Feeling like a castaway to an island obscured of its natural beauty but deemed at par to Aklan’s Boracay, a top tourist destination in the country, relatively fewer people know of Leyte’s own version of the same place despite their overall synonymous qualities—Kalanggaman Island.

Situated within the municipality of Palompon in the province of Leyte, Kalanggaman Island is an easy retreat from civilization because of its remote and tranquil environment which heightens the solitude feel. You would literally feel like a cast out in one of the world’s few hidden paradise because of the sheer oneness vibe you could experience in the island, made more vivid by the actual beauty of the place starting from the pristine clear waters, the island’s powdery white sands, up to the diverse plants and trees that are naturally grown from the place.

Kalanggaman Island from a far

Unless you are local or are nearby from Palompon, there is a good chance however that the island may be unknown to you simply because it was overshadowed in popularity by the more renowned tourists’ places in the region. Knowing the Visayas and Mindanao region for their already established tourist destinations, a remarkable place like the Kalanggaman Island is bound to really make less visible.

For those who are wondering how the island got its name, “kalanggaman” is actually a local term for “bird” coined after the island’s form factor when seen from an aerial view up top.

Uninhabited, this 753m island is basically barren from people but with occasional visits from time to time. Locals probably may have already been used to the place for too long or may have visited it too often to make a refreshing impression.

It was not until 2013, however, when the island has made a breakthrough in its number of visitors when a cruise ship temporarily chose the place as a drop-by destination for its onboarding passengers, albeit for a few hours.

There were no private resort within the island itself, so in order to cater for the influx of tourists in the area, the Philippine government had to improvise by giving the tourists some basic facilities—mostly, wooden-built shelters.

With no resort or hotel in the area to spend the night in or a restaurant of some kind to have a good meal at any time of the day, tourists who would want to spend a day or two in the island may resort on a few things for both: stay at a nearby hotel or inn within the heart of the municipality itself and dine in the same place or at a nearby restaurant or stay in the island with a tent and buy your fish from local fishermen in the area and grill them yourself with tools which will be provided for your convenience—your choice would suggests what kind of a traveler you are.

RATES:

Entrance fees:

• International Tourist
  • Day tour – Php 500
  • Overnight – Php 750
• Non Palompon Tourist
  • Day Tour – Php 150
  • Overnight – Php 225
• Non Palompon Student
  • Day tour – Php 40
  • Overnight – Php 60

Cottages (No Reservation)

• Small -Php 250
• Medium- Php 500
• Large- Php 750

For more info please contact Palompon, Leyte Tourism:

• Landline – (053)- 555-9731
• email- cleo_rivera@yahoo.com or raoulbcalla@gmail.com
• Globe – 0917-3037-267 ; Smart – 0998-5550-527

How to get there:

Via Air:

You need to go to Palompon, Leyte. You can go to Palompon, Leyte via Tacloban Airport or Cebu Airport .

• How to get to Kalanggaman from Tacloban Airport, ride a van going to Palompon. Trip takes about 4 hours.
• How to get to Kalanggaman from Cebu Airport, ride a taxi to go to Pier 3. In pier 3, you can either ride a SuperCat (fast boat) going to Ormoc or a ship en route to Palompon. Supercat fare usually costs around P600 while ship ticket costs around P495. If you chose SuperCat, it takes about 2 hours to reach Ormoc, then you need to ride a van going to Palompon which can cost you another P150. Ship from Cebu will take 4 hours to reach Palompon.

Via Land Trip:

There are buses in Manila going directly to Palompon, Leyte. This trip will take about 24 hours to reach your destination.It will cost you around Php 1,700/way.

Island Hopping to Kalanggaman from Malapascua

Via Malapacua Island:

This is the easiest and the most comfortable way to reach Kalanggaman Island. There is a daily island hopping trip from Malapascua and it comes with free lunch, it will cost you around Php 800-Php 1200