Part 12 of the Libotero Bohol Series
DAY 2.
From Alburquerque, Bohol, we headed back to Panglao Island to our next destination, the Hinagdanan Cave.
The Hinagdanan Cave is the most popular of among more than a thousand caves scattered all throughout the province of Bohol. The main reason might be because it is the most accessible and easiest to navigate. Located in Barangay Bingag, Dauis, Bohol, the cave is very much accessible as it has a parking area just within the cave complex. If you don’t have your own vehicle however, tricycles from Tagbilaran can bring you to the intersection on the main highway and you will have to walk at least a kilometer to reach the cave.
The area immediately surrounding the Hinagdanan Cave has been developed to feature a flea market, tourist ‘pasalubong’ shops, a tourist assitance center and some food stalls.
It has a minimal entrance fee of P15.00 per head.
During our visit, we had to wait on a queue for a few minutes as the cave is relatively small and only 20-30 persons can be accommodated at a time. The Hoyop-Hoyopan Cave in Camalig, Albay is much, much larger.
The limestone cave’s centerpiece attraction is a lagoon. Prior to it becoming a tourist destination, locals already enjoyed the lagoon and made it into a swimming pool. Eventually, a set of stairs or “hagdan” made of concrete was built down a small hole at the side of the cave thus the name, Hinagdanan Cave.
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The swimming pool. (no tripod = blurred shot =( )
Numerous birds and bats reside inside the cave and where else will they excrete their dung? 
For that reason, swimming is not anymore advised.
The entrance to the cave is narrow, steep and has low vertical clearance. Only one person at a time can enter and exit. For that, we entered slowly and held the rounded steel bars which served as railings tight.
The steps were really slippery as they were wet due to energetic carefree kids going up and down to/from swimming in the ice cold waters of the lagoon.
Dad gamely posed for the camera
As we entered the cave, we really had to blink a lot to adjust with the lighting of the cave. It’s not at all dark though as lamps have been installed on strategic areas.
While exploring the cave, we were amazed by the stalactites and stalagmites and the amazing rock formations but we were very much disturbed by the awful smell of pee. Locals told us that the offensive smell might have been a mix of human urine plus bird and bat waste. LOL. But dear humans, please do not act like dogs! Hinagdanan Cave has well designated restrooms ‘ya know..
The cave is really small. We got to explore the whole cave, which was just about 100 meters long, for not more than 10 minutes. But on our way out, we did not fail to notice this…
What’s this?!
The Hinagdanan Cave has unfortunately been vandalized. Who in the right mind would do such thing? 
Such action is irreversible but the best thing we can do is to help in preventing such thing from happening again. Let us not degrade our caves as these are our only connections with the prehistoric past. This should also apply to caving: “Take nothing, but pictures. Leave nothing, but footprints. Waste nothing, but time. Bring nothing back, but memories.”
(…to be continued)
