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Hinagdanan Cave
 Hinagdanan Cave The island province of Bohol may aptly be called “Cave Country.” Some 1,400 caves have been counted, and probably many more have escaped notice. Some claim that Bohol even got its name from the word “buho”, meaning “hole”, although that term is actually applied to a hole from which spring water leaves the ground — something you can find quite often in the coastal towns of the island. Bohol, like the surrounding islands, emerged from the sea during the mid Tertiary, some 20-30 million years ago. The island is made of extensive karst (limestone) formations, such as sinkholes, ravines, the curious Chocolate Hills, and a large number of caves, many of them still unexplored. You may also come across streams that pop up from the ground at one place, to disappear again into a cave a few kilometers further on, and reappear again after running some distance underground. If you enter this underground world, you will encounter the many unusual and even bizarre invertebrates, such as albino crabs, that have evolved here and are especially adapted to this life in darkness. All these caves of course are an ideal hideout, and have played an important role in Bohol’s history.
One of the famous caves is the Hinagdanan Cave. It is located 2.5 Kilometers from center of Dauis of Panglao Island, specifically in the town of Bingag. And it is about 15 Kilometers from west of Tagbilaran City. The cave is sunlit through the holes of its limestone ceilings and has the eerie feel of nature. This cave was discovered by the land owner in the 16th century while clearing some decaying branches on the property and accidentally coming across two adjacent holes on the ground. Apparently, the owner threw a stone and was surprised to hear a splash. From then on a ladder was built to get into the cave for further exploration and thus, the name Hinagdanan Cave meaning “laddered.” The cave is about 100 meters long of beautiful rock formations. The stalactites and stalagmites stick out from the ceiling and floor of the cave as though trying to meet each other. The entrance of the cave is a narrow and steep way and only one person at a time can enter, but over the years it had developed and the once wooden rickety handle of the stairs have been replaced with rounded steel bars and now have a bit wider stairs. Inside at the bottom, a lagoon with a greenish surface produced by the green limestone used to be a swimming area for the locals, but has now been known to have karst pollutants and having a dip on this cool water is not permitted.
This would be an exciting addition to your adventure in Bohol. There are friendly guides that will accompany you and a lot of amazing photo ops to look forward to.
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