Things to Do in Jordan, Philippines: Walking Guide

Jordan is the provincial capital of Guimaras in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines. The town is a useful base for discovering the island’s pilgrimage sites, hills, waterways and coastal landmarks. Neywo has a free audio guide for Jordan with 20 narrated places, available in 11 languages.

What to see in Jordan

The places around Jordan reveal several sides of Guimaras: a mountain pilgrimage site, distinctive island landscapes, small waterways and forested coastal points. Here are the main places to look out for.

Balaan Bukid Shrine and Balaan Bukid

Balaan Bukid, meaning Holy Mountain, rises 558 feet, or 170 metres, in Barangay Balcon Melliza, Jordan. It is a pilgrimage site for Catholic devotees, especially during Holy Week.

A church and a huge cross stand at the summit, and the cross is visible from the coast of Iloilo City. The climb follows fourteen stations known as the Way of the Cross, each depicting an event in the life of Jesus Christ. A lighthouse on the mountain also serves as a navigational aid for boats and ships, giving Balaan Bukid both religious and maritime importance.

The shrine and the mountain are closely connected, but each offers a slightly different perspective on the site: the shrine focuses on the church, cross, Way of the Cross and lighthouse, while Balaan Bukid itself places the pilgrimage in its wider mountain setting.

Tetas de Guimaras

Tetas de Guimaras is an extensive range of hills stretching for about 42 kilometres from north to south. It is one of the most distinctive natural landscapes in the Western Visayas.

Mount Dinulman is the highest point in the range, rising 267 metres above sea level. Other named hills and mountains include Bare Hill, Mount Acdan, Mount Balacbacan, Mount Bontoc, Mount Bulagua, Mount Jaljat, Mount Pandan and Mount Tigbi. Together, these landforms give Guimaras a varied inland profile beyond its coastline.

Aba River

Aba River is a natural feature on Guimaras Island, in the province of Guimaras and the Western Visayas region. It is one of the island’s waterways to look out for while exploring the area around Jordan.

Buringut River

Buringut River is a waterway in the Western Visayas that flows through Iloilo Province. Its location reflects the close relationship between the waterways and landscapes of Guimaras and neighbouring Iloilo.

Buluangan River

Buluangan River is another natural waterway associated with the Guimaras and Iloilo area. It flows through Iloilo Province in the Western Visayas region.

Boyo Creek

Boyo Creek is a waterway on Guimaras Island, in the province of Guimaras. Like the island’s rivers and other creeks, it forms part of the natural landscape surrounding Jordan.

Cabubuna Creek

Cabubuna Creek is a natural waterway in Guimaras Province. It offers another example of the smaller waterways that shape the island’s terrain.

Jordan’s coastal landmarks and islands

Jordan’s wider landscape also includes coastal points, forested slopes and small islands. These places are especially useful for understanding the shape of Guimaras as land meets the sea.

Bayabas Point

Bayabas Point is a coastal landmark surrounded by gently hilly terrain. The sea lies closest to the northwest, while much of the nearby landscape is covered by forest. Small bays are common throughout the surrounding region, and the highest nearby ground reaches about 81 metres, roughly one kilometre east of the point.

Bondulan Point

Bondulan Point is a coastal landmark on Guimaras Island in the Western Visayas. It meets the sea to the west, creating a clear example of the island’s coastal geography.

Cabaling Point

Cabaling Point is a coastal point surrounded by gently rolling, forested hills. The sea lies closest to the northwest, and the landscape has a distinctly tropical character.

The area receives plentiful rainfall, averaging about 2,947 millimetres. July is the wettest month, while February is the driest.

Buyu Point

Buyu Point combines a gently hilly landscape with a forested tropical setting. The highest nearby ground reaches about 74 metres, and the sea lies closest to the northwest. Small bays are common in the surrounding region.

Ave Maria Island

Ave Maria Island is a small island in Barangay Lawi, Jordan. It can be seen from Alubihod Beach Resort in Nueva Valencia, Guimaras, and forms part of the island province’s coastal scenery.

Balingasag Island

Balingasag Island lies in Guimaras Province, in the southern part of the country. It is one of the islands visible within the wider coastal landscape of Guimaras and the Western Visayas.

Cris Pinacle

Cris Pinacle is an island in Guimaras Province, in the Western Visayas region. It lies in the southern part of the Philippines, about 500 kilometres south of Manila.

Explore Jordan with a free audio guide

Neywo’s free Jordan audio guide covers 20 narrated places. Narration is available in 11 languages, and each story plays as you reach the place, at your own pace, with no group and no schedule.

Download Neywo to explore Jordan independently and hear the story of its shrine, mountain, rivers, creeks, islands and coastal landmarks as you encounter them. Jordan is also a natural stop when exploring Western Visayas, with Iloilo nearby and other destinations such as Boracay within the region.