My Experience in Orok Cold Spring Resort

OROK spring is located at Barangay Inlagadian, Casiguran, Sorsogon, with an elevation of about 240 meters above sea level, an estimated output of 345 liters per second, is the clearest natural flowing stream in this part of Bicol Region. It is 10 kilometers away from the Poblacion proper of Casiguran or a twenty-minute drive from Sorsogon City. OROK spring is now accessible by road, and tourist will surely enjoy the verdant greenery of Casiguran, the Cleanest and Greenest Municipality in the entire Bicol Region. OROK Cold Spring Resort: Stream
Water stream originating from underground aquifers of Brgy. 
Inlagadian and out to OROK spring.The water flows from Bulusan Mountain, through the mountain’s lush and untouched forest that keeps the water clear even during heavy rains. In a tourist map, OROK spring, is along the belt destinations spanning from Mayon Volcano, Cagsawa Ruins, Bulusan Lake, Donsol Whale Shark Park, and Rizal Beach at Gubat, Sorsogon. Notably, tourists and local visitors alike find this little paradise as much invigorating as all the other tourist spots in this part of the Bicol Region. Unknowingly, OROK Cold Spring Resort, under-developed that it is, has already surpassed the existing resorts and private recreational facilities as the local favorite.


OROK Cold Spring Resort is one of the best-kept secrets of Bicolandia. Situated in the middle of woodlands, the resort is teeming with flora and faura and the fresh mountain air. Families will love the cold water of the OROK spring. The resort is so laid-back that one can just show up in everyday leisure wear any time of the day, it’s like being at home. Families can bring their own food and drinks without having to pay for corkage.

Last summer I I've been in Bicol for vacation, since I lived there I want to promote and share my wonderful experience in this nearest resort where I went through. This is one of the famous cold spring resort in the province of Sorsogon. During summer lots of people go there to experience the freezing cold water that you've ever experience. Aside from its good ambiance you will never regret of visiting this because of the lowest prize that everyone can avail. The entrance fee is only 20 pesos per head but that cheap prize is ten times of how you will enjoy every minute of your stay in Orok Cold Spring resort.

Top 10 Best Bicolano Foods You Must Try

Bicol is a region in the Philippines located in the southeastern part of Luzon. The region is famous because of the Mayon Volcano which is found in Albay. The active volcano is known for its perfect cone shape. The Bicol region is also known for its delicious food and delicacies. The Bicolanos love spicy foods. They also use coconut cream in most of their recipes. The combination of hot spices and coconut cream is very enticing not only in the Bicol region but also in the entire Philippines. Be sure to try these top 10 Bicolano foods and fulfill your hot and spicy cravings.

1. Kinunot


Kinunot is a spicy appetizer which ingredients include shark meat or sting ray meat. Yes, shark meat and sting ray meat. Who would have thought that these scary fish creatures can be so tasty? Bicolanos found a way to turn them into a very delicious food. The shark or the sting ray is cooked with coconut cream and malunggay or moringa leaves. It is a common joke in Bicol that when travelling by sea, you should bring malunggay because the sharks are afraid of it. Kinunot is now commonly prepared using sting ray because catching sharks nowadays is being prohibited.

2. Laing or Pinangat


There is also a Bicolano recipe for vegetarians: the very popular laing. Laing is made from local “gabi” or taro leaves. The leaves is simmered in coconut cream and then served with siling labuyo or chili pepper. The dish is very common since the Bicolanos plant taro near their houses. The dish is also very affordable and it can be seen in almost any carenderia (restaurant) in the region.

3. Bicol Express


Bicol Express is a dish which was named after a passenger train from Manila to Bicol. They named the dish Bicol Express because eating the dish will make you run like a train to look for water to drink. Bicol express is made up of pork cooked in coconut milk and spiced with lots and lots of red hot chili. Anyone who would eat the Bicol express should always ready himself with tissue or towels because anyone eating this dish will surely sweat and cry in tears because of the hot and spicy flavor.

4. Guinataang Labong


Labong refers to a bamboo shoot which can be bought in any Philippine market mostly during the rainy season. It is also the main ingredient of Guinataang Labong which is a popular dish from the Bicol region. The bamboo shoots are cooked in coconut milk with shrimp paste or sardines. Fresh shrimps can also be added to this dish. What made this a Bicol dish is the addition of hot, fiery chili pepper, a distinct ingredient in any Bicolano recipe.

5. Tilmok

Tilmok is another famous food from the Bicol region. Tilmok is the Bicolano term for coconut meat. The other main ingredient of the dish is crab meat. The preparation of tilmok starts with the mixing of coconut meat and the crab meat together. Garnishing is added after the meats are mixed. The mixed “meats” are put inside banana leaves and then steamed. This delicious dish is popular among locals and even foreigners.

6. Pili Nut

With pili being endemic to the Bicol region, Bicolanos have found different uses of the pili nut. The easiest  to cook pili dish is the tinolang pili. In this dish, the nuts are soaked in boiling water until the covering is soft. When the external coverings are already soft, the “tinolang pili” is ready. Fish sauce or “patis” can also be added to give it a more delightful taste. The nuts can also be used as sweets. Popular pili sweets include binirubid or pinipilit, brittle pili nuts, caramelized pili nuts, and the yema azucarada.

7. Dinuguang Bicol

Dinuguan is a dish that uses pig’s blood as ingredient in cooking pork. The process of preparing this dish is mainly the same with the original dinuguan. What makes it Bicolano is the hot and spicy flavor. Chili pepper is added to the dinuguan to add spice to it. Dinuguan is usually eaten with puto.

8. Ginataang Santol ( Santol cooked in coconut milk)

Almost all kinds of fruit, vegetable, or meat is possible to cook with coconut milk or locally known as “gata”. Bicolanos tend to use coconut milk to any dish because of the abundance of coconut in the region. One of the famous ginataan (a dish with coconut milk) from Bicol is the ginataang santol. The meat of the santol fruit is cooked in coconut milk. No one imagined that the extremely sour fruit would be a very delicious viand. Other famous ginataan recipes from Bicol are the ginataang puso ng saging (banana blossom cooked in coconut milk) and the sigarilyas sa gata (Winged Beans cooked in coconut milk).

9. Pancit Bato

The Pancit Bato is a type of noodles that originated from Bato, a barangay from the province of Camarines Sur. The process of cooking this pancit is similar to how pancit canton is cooked. The only difference is the ingredients. The pansit bato is cooked with fresh shrimps and petchay. It is usually eaten with rice or hot pandesal.

10. Sinapot

Sinapot is a banana dish also known as maruya or baduya for non-Bicolanos saba (Cardaba banana). The bananas are peeled and sliced and then mixed with flour, salt, baking powder, eggs and water. The mixed ingredients are then fried in boiling cooking oil. 

My Top 10 Favorite and the best spots in Bicol Region

This places are one of the best in Bicol because of the fulfilling views that you can see. It can give you the best feeling ever during your travel experience. Even though there's a lot of beautiful and such an amazing places in Bicol but for me this is my best of ten. I really love all the things about each of this spots it really gives me a hundred and one percent of happiness. I can also promote the perfect accommodation that they are giving to every individual who visits there.

Matukad Island in Caramoan

Matukad is one of the smaller islands off the coast of the Caramoan peninsula. Like many islands in the area, its beaches and surrounding waters are freckled with towering limestone cliffs. But they are not even its biggest selling point. What many visitors love about Matukad Island is its fine, fine sand that can definitely give Boracay a run for its tourist money.

Lahos Island

Among the extensive and majestic coastline and numerous wondrous islands, Lahos Island still stands out like a rare pearl in Caramoan. A journey to Caramoan Island will never be complete if you don’t get the chance to visit Lahos. It is said that it is named as such because its white sandy beach disappears with the high tide, the word "laho" in the vernacular, or "disappear" or "vanish" in English.   

Kawa-Kawa Hill

Kawa-kawa Hill and Natural Park is an ecotourism destination in Ligao City, Albay, Philippines.  Kawa-kawa Hill is derived from the local dialect “kawa” or native cauldron resembling its crater. It is used to be called “lunad”, a Ligao term which means “sagging” or “depressed” and literally describes the six-hectare crater. Nowadays, people who climbed or trekked the hill described the crater as a huge amphitheater, a sliced-coconut and a hill without a hilltop. Although, it may look like an ordinary hill from afar but the uniqueness of it will be felt and appreciated when one is on top of the hill where calm winds and air breeze waits. The breathtaking view of Mayon Volcano plus a top view of the City and its nearby towns are like sweet rewards for a thirty-minute tiring trek.

The park has served as a tourist and religious attraction. It is opened to the public for people to appreciate nature and environment. The Carmetlite Nuns of the Holy Trinity put up the Divine Mercy Monastery and a life-size images of the Station of the Cross in the area. The first five stations can be seen along the uphill walkway, while the remaining nine were installed around the crater ring. To date, the Kawakawa Hill offers to the pilgrims a unique Way of the Cross especially during Holy Week.

Daraga Church

Tucked away on peaceful hill in the town of Daraga lies an Old spanish colonial church that is considered as one of the most beautiful churches in the Philippines. The Daraga Church in Daraga Albay is also known as the Our lady of the gate or the church of Nuestra Senora de la Porteria.
Built in 1773, Cagsawa found it as a temporary shelter as their church was buried under the volcanic debris during the last eruption in 1814. This church is a true sign of crowning glory when it comes to religious architectures that is located in Albay.
This Church is located on a bustling town right above the top hill and has been standing there as a true sign of resilience and unwavering faith of Bicolanos. The Church building is proudly declared as a National treasure and goes through a restoration work to maintain the beauty of this religious structure. In the past, the church became a headquarter during the second world war by Japanese army as it has a very cool temperature and is located at an elevated and strategic location

Cagsawa Ruins in Albay

Situated in Albay, Cagsawa Ruins is a historical landmark that serves as the centerpiece of the Cagsawa Ruins Park where tourists can enjoy the scenic view of Mayon Volcano. The ruins also stood as an image of Bicol region’s magnificent landscape for almost two centuries. It symbolizes Bicol’s rich history together with the strength and flexibility of the people towards calamities and ravages of Mother Nature.

Cagsawa was derived from the word “Kag” which means owner and “sawa” for python. It could also mean too much or excesses. The Cagsawa church was built after 1724 by the Franciscan friars and was administered by Fray Francisco Blanco in the small town of Cagsawa.

It was originally built to replace a church that was erected in 1636 that had been destroyed by Dutch pirates.


On February 1, 1814, the greatest tragedy happened in Cagsawa and it was the eruption of Mayon Volcano. The eruption buried the small town and nearby areas killing an estimated of 1, 200 people who took refuge in the stone church. It was the strongest eruption recorded to date.

Hoyop- Hoyopan Cave in Camalig, Albay

Hoyop hoyopan cave is located in Camalig, Albay.  Hidden within the mountain jungle, the cave has numerous entrances and exits that make it like a labyrinth.  It has multiple passages that vary from 2-10meters in diameter.  The passages are interconnected leading to many different open pockets that serve as shelter and protection from outside dangers.

Butanding Whaleshark in Donsol Sorsogon

The presence of whale sharks in the town of Donsol was known to the local residents over 100 years. But the locals believed these gentle giants were dangerous. This wrong notion changed when in December 26, 1997, a group of scuba divers led by Romir Aglugub – a PADI diving instructor, discovered its presence, and interacted and came in contact with the whale sharks. Even the members of the diving group of Romir was having second thought if the fish is docile, until the instructor led the way into the water and came in contact with the whale shark. Copy of video footage taken by the group was passed on to the media and the WWF-Philippines. By March 1998, Donsol became world-class tourist destination and now known as the “Whale Shark Capital of the World”.

Ligñon Hill

One of the attractions to visit in Legaspi City is Lignon Hills. It’s a 156 meters hill with an overlooking view of the entire Legazpi City and the iconic wonder, Mayon Volcano.

Mayon Volcano

The Philippines’ most popular active volcano is Mt. Mayon also known as Mayon Volcano. It is stratvolcano similar to Mt. Apo only that it is active. Mt. Mayon is located in the province of Albay in Bicol region. It forms the northern boundary of Legazpi City. Local folklore refers Mt. Mayon as Bulkang Magayon which is after the legendary heroine Daragang Magayon (which means Lady Beautiful).

Mt. Mayon is the Philippines’ most active volcano and is considered to be the world’s most perfectly formed volcano because of its symmetrical cone. The current cone was formed through pyroclastic and lava flows from past eruptions. The upper slopes of the volcano are steep averaging 35-40 degrees and are capped by a small summit crater. Its sides are layers of lava and other volcanic material. Mt. Mayon rises 8,077 ft above the gulf.


Last October 13, 2008, Mayon Volcano is included in New 7 Wonders of Nature Top 10 list but unfortunately, it did not make the cut to the Top 25 finalists. This gives a way to another Philippine site which is Puerto Princesa Subterranean River

Bulusan Lake

Nestled at the foot of the active Bulusan Volcano in Sorsogon province, Bulusan Lake's landscape is lush, its surroundings quiet except for the occasional rustling of leaves, the gentle paddling from canoes, and the distant chirping of birds. Locals can also be seen fishing in the lake, which is about 20 meters (~60 feet) deep.

Maintained by a cooperative, the expansive lake can be explored by renting kayaks or aqua cycles, which cost about P100 to P125 per person. Beyond the lake are several waterfalls, springs, and hiking trails, trips to which can be arranged at the cooperative's office.

To get to Bulusan Lake, you may charter a tricycle from Irosin public market for about P300 per way, or else wait for a Bulusan jeepney and alight at the Bulusan Volcano National Park entrance. From here, it's a one-kilometer walk to the lake. Travel time from Irosin via tricycle is about 30 minutes.

Another photo for Kawa-Kawa Hill