Cabugao Gamay Island- The Most Photographed Uninhabited Island that make up the Islas de Gigantes - BEST SPOTS PH

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BEST SPOTS PH: A TRAVELER ON A JOURNEY

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Cabugao Gamay Island- The Most Photographed Uninhabited Island that make up the Islas de Gigantes

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 “Keep your face to the sun and you will never see the shadows.” - Helen Keller

As the sun gleams on my face, and the crisp fresh air of the ocean embraced me, a sense of excitement caught me off guard. Few meters from our sea vessel, I could see the most photographed island that make up the Islas de Gigantes.
The most photographed uninhabited island that make up the Isla de Gigantes
The sense of enthusiasm increases as we finally reached the docking point of this popular island. We landed on the island’s western shores at 10:33 in daylight coming over from Isla Pulupandan in roughly 25 minutes.

Cabugao Gamay as what the locals call it, is one of the fourteen islands that make up the Gigantes Group of Islands. It is located in the Northeastern coast of Panay. Located about two kilometers from the Island of Gigantes Sur, the Cabugay Gamay is the most photographed uninhabited island in Northeastern Iloilo and politically administered by the Municipality of Carles. The iconic island of Cabugao Gamay was ranked 14th in the list of 20 from the ranking made by Beautiful Destinations- the largest lifestyle and travel community on social media.

THE LEGEND AND ITS MEANING:

The name of the Island can be traced by the legend that lies within the Islas de Gigantes (Islands of the Giants). Accordingly, Cabugao Gamay means “small pomelo”, which symbolizes one of the offerings that became the island during the giant’s supposed wedding as the folklore speaks.
The iconic Cabugao Gamay Island
Seen from far distance, Cabugao Gamay’s peculiar shaped- two hills on both ends of the island linked by a coral white sandbar with several tropical trees such as Coconut, and Indian Almond trees also known as Talisay, is guaranteed to entice everyone's attention. The entire island is enclosed by tiny bleached-pebble sands surrounded by the inviting turquoise waters.

Upon reaching the shoreline, we couldn’t contain our excitement and was about to begin our journey on climbing our way up to the viewing deck, however we let other joiners to do it first. The trek uphill was used to be a bit challenging as one of our colleagues stated because of the natural rocky formation but wooden railings and several floorboards have been set up for tourists for an easy ascend. An interesting formation of Karst rocks of limestones and dolomites with sharp edges is somehow eye-catching of this island facing north of the open seas. At the other edge of the Cabugao Gamay is the larger chunk of the island, a rocky hill roofed with dense flora. At the peak of the viewing deck lies the defining feature of the Island, the iconic view that made the Islas de Gigantes a renowned destination. The observatory offers a great perspective of the entire Cabugao Gamay making it as part of a traveler’s journey.
Wooden railings and several floorboards have been set up for tourists for an easy ascend.
A few minutes, we found ourselves at the peak of the Karst rocks unable to separate the warmness of the upcoming noon time to that of our own excitement, then we acknowledged our solo photo opt, and had our group shot taken by the accommodating guide. Afterwards, I decided myself to descend to catch up the remaining period to do an aerial documentation while my CDO BLOGGERS colleagues continue their photo documentation.
CDO Bloggers' group photo
Then, after taking an aerial video clips, I noticed these attention-grabbing landmarks made up of smooth and uneven coral stones. A number of these cairns can be seen throughout the shoreline. According to the locals, these cairns are used to give their offerings, in return, to give them blessings during sea expeditions.
The attention-grabbing landmarks made up of smooth and uneven coral stones.

Inasmuch as we wanted to stay longer, a moment later, our guide called us to continue our journey to the next island- The Bantique Sandbar.

And I thought for a moment, “Seeing the vastness and remoteness of the Cabugao Gamay Island with my own eyes inheriting its splendid charm to the legend of the Islands of the Giants, is a remarkable experience- a truly tropical paradise.”
NOTE:
Our Iloilo Trip was made possible by AirAsia Philippines, and part of its Iloilo Inaugural Flight from Cagayan de Oro City.
Cabugao Gamay Island's view deck as seen from afar.
The iconic view that made the Islas de Gigantes a renowned destination
CDO Bloggers' group photo

37 comments:

  1. What a nice island to visit! Great photos and info. I took it to my bucket list:)

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    1. Hi! Thank you so much for the comment, and including this island to your bucket list. My experience going to Islas de Gigantes was really a remarkable one! Also, Philippines is blessed to have many beautiful destinations anyone could imagine. I hope you could visit not only this island, but the entire country as well. Cheers from the Philippines!

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  2. wow, look at that island, it is so clean, and has a white sand. It is really a picturesque island. Photos are really great capturing the beauty of it.

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    1. Thank you so much Laurence for the nice comment. Yes, indeed, it is a picturesque island.

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  3. Cabugao Gamay Island looks amazing! Crazy how many gorgeous islands there are in the Philippines that are uninhabited and open for exploration. Is this island close to Palawan? I've only been there.

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    1. Hi! Cabugao Gamay is one of the beautiful islands that make up the Islas de Gigantes and located in Iloilo, that's approximately 2-3 hours from the city proper. As of this writing, there is no direct flight from Iloilo to Palawan but you can visit the destination since there are direct flights from Metro Manila to Iloilo, and Metro Manila to Palawan either from Puerto Princesa, or Coron. Good thing to know that you visited our country. :)

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  4. Wow, these beaches, blue water, all the colors - looks so beautiful! I never knew there was such a place in Philippines (this particular island), but if I get to go there, definitely won't forget to snap some photos ;)

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    1. Hi! Yes, there is such a place like this. Actually, there are many places worth visiting in our country from white beaches to world heritage mountains, remarkable destinations to delicious foods, and locals are much friendly also, and accommodating!

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  5. The island of the Giants looks like a paradise forgotten by the humans. Is there any public place, like a restaurant, cabins?

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  6. can the sand get any whiter? this beacj is pristine and definitely a place to for us to visit soon!!

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  7. Wow, beautiful post and pics! I'd love to visit this island some day!

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  8. Great photos! I’m not familiar with these islands but I love reading about sunny places and sandy beaches now winter is here in Europe! Thanks for posting :)

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  9. That looks so beautiful! I had no idea about this place and looks like a fantastic beach to relax.
    Love your photos!

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  10. Beautiful photos! How cool to visit a deserted island and get to experience its splendor.

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  11. Lovely place. I can see now why it is most photographed Island.:)

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  12. Cabugao Gamay looks beautiful and I love your account of it - you bring it to life very vividly. I hope I can see it myself one day.

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  13. Interesting stones! Bloggers group looks great too :)

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  14. what a beautiful part of the world - this looks like such a fun trip - thank you for sharing.

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  15. The pictures are enough to convince me to visit there. The coral landmarks are so pretty. Great expedition

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  16. While reading your post and watching all photographs I could gauge the magical feel of this island.

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  17. I would love to see all these attractions in this amazing country. Thanks for sharing, through your blog I can see the beauty of this place that it's so far from where I live :)

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  18. Wow, I didn't realize this is the most photographed island. But after looking at your pictures, I can see why that's the case

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  19. This looks like a lovely island, but not sure it is really for me. Looks tooooo hot. I am living on the North of Europe...

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  20. What excellent tips! I would love to be in each and every one of these spots honing my photography skills!

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  21. Islas de Gigantes looks perfect place for relaxed holdiays. As it is the most photographed island with lovely blue waters, rays of sun falling on to your face, I am adding this to my wishlist. Those uneven coral stones landmark looks very unique thing here. Any story behind this or just for fun?

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  22. WOW, this place looks stunning. Those beaches look like the perfect deserted island getaway. Thanks for showing this to the world!

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  23. I love places which have a bit of history and legend associated with them. Your photos are stunning.

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  24. I can understand why it was ranked 14th- absolutely beautiful! Interesting with the stone creations too.

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  25. Looks good. Never seen this part of the philippines.

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  26. Since this was a press trip by Air Asia Philippines, I assume that the Gamay Island is in the Philippines?! I've never heard of it before - but it looks just Edenic! Here it's grey European November, so this island would be the perfect escape ;-)

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  27. This island looks like a true slice of paradise. I don't think I would ever leave. Thank you for introducing me to such beautiful place and heaven on earth.

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  28. This place is a little piece of heaven on Earth! The sand, the water, it looks so beautiful and peaceful!

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  29. THIS IS A GREAT POST. WOULD LIKE TO VISIT THESE BEAUTIFUL PLACES

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  30. I am not sure why these islands are less inhabited because they all look gorgeous with beautiful white sand. The photos look so beautiful and amazing.

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  31. What an incredible place the cabugao gamay island are! It is incredible to think that Mother Nature can create such a beautiful place.

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