A Historical Journey: Touring Butuan City

Our great Caraga Adventure began in one of the most historic cities in the country – Butuan City. From Mactan Island in Cebu, the team flew to the beautiful city of Butuan for the first leg of the tour.

For this stop, we checked out the Balanghai Hotel Museum, the Butuan National Museum, and the Balangay Shrine. These three spots are highly recommended for tourists. In fact, if you want a better understanding of the history of Butuan (or the whole country for that matter), you have to check this place out.

So, here are some of my photos of Butuan City.

First Time in Butuan City

At the airport, representatives from the Department of Tourism – Caraga welcomed our team.

Balanghai Hotel

Then, from the airport, we headed straight to the beautiful Balanghai Hotel. Balanghai is one of the city’s most notable and historic hotels. In fact, the lobby of the Balanghai Hotel doubles as a museum. How cool is that?

Butuan National Museum

Next, we went to Butuan City’s National Museum – one of the best tourist destinations in the region.

Manning the museum are experts in the region’s history and culture.

Various ancient ornaments are displayed at the Butuan City Museum. Among them are these precious jewelry and golden body ornamental pieces.

Burial trunks bearing remains of the region’s earliest settlers are also on display at the museum.

Here are some skulls found in one of the dig sites in Butuan City.

Butuanon culture on display: a traditional boat (left) and a traditional wine-maker (right.)

The head of Lolong – the (once) biggest crocodile in captivity in the Philippines – before it gets shipped to Manila.

Balangay Shrine

The Balangay Shrine in Libertad is one of the most popular dig sites in Butuan.

Some of the precious artifacts found in the area include these authentic trunk coffins.

In the photo below, our tour guide points to the exact spot where the artifacts were found several years back.

Amazing Eats in Butuan City

Afterward, we visited the market to sample the city’s best local delicacies. We tried some of the items that we saw as they were freshly prepared. They were as authentic as they could get. Additionally, the items were very affordable.

Finally, after a whole day of cultural and historical excursion, we enjoyed a very hearty dinner. Also, we had a sampling of laksoy or nipa wine. This is locally available in Butuan City.