Dubbed as the "Sugar Bowl of the Philippines," and "The Gateway to Sugarlandia," Bacolod is a highly progressive and the richest elite city in Negros Occidental in the Visayan Islands cluster (NIR Region 18).
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Famously known as the City of Smiles due to its annual MassKara Festival, which is a colorful festival with a mixture of dance and music. Its economy relies on the sugarcane industry, coconut and rice; however, their people also raise livestock & fish and create potteries.
Your Bacolod trip would not be complete without a gastronomic tour. Don't miss the opportunity to try the best food of Bacolod, and make it a point to feast on Bacolod's iconic tasty chicken inasal, Kansi or Cansi, and don't forget to set aside the time and budget for bringing home well-known native delicacies and Bacolod pastries like napoleones, Biscocho, butterscotch, and piaya.
Silay City is considered by many people as the Paris of Negros due to the prevalence of old ancestral houses of influential families during the 1900s. Visit grand mansions turned museums in the town proper such as the Balay Negrense Museum, Bernardino-Jalandoni Museum (Pink House), Ramon Hofileña Heritage House, Cinco de Noviembre Marker, and San Diego Pro-Cathedral.
Traveling to Bacolod City during the non-busy months and missing the annual Masskara Festival? No worries! Get a glimpse of the Smiles Festival by visiting the Jojo Vito Designs Gallery, which offers interactive activities like "painting your mask" available for tourists.
Enjoy and take a trip down the memory lane by taking pictures of the reflection of the status of Negros Occidental as it reached its peak through the boom of the sugar industry, and by visiting notable historic places during World War II in the city such as the Bacolod City Bandstand, Negros Museum, Provincial Capitol and Lagoon, Panaad Park and Stadium and the Pope John Paul II Tower.
Regarded as the Taj Mahal of the Philippines, it is an ancestral house built by Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson in memory of his Portuguese wife, Maria Braga. One of the 12 most fascinating ruins globally, it features neo-Roman columns combined with Italian architectural design.
A 13-hectare banana-shaped island with pristine white sands and crystal blue waters, you can also locate Asia's biggest floating bar here.
A unique work of nature, this 262-ft. waterfall is a favorite among local and foreign travelers due to its red waters, said to be the blood of Japanese soldiers flowing through the falls.
Known as the "Pink House," it features the memorabilia of the Jalandonis that exhibit the rich history of Silaynons. Its notable structure has been flown in from Mindoro and Germany.
It is a government-owned resort and a 35-minute drive from Bacolod City; Mambukal Mountain Resort offers healing with nature through its warm sulfur dipping pool with health benefits. You can do various activities here, which include short trekking to its seven waterfalls, then spend time in available cottages and restaurants in the vicinity.
Planning to visit Bacolod City in the next coming days? Checkout the weather in Bacolod City.
You can visit Bacolod City through various transportation means: air, sea, and land, depending on where you are from in the Philippines or the world.
Daily flights to and from Bacolod City are available in most Philippine major cities. From Manila, the trip takes approximately an hour. The landing destination is the Bacolod-Silay Airport, located in Silay City and 15km away from Bacolod City, 20-30 minutes from downtown by car.
Going to the city proper, you can ride a public shuttle van via metered taxi or Grab Car or flag a tricycle at Silay highway to take a jeepney to Bacolod City. However, private transfers from the airport to Bacolod City proper are also available.
By Land Transport
If you are from nearby cities and provinces, local bus transports daily and travel time may differ depending on your point of origin.
From Manila to Iloilo, ferry boats are also available as means of transportation, and most of the dock at the BREDCO port in Bacolod City. Travel time usually differs based on your location and which travel line you choose. If you opt to ride a cruise, Bacolod is 20 hrs away from Manila.
By Combined Sea and Land
Through RORO (Roll On Roll Off) vessels, you can reach Bacolod City 18 hrs from Manila via land and sea transport. Points of origin are in the ports of Iloilo, Caticlan, Roxas, and Batangas.
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