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Region 8: Eastern Visayas

Tour Itinerary

NORTHERN SAMAR | Eastern Samar | Western Samar | Leyte | Southern Leyte

Tour: Northern Samar

Northern Samar is accessible by land or air.  The Pan Philippine or Maharlika Highway links Samar to Luzon.  Buses leave Metro Manila for Samar and Elite on a daily basis.  An airport is located in Catarman, where regularly scheduled flights land. Within Samar, local bus, jeepneys and tricycles link towns.

SITE

HERITAGE FEATURES
PALAPAG

Scene of Sumoroy revolt,

church and fort in ruins
Catarman Visita of Palapag until 17th century?  Church after 1866
Bobon 1863 town founded
LAUANG

Visita of Palapag until 18th

Century, Church and fort
Catubig Jesuit mission in 1597, transferred to new site, old site called Las Navas
CAPUL ISLAND Fortified church before 1768, watchtower, small chapel

Northern Samar | EASTERN SAMAR | Western Samar | Leyte | Southern Leyte

Tour: Eastern Samar

Eastern Samar is linked to Western Samar through a road that runs across the central cordillera of Samar.  Its southern towns are more easily accessed by sea, through a ferry that travels from Tacloban to Guiuan.  The Jesuits reached Eastern Samar through two front: through the north via Palapag and through the south, through Leyte.  By 1597, the Jesuits had established a residence in Palapag on the northern coast.  From this outpost they penetrated the eastern coast of the island. Earlier they had established a mission in Guiuan.

SITE

HERITAGE FEATURES
SULAT Founded in 1650.  1884, the church was repaired by the Franciscan Fray Enrique de Barcelona church fortifications.
Taft Formerly Tubig.  Dependency of Palapag; 1749, Taft had a Jesuit resident church  greatly renovated, remnants of fortification.
GUIUAN Also Guiguan. Emergency stop for the galleon and from the late 17th century was a take off point for the Marianas. 1595, Jesuits arrive,  1718 church, fortification by 18th century
Borongan Seat of adiocese, 1710 church of rubble built, 1773, burnt; rebuilt 1781
Balangiga Scene of Katipunero victory 1901. Around 1653 Jesuit build church; town refounded 1790 by Augustinians

Northern Samar | Eastern Samar | WESTERN SAMAR | Leyte | Southern Leyte

Tour: Western Samar

Western Samar is along the Pan-Philippine or Maharlika Highway, traversed by interisland and local buses.  Towns come and go; such is the changing fortunes of humans, so that first landfall and mission of the Jesuits in Samar, is now an obscure barangay on SamarŐs west coast.

SITE

HERITAGE FEATURES
Tinagon Site of first Jesuit mission 1595
CATBALOGAN Church and fort prior to 1760, even prior to 1754
PARANAS 19th century church, watchtower
Calbayog Diocesan see
Calbiga 1772 created as town
Villareal Formerly called Umauas
BASEY Jesuit built church repaired 1845, fortification
Zumarraga, Buad Island Town created 1863

 

Northern Samar | Eastern Samar | Western Samar | LEYTE | Southern Leyte

Tour: Leyte

Separated by the narrow San Juanico Strait, Leyte Province is easily accessible by bus because it lies along the Pan Philippine (Maharlika) Highway.  Tacloban is the transportation hub of Leyte, where an airport is located.  Flights to and from Manila land in Tacloban.  Leyte is also connected to Cebu through Ormoc, where a fast craft, arrives from Cebu more than once daily.  Travel time is approximately two hours.  From Leyte, buses travel on the Maharlika Highway to Maasin where a ferry brings buses to Surigao in Mindanao.

From Tacloban, coastal towns are accessible through a road network that follows the coastline, with a crossing from Baybay on the west coast to Abuyog on the east.  Ecclesiastically, Samar and Leyte were treated as one territory until the 20th century when in 1937, Leyte was separated from Calbayog as a diocese with its seat in Palo.

SITE

HERITAGE FEATURES
CARIGARA

1575 town established 1595 Jesuits arrive; ruins at Kuta or Canal ancient town site, present town church built 1866-79. 

Bahay na bato in the poblacion.

Watchtower of rubble near town
Dagami Jesuit mission stations established 1595.
PALO 1595, Jesuit Cristobal Jimenez arrives in Palo. 1718, Jesuit-built church renovated when the Diocese of Palo was created in 1937.
Burauen Ca. 1750-68, Capt. Agustin Ezequias laid out the town,  1775 also given as date of foundation by the Augustinians.
Dulag 1582, Augustinians arrive; 1595, Dulag's evangelization.
Tanauan 1610, town founded; 1704 church greatly renovated.
TACLOBAN

1596, town founded; church greatly renovated, fluvial procession for fiesta of the Sto. Niño

Price Mansion: Built 1904 by American businessman, headquarters of Gen. MacArthur

Red Beach: MacArthur monuments, site of landing in 1945.
Abuyog 1655, Jesuit mission begins. 1718, the Jesuits built a church; an old sacristy and remnants of the wall still stand.
Leyte 1580, Augustinians arrive in Leyte.
Barugo In 1580, Augustinian Fray Alonso Velazquez establishes mission.
Alang-Alang In 1596, the Jesuit Cosme Flores began evangelizing Alang-alang. Late 1700s, town transferred to opposite bank of the Mainit River
Jaro Town established 1810, parish separated from Barugo 1851.
Hilongos  
Ormoc 1595, Jesuits begin evangelization; 1630, permanent mission; 1850, parish.  Church greatly renovated, remnants of bulwark outside church.  Stone bridge in plaza.
BAYBAY In 1620, founded by the Jesuits. church and mission house built this year. 1836, Baybay raised to parish status, 1852, the present church in the poblacion of Baybay was built under Fray Vicente E. Coronado.
Palompon 1700, mission established Terio Abel, 'Panday Terio,' built the first church of 'cal y canto.' 1834, raised to parish status.
Matalom Parish established 14 March 1861.  Two-story quadrilateral watchtower built 1841.
Biliran Island Jesuit mission of the Jesuits; 1712, Biliran became town; parish established 1782.

Northern Samar | Eastern Samar | Western Samar | Leyte | SOUTHERN LEYTE

Tour: Southern Leyte

The gateway to Southern Leyte if traveling by air is Tacloban where the only commercial airport on the island is located.  For sea travel, ships travel to and from Cebu to Leyte's west coast.  The fastest method of sea travel is through high-speed catamaran that crosses almost every hour from Cebu with a short stop at Camotes Islands and lands at Ormoc.  Baybay is another port of call.  The trip takes about two hours.

Leyte is linked by a highway, which for the most part is well paved, although during the southwest monsoon, floods are possible and roads do get damaged.

SITE

HERITAGE FEATURES
MAASIN CHURCH COMPLEX Founded 1700 (1737?), church late 19th century?; convento 1776. Fortification ca. 1781.  Watchtower late 18th century?
Cabalian Founded 1616, church after 1886
Sogod Founded 1616, parish 1869.
Hinundayan Parish 1885