Mythical Destinations in the Philippines

Aside from traveling and motorcycling, one of my favorite hobbies is playing video games. A couple of months ago, I celebrated the completion of my Project 81 quest by finally buying a PlayStation 4. I’ve since finished Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and loved exploring the massively beautiful world of Horizon Zero Dawn.

These games get inspiration from real-world locations as well as mythical lost cities. The Uncharted series takes players to places like El Dorado in South America, the lost city of gold; the mythical kingdom of Shambhala, and Iram of the Pillars, which is mentioned in the Quran. Horizon Zero Dawn reimagines real-world locations in Utah and Colorado in a post-apocalyptic future reclaimed by nature.

I really enjoy the open-world exploration part of gaming, searching for clues leading to hidden treasures, collecting all the artifacts scattered in various locations and stumbling upon unknown destinations.

Anyway, exploring these virtual worlds got me thinking of some of the fascinating urban legends, mythical destinations, hidden treasure and some interesting real-life spots known for folklore or those that have been forgotten and recently discovered in the Philippines. Here are a few that I’ve come across.

Invisible City of Biringan, Samar

Biringan is a mythical invisible city that is said to be located somewhere between Gandara, Tarangnan, and Pagsanghan in the large island province of Samar in the Philippines. The name Biringan means “The Black City” or The Invisible City in Waray, the local language, for “hanapan ng mga nawawala” – or where one finds the lost.

According to the website The Aswang Project (an amazing resource for everything related to Philippine mythology and folklore), Biringan is basically a realm of engkantos, mythical beings that live on a separate realm from humans. Some locals who have claimed to have seen the city describe it as a beautiful place with high-rise buildings and other magnificent structures equipped with advanced technology. The popular investigative TV show Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho has even done a feature on it.

According to local folklore, inhabitants of Biringan usually wear black clothes and eat only black food. Those who live there are said to look very similar to the local residents except they have no philtrum on their upper lip. 

I’ve personally been to Samar several times and have driven through the north-eastern section of the island and have not encountered anything that remotely resembles a city in that area. But then again, it’s invisible, so who’s to say it’s not there, right?

Not everyone can enter Biringan according to urban legends. You have to be invited there by a resident and it’s possible that you never return. But whether or not you believe in invisible realms and the supernatural, the island of Samar has proven to be one heck of a destination for adventure-seekers.

The cave systems in Samar are simply amazing. You could easily get lost for days inside the Underworld-like complex of Langun-Gobingob Cave in Calbiga. To this day, Pinipisakan Falls in San Jorge (in the vicinity of where Biringan should geographically be) is one of the most beautiful and magical-looking waterfalls I’ve ever been to in the country. It’s easy to imagine that the cave entrance behind the cascades hides some kind of fantasy world.

Another spot in Samar that could easily pass for a magical realm is Biri Island, with its out-of-this-world rock formations and surreal landscapes. It’s possible that Biringan could just be a misspelling, as there’s a city named Borongan on the Eastern side of Samar. There’s also the island province of Biliran accessible through Leyte.

Mystical Hidden City on Panay Island

Aside from Biringan, there’s supposedly another mystical city located between Capiz and Iloilo on the island of Panay. Somewhere between the towns of Dumarao in Capiz and Passi in Iloilo, urban legends claim that there lies a grand metropolis and the home of a Mongolian-looking tribe known as the Tumao. 

According to The Aswang Project’s research on the Mystical Tumao and the Hidden City of Iloilo, the “fairy city” was in the direct path of an old railroad that was constructed back in the early 1900s. The railroad route passed through the towns of La Paz, Jaro, Pavia, Santa Barbara, New Lucena, Pototan, Dingle, Dueñas and Passi in Iloilo and Dumarao, Dao, Panitan, Cuartero and Loctugan in Capiz.

Legend has it that a member of the tribe asked one of the engineers to avoid building the railroad track directly through their invisible city, which supposedly explains the crooked rail that winds around the station of Passi and Dumarao. Of course, engineers could just easily have been avoiding obstacles such as steep terrain or soft soil while constructing the railway, but who knows?

Like many of the old railway systems in the country, the railway in Panay Island has not been in use for decades and stations haven’t been preserved. Too bad, since I find abandoned railways and stations interesting too. Incidentally, I found the Our Lady of Snows Parish church in Dumarao hauntingly beautiful.

Vanished Island of San Juan

We’re all familiar with the legendary sunken city of Atlantis, but apparently, there’s also a ‘vanished’  island in the Philippines. Based on ancient maps, the island lies somewhere off the northeastern coast of Mindanao.

Identified as the island of San Juan (St. John), it was shown in maps to be larger than Bohol, as big as Panay island and completely detached from the massive Mindanao mainland. San Juan frequently appeared in more than a dozen 16^th to early 18^th century maps. It was known to Portuguese as the island of San: Joā through a 1537 portolan chart made by cartographer Gaspar Vargas.

The large island disappeared in subsequent maps, which led antique map collects to theorize that it shared the same fate as Atlantis and was “perhaps shaken by an earthquake or swallowed by the sea.” Others claim that the body of water was actually the Agusan River, which old cartographers drew dividing Mindanao and San Juan.

If you look at GoogleMaps today, the major islands that are detached from mainland Mindanao are Dinagat Island, Siargao Island and Socorro (Bucas Grande). While the old maps show a much larger island in the area, it could easily have been a mistake in scale by the original cartographer that got copied over the years in other maps.

If it existed, I’m assuming this island would probably have similar landscapes to Dinagat Island, Siargao or Bucas Grande in Sohoton Island, which offer some of the most amazing tropical landscapes and beaches in the country. The mystery of San Juan was solved by a cartographic board game developed by Antonio Pucini in 1665 which identifies the island as San Sio (San Siargao), or present-day Siargao, one of the top tourist island destinations.

Vanishing Mansion in Iloilo

Urban legends in the country abound about taxi drivers picking up passengers (usually women with long hair wearing all white) at night asking to be dropped off in large mansions, who just suddenly disappear. We’ve all heard the horror stories of the White Lady in Balete Drive and similar stories in places with lots of haunted houses.

In the town of Guimbal in Iloilo on Panay Island, you can actually visit a “Vanishing Mansion” along the highway. According to locals, a mysterious mansion sometimes appears at midnight, replacing the century-old Acacia tree seen during the day. According to local news reports, a popular story about the tree came from a taxi driver who dropped off a woman from downtown Iloilo City in the beautiful mansion in Guimbal. But when he looked around, there was only a tree.

Another story involves a man from Iloilo City driving a motorcycle who crashed near the acacia tree. While he said he was driving alone, another man driving behind him claimed to have seen a beautiful lady in a white dress as a back-rider. Creepy, right?

A lot of old trees (mostly Balete trees) are believed to be dwellings of nature spirits. The old beautiful acacia tree was in danger of being cut down, so as a way to preserve it, local officials constructed a statue of the white lady passenger and placed signs along the road pointing to the vanishing mansion, which has now become a town landmark and tourist attraction that makes for an interesting stopover along the road.

Bernardo Carpio Mountains (Montalban Gorge)

Bernardo Carpio is a legendary figure in Philippine mythology who is said to be the cause of earthquakes. Legend has it that he’s trapped in between two great rocks in the Mountains of Montalban. Some versions say he keeps the mountains from crashing into each other (similar to the Greek titan Atlas holding up the sky), while some versions say he is trapped and trying to break free. It’s said that whenever Bernardo Carpio shrugs, an earthquake occurs.

Today, Montalban is more known as Rodriguez in Rizal, a popular weekend destination for hiking and biking. The Montalban Gorge is an area between Mt. Pamitinan (426masl) and Mt. Binacayan (424masl) in Rodriguez. The area which hosts this legend is also home to the West Valley Fault System (formerly called the Marikina Valley Fault System), which offers a more scientific explanation of the earthquakes.

However, locals claim that you can still see Carpio’s footprints when you visit the place. Pamitinan Cave, a limestone cave in the foothills of the Sierra Madre mountain range near Wawa Dam was formerly known as the “Cave of Bernardo Carpio.”

The Mystic Island of Siquijor

There are rich stories and urban legends surrounding aswang in several places, including Antique and Capiz on Panay Island. But the most famous Philippine destination associated with sorcery is Siquijor. This small island province in the Central Visayas is reputed to be the home of witches, shamanistic folk healers and mambabarang (people who can cause affliction or death by supernatural means).

One of the major landmarks of Siquijor is the 400-year old Enchanted Balete Tree in Barangay Campalanas. Balete trees are associated as dwelling places for supernatural beings. In keeping with the theme, hexes, curses and love potions are popular souvenir items.

Siquijor is actually a place for ‘white magic’, with folk healers achieving legendary status. There are three types of healers: herbal healers, faith healers and bolo-bolo (water-and-stone) healers. Tourists now come to partake in spiritual and herbal healing for all types of ailments and witness healing festivals during Holy Week.

Yamashita’s Gold / Treasure

One of the most famous stories about lost treasure in the Philippines is Yamashita’s Gold, referring to the alleged war loot stolen in Southeast Asia by Imperial Japanese forces led by Gen. Yamashita during World War II. The treasure is believed to be hidden in caves, tunnels, underground complexes, and other underground places in the Philippines.

Maps drawn in a special code are said to show 172 “documented” sites around the country, including numerous smaller caches hidden by greedy officers or renegade soldiers. Rumor has it that between 4,000 and 6,000 tons of gold bullion were buried, along with gemstones and other precious metals, including silver and platinum. The treasure would be worth $100 billion today.

Japanese soldiers and prisoners of war were used to dig out tunnels and move the stash into the caves. Unfortunately for them, once the gold was transferred, the entrances were covered up. Usually, they exploded bombs at the openings, leaving the laborers trapped inside to die.

While the existence of Yamashita’s treasure has been largely dismissed by experts, the story continues to lure treasure hunters from around the world to the country. A number of war tunnels in the country have been converted into tourist attractions including the Japanese tunnels inside the Baguio Botanical Gardens, Malinta Tunnel in Corregidor, Dipnaysupuan Japanese Tunnels in Batanes, D’Japanese Tunnel in Davao City and the Ilagan Japanese Tunnel in Isabela, to name a few.

Lost Tunnels of Intramuros

Speaking of tunnels, have you ever heard of the Lost Tunnels of Intramuros? According to urban legends, it’s said that churches and convents within the walled city of Intramuros in old Manila used to be connected through a vast network of tunnels underneath the ground.

Under the cover of darkness, some friars and nuns in the 19th century Manila would use these passageways for their secret meet-ups and trysts. This is supposedly how religious people supposedly kept their romantic relationships under wraps without being judged by the rest of the world.

Dungeons in Fort Santiago

Fort Santiago, a citadel and defense fortress located within Intramuros, the walled city of Manila, built in 1593 is one of the country’s most important historical sites. While most locals and tourists are very familiar with the main fort and historical park, not many have explored the dungeons beneath the fortress yet.

While serving as one of the Spaniards’ main defense lines, the site had dungeons that served as storage for ammunition and gunpowder, which were later converted into prison cells. Tourists can now explore portions of these 16th-century dungeons in Baluarte de Santa Barbara. Since Intramuros extended their business hours starting February 2020, tourists can even go on night tours up to 10 pm, for a more creepy experience.

• Fort Santiago, Sta. Clara Street corner G. Luna Street, Intramuros, Manila.
• Open daily from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.. The dungeons are open daily from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m.
• Entrance fee: P75 for adults; P50 for students, seniors and PWDs
• For more information, follow Intramuros Administration on Facebook.

War Tunnels in Fort Bonifacio

Underneath one of the most bustling business districts, very near the busy roads of C-5 and Kalayaan Avenue are abandoned war tunnels. The 1910 Fort Bonifacio War Memorial Tunnel is a tunnel that was part of Fort William McKinley, a military base built by the US Military Government of the Philippines in 1902.

The tunnel alignment is now part of the Bonifacio Global City district in Taguig and barangays in Makati and is considered a historical site by the Bases Conversion Development Authority. In 2013, there were plans to develop this tunnel into a museum and tourist site, but sadly plans didn’t push through. As of 2019, the tunnels are not open to the public. If anyone knows how I can get in to explore the place for myself, please let me know.

Underground reservoir in San Juan City

El Deposito is an old underground water reservoir that was built by Spanish authorities in 1880 as part of the Carriedo Waterworks in San Juan City. Drawing water from Marikina River, El Deposito had a capacity of 15 million gallons and used to provide residents of Manila and surrounding areas with their water supply.

The reservoir sits right under the Pinaglabanan Shrine, historically known as the site where the onset of the Philippine Revolution through the Battle of San Juan del Monte took place in 1896. After years of neglect, the tunnels are now being cleared out and are set to open as a tourist site to the public by 2020. I can’t wait to visit it when it opens!

The Museo El Deposito (opened in February 2019) gives visitors an overview of the whole waterworks system and will serve as the entry point to the tunnels. The excavation was still ongoing in the area as of our visit in September 2019.

Don’t you just find these mysterious, offbeat and obscure places fascinating? If you know of similar destinations that people can easily visit in the Philippines, let me know.