Calamay, ube and the south coast road to Jagna

A slow drive along Bohol’s southern coast, stopping for coconut-shell calamay in Jagna, purple ube, hot chocolate and grilled fish, with old churches and sea views between bites.

Area

Anda & the east

Start from

Tagbilaran

Distance

about 65 km to Jagna

Time needed

1 day

Best season

All year

Difficulty

Easy

Transport

Bus, jeepney, car or scooter

Tickets & rules

None

Why go

Some of my best days on Bohol were simply about eating. The coastal road east from Tagbilaran passes through a string of small towns, each with its plaza, church and market, and most of them with something worth stopping for. I would not plan this day around sights; plan it around snacks.

The goal is Jagna, a port town known across the Philippines for calamay, a sticky sweet made from glutinous rice, coconut milk and brown sugar, packed into half coconut shells and sealed with coloured paper. Along the way, there is purple ube in every form, hot chocolate thick enough to stand a spoon in, and kinilaw, fresh fish cured in vinegar.

The views are good too: the road clings to the coast for long stretches, with the sea on one side and green hills on the other, and towns like Dimiao and Valencia have quiet plazas where you can sit in the shade.

The story

Calamay is made by slowly cooking rice, coconut milk and sugar in big pans, stirring for hours until it turns thick and dark. In Jagna, families have made it this way for generations, and you can sometimes see the process if you ask at a local maker. The coconut shell packaging, sealed with red or coloured paper, has become a symbol of Bohol.

Ube, purple yam, is one of Bohol’s pride crops. The province grows many varieties, and a local variety known as kinampay is celebrated as especially fragrant. There is even an ube festival in Bohol, where farmers show their biggest tubers.

Peanut kisses, small meringue cookies shaped like the Chocolate Hills, are another Bohol speciality, sold in markets and souvenir shops all over the island. They are surprisingly good with coffee.

Sikwate, hot chocolate made from tablea, pure cocoa tablets, is a common breakfast in the Visayas. Paired with puto maya, sticky rice, and slices of ripe mango, it is the kind of breakfast that makes you want to linger.

Getting there

Buses and jeepneys run along the southern coast from Tagbilaran to Jagna and beyond. A hired car or scooter gives you more freedom to stop.

Jagna has a ferry port with services to Mindanao, so it is also a jumping-off point for travel further south.

A suggested plan

1. 7:30Breakfast of sikwate and puto maya near the market in Tagbilaran or Loay.
2. 9:00Drive east along the coast; stop at the church in Dimiao.
3. 11:00Snack on ube treats in a town market along the way.
4. 12:30Lunch of kinilaw and grilled fish near the sea.
5. 14:00Arrive in Jagna; buy calamay and wander the plaza.
6. 16:00Return west, or continue to Anda.

Where to stay

Jagna has a few simple guesthouses; most people make this a day trip from Tagbilaran or continue to Anda.

Good to know

• Buy calamay from a busy shop; it keeps for a while but is best fresh.
• Look for ube jam and ube pastries in bakeries.
• Ask locals where they eat; the best kinilaw is often at a simple roadside place.