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| Bakhawan Eco-park in Kalibo, Aklan |
Nature and Gastronomic Adventure
Roughly four kilometers from the busy thoroughfares of Kalibo, capital of Aklan, lies Bakhawan Nature Study and Eco Park, a multi-awarded ecotourism site in the coastal barangay of New Buswang.
“Bakhawan” in the local dialect means “mangrove”—coastal trees that abound in the park’s 220-hectare and continuously expanding forest. But apart from hectares of these life-saving trees, the ecopark is also home to some exotic delicacy that only an adventurous tummy would dare to try.
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| Mangrove forest of Aklan |
Into the Mangrove Forest
Kalibo’s mangrove sanctuary is the local community’s initiative. In 1989, Kalibo Save the Mangroves Association (KASAMA), now a duly registered multipurpose cooperative, proposed to convert the desolate mudflats of Kalibo into a mangrove plantation, a project through which, in the following year, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) granted a loan to the Municipality of Kalibo, for the planting of 250,000 trees over 50 hectares of reclaimed coastal land.
More than three decades later, Bakhawan’s forested area had increased fivefold, both because of natural regeneration and human-initiated planting. The ecopark is also now a model mangrove reforestation project and is one of Kalibo’s major tourist sites.
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| Bakhawan Ecopark's boardwalk |
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| The author at the boardwalk |
Bamboo rafting and kayaking across channels fringed by towering mangroves are among the activities in the park, but the highlight of every visit is the 1.3-kilometer long boardwalk that brings guests deep into the dense mangrove forest.
The boardwalk terminates at the beach where tiny mangrove propagules were planted. Bakhawan offers tree planting activities to its visitors in this area. For laid-back guests, especially dating couples, the park’s cottages that face the sea seemed the better option.
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| Mangrove propagules planted at the end of the boardwalk |
Tamilok
The ecopark is also a gastronomic adventure hub. At the boardwalk’s 800-meter mark, park keepers gather tamilok (woodworm) by request and freshly prepare them ceviche-style (kilawin) for their visitors’ consumption.
Tamilok is a shell-less mollusk, not a type of worm, but called as such because these slimy, worm-like creatures literally worm their way into a rotten mangrove trunk and thrive there.
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| Tamilok being pulled out from the wood |
I first encountered this exotic delicacy when I visited Puerto Princesa back in 2015. But Kalibo’s freshly gathered tamilok was way better than the refrigerated ones served in the restaurants of Palawan’s capital city. I could taste its oyster-like texture and rawness against the appetizing tang of salted sinamak (Panay Island’s local spiced vinegar).
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| Park keepers gathering and preparing the tamilok |
After finding dead trunks that they thought contained tamilok, the park keepers chopped up the log, removed the tamilok from the holes they live in, cleaned them by removing each head and tail, soaked them in vinegar and set it aside for about five minutes.
At that point, our local tour guide, Norman, was among us tourists. He has been bringing passengers to Bakhawan for years, but it was his first time to cross the eco park's lengthy bamboo footpath and relish his hometown's woodworms according to him.
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| Tamilok soaked in sinamak vinegar |
Visit Bakhawan Nature Study & Eco Park
Address: New Buswang, Kalibo, Aklan
Entrance Fee (as of January 2025):
- Aklan residents - Php60.00
- Aklan Students, Sr. Citizen and PWD - Php40.00
- Non-Aklan residents - Php120.00
- Non-Aklan Students, Sr. Citizen and PWD - Php60.00
Contact: (036) 262 8862 / kasama.inc17@gmail.com / Bakhawan Nature Study and Eco-park (Facebook page)
This is a portion of an article originally published in the July 2024 issue of Boracay Sun News (with some minor revisions).
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