imelda, a native of Leyte.

It connects Tacloban City on the Leyte side and Santa Rita town on the Samar side. It offers many picturesque views, especially of the San Juanico Strait with its thousand whirlpools as well as the islets of the province. It is the narrowest strait in the Philippines & separates the islands of Samar and Leyte. At its narrowest point, the strait is only 2 km wide.

It is approximately 10 minutes from downtown Tacloban City and is accessible by passenger jeepney, bus, motorcab or private vehicle. Construction on the $21.9 million Bridge was started in 1969 and completed four years later.

How To Get There

Outside Tacloban Airport, ride a jeepney with the signboard “Downtown Imelda”. This goes straight to the new Tacloban Bus Terminal for the fare of Php50.

At the terminal, look for a bus or jeepney bound to any destinations in Samar: Marabut, Basey, Guian, etc. All these will pass by San Juanico Bridge. The bus ride costs less than Php20 while travel time is approximately 20 minutes.

Leyte Landing Memorial (Palo)

The MacArthur Landing Memorial National Park (also known as the Leyte Landing Memorial Park and MacArthur Park) is a protected area of the Philippines that commemorates the historic landing of General Douglas MacArthur in Leyte Gulf at the start of the campaign to recapture and liberate the Philippines from Japanese occupation on 20 October 1944. This event led to the largest naval battle of World War II and Japan’s eventual defeat and surrender after almost three years. The war memorial is located in the municipality of Palo on Leyte island in Eastern Visayas and is one of the region’s major tourist attractions. It was declared a national park on 12 July 1977 through Letter of Instructions No. 572 signed by President Ferdinand Marcos.

The park is the site of the annual memorial rites and reenactment of the historic landing attended by local and foreign dignitaries together with war veterans and their families. In November 2013, the memorial was damaged by Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) with one of its seven statues knocked from its base. It was immediately repaired by the government and the statue of Carlos P. Romulo was restored within twenty days with assistance from the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.

 

HOW TO  GET THERE 

From Tacloban City ride the jeep going to Baras via Government Center and ask the driver to drop you off at the Macarthur Landing Memorial Park. Fare is P12.

An alternative route is from Tacloban City ride a multicab going to Campitec and tell the driver to drop you off at the Government Center (P10), then ride a pedicab to the Macarthur Landing Memorial Park (P10).