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| Destinations :: Asia :: Philippines :: Explore Philippines :: The Visayas :: Panay :: Kalibo |
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Kalibo KALIBO lies on the well-trodden path to Boracay and for most of the year is an uninteresting town, but every third Sunday of January it hosts what is probably the biggest street party in the country, the Ati-Atihan (  http://www.ati-atihan.net). This exuberant festival celebrates the original inhabitants of the area, the Atis, and culminates with choreographed dances through the streets by locals daubed in black paint (Ati-Atihan means "to make like the Atis"). Revellers blacken their faces in imitation of their aboriginal forefathers and stage a shuffling dance in the streets amid cries of " hala bira, puera pasma" ("keep on going, no tiring"). Good accommodation can be hard to find during the Ati-Atihan and prices increase by up to a hundred percent. Direct flights to Kalibo from Manila are often fully booked.
Kalibo is a compact place with most city destinations within walking distance. The major thoroughfare is Roxas Avenue, which runs into town from the airport in the southeast, with most streets leading off it to the southwest. The ten-minute tricycle ride into town from the airport costs around P10. Banks, including BPI and PNB, are on Martyr's Street, which runs along the southern edge of Pastrana Park, close to Kalibo Cathedral. The post office is in the Provincial Capitol Building, in Mabini Street, off Roxas Avenue. There are three or four Internet cafés, the most popular of which is Webquest on Roxas Avenue (P90 per hour). The Kalibo provincial hospital is on Mabini Street.
Apartelle Marietta (  036/262 3353; $5-10) on Roxas Avenue features fan rooms with balconies and shower. Two of the better budget deals in town are Glowmoon Hotel & Restaurant ( 036/262 2373; $5-10) on Martelino Street and Garcia Legaspi Mansion ( 036/262 5588; $10-15) on the town's main street, Roxas Avenue, both with monastic but clean rooms. Gervy's Gourmet & Lodge ( 036/262 4190; $5-10) features quiet rooms with fan and bath on R. Pastrada Street, while Casa Felicidad ( 036/268 4320; $15-20), on Archbishop Reyes Street near the plaza, has an aura of faded luxury. Note that the price of accommodation increases drastically during Ati-Atihan, and air-con doubles can cost up to P800–1000. The Glowmoon Hotel features a nice restaurant with a surprisingly good range of local and continental dishes. Peking House Restaurant, on Martyr's Street, is an ever-popular place for cheap Chinese food, while the newer Willhelm Tell Deli & Restaurant, on Roxas Avenue, dishes up European steaks and pastas from P120.
| Ati-Atihan festival |
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Every January, the Filipino town of Kalibo on the island of Panay erupts into Southeast Asia's biggest street party, the Ati-Atihan. Thousands of revellers dress up in outrageous outfits, blacken their faces with soot (in honour of the aboriginal Ati, whose descendants still live on Panay), and salsa through the streets. It is said that the festival originated when ten Malay chieftains chanced upon the island and persuaded the Ati to sell it to them; the deal was naturally sealed with a party, and the Malays darkened their faces to emulate their new neighbours. Centuries later, the Spanish incorporated Catholic elements into Ati-Atihan and the modern festival is now dedicated to the Santo Niño (Holy Infant Jesus). The event comes to a climax with a huge Mass in the cathedral, and the three-day party ends with a masquerade ball and prizes for the best dressed.
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| Moving on from Kalibo |
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For Caticlan (the jumping-off point for Boracay), buses leave the terminal on Roxas Avenue every hour (2hr 30min; P100; also served by FX vans); jeepneys, also from this terminal, leave when they are full, often taking as much as four hours to complete the journey as they stop dozens of times along the way. Air-con vans and FX taxis also leave from the Ceres Liner bus terminal, one kilometre south of Kalibo on Laserna Street. From the airport, a more convenient way to make the trip to Caticlan wharf is to take one of the FX taxis or L300 vans that meet incoming flights (2hr; P150). Every flight landing at Kalibo is also met by drivers with private vehicles; you can usually find someone with a van to take you to Caticlan for around P1500, divided among as many as nine passengers. If you're arriving in Kalibo by ferry, you can get a bus or jeepney from Dumaguit, a fifteen-minute jeepney ride outside Kalibo, to Caticlan.
From the Ceres Liner bus terminal, there are buses south to Iloilo City.
From Dumaguit, there are Negros Navigation ferries on Wednesday to Cebu City and twice a week to Manila, one going via Roxas on Mindoro. The Negros Navigation office is in Laserna Street ( 036/262 4943), south of the market. WG&A sails to Manila on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday at 3.30pm; tickets can be obtained from the WG&A office in Archbishop Reyes Street at the junction with Acevedo Street ( 036/268 4391). Moreta Shipping ( 036/262 3003) at the northern end of Roxas Avenue, opposite Metrobank, has one boat a week to Manila. All these ferry operators also have ticket outlets at the pier in Dumaguit. For tickets, there's also a convenient Aboitiz outlet right in Kalibo town centre at the junction of Burgos Street and Luis Barrios Street.
There are several flights to and from Manila daily. PAL ( 036/262 3260), Air Philippines ( 036/262 4444), and Cebu Pacific ( 036/262 5406) all have ticket offices at the airport; Cebu Pacific also has an office in Legaspi Street, behind Kalibo Cathedral.
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You are reading content from The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia, Third Edition
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