An old woman was silently saying her prayers holding tightly to her rosary, while the baby was crying loud in the arms of her mother. We’re winding up to Alegria, through sweeping panoramas of lush green rice farms, and mountainsides with modest shacks. The villages with old colonial churches lie serene and sluggish in the valleys. From the tainted window of the van, I watched in nostalgia a series of black and brown sand beaches, fishing villages and lush green mountains slipping away.
Alegria is a sleepy municipality south of Cebu endowed with natural resources like scenic beaches, enchanting falls and unexplored caves. The small town was baptized as Tubod after the vibrant spring in the middle of the town. A long time ago, the spring is said to have attracted weary travelers for a stop and a short rest in the surrounding trees while quenching their thirst with the cold refreshing spring water of Tubod. Legend has it that the current Spanish name “Alegria” originated from the Spaniards who exclaimed “Que Alegre” (What a gaiety!) when they saw the people of Tubod celebrating a local festival. During the Spanish colonial era, the town then became known as Alegre and eventually became Alegria.
To date, the town still emanates with a few memories of the Spanish rule through its old fashioned edifices, colonial houses, an old church and a heavily ruined watchtower. Our first stop is an 18th century church called St. Francis Xavier Parish Church.
The bell tower is attached to the church’s front and the walls of the structure are painted in plain white. The overall style of the structure though doesn’t seem to suggest a typical exquisitely fashioned old colonial church. The church’s interior is unassuming and the floor was renovated.
Fronting the church is an old watchtower called “Bantayan sa Hari” which was built in defense against the Moro raiders. Only the heavily ruined walls which have suffered a lot during the long period of colonization stood the test of time.
All these were accidental discoveries because actually the main reason we dropped by here is to have lunch in a humble restaurant near the church. The restaurant is set by the shores of a scenic beach. They serve the usual Filipino dishes by daytime and transforms into a bar brimful with drinks at night.
Our haggle with the habal-habal drivers began near the town’s sparkling spring overflowing to the sea. Most locals had this blank look in their face when we asked them about our destination. Salay Cave is just one of the unheard-of beautiful caves hidden in the confines of Alegria. It is accredited by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) so it is generally safe for tourists. The local government has in fact organized a local caving group to facilitate spelunking for visitors. Unfortunately, it was a Sunday so no one was there to assist us.
A thirty minute motorcycle drive led us to a modest village where Salay Cave is blissfully cocooned. Humble shacks, children playing and the locals busy with basketball greeted us. The hollow is another 30 minute trek away from civilization. The hike was relatively easy, passing by towering green bamboos, a giant balete tree and dying corn farms. But the singing of the insects makes the walk eerie in a lush jungle that envelops us.
The entrance to Salay cave is ridiculously small that like the rest of my friends, I had to squeeze myself in order to get inside. It was completely dark but I can sense the vastness of the mighty limestone cavern. It is unfortunate that we are unprepared for this exploration; our only light is our cellphone and the flash of the cameras.
The secret hollow is blessed with fragile cave formations. They are tempting to touch but as a general rule in spelunking, we are not supposed to touch any cave formation. That is because the oil and dirt from our hands or body can destroy cave formations; their colors will change permanently and it will hinder their growth.
Despite its monumental speleothem to flaunt, Salay cave remains uncharted to date. But a year or so from now, domestic tourism may soon invade this province that is frozen in time. And I hope in the coming years, the Alegrianhons will be able to protect the cave formations for the benefit of their future generation.

Salay Cave in Alegria, Cebu
It’s amazing how majestic mammoths like Salay Cave lie hidden in a deep dark abyss. Indeed, nothing can encompass nature’s magical prowess.
How to Get to Alegria:
To reach Alegria, you can go to Cebu South Terminal Bus where buses are available every hour bound for Bato or Samboan (ask the driver if it will pass by Alegria). Alternatively, you can ride a V-Hire (van-for-hire) in Citilink Terminal bound for Moalboal and upon reaching Moalboal Public Market, ride a habal-habal bound for Alegria. If you are coming from Kawasan Falls in Badian, you can also reach Alegria by habal-habal or multi-cab. Hiring a guide to Salay cave is a must as the hollow is well-hidden, you won’t really notice there’s a cave there.

*Special thanks to my travel buddies for helping me find Salay Cave : Edwin, Doi and Edcel.
What an adventure ate Gael. Truly, as you said, in time, this cave may attract tourists soon, so the local government must anticipate these things so that they can be prepared. Sustainable tourism, that is 🙂
VAST! Oh I do hope tourism will be managed well, for the benefit of the cave’s preservation. What an awesome find, guys 🙂
Ang liit nga ng entrance.hehe The shape of the rock formations seems a bit different from other caves.
Wow.. it reminded me of Sagada. This is really a good find. One more place to visit when I go to Cebu late this year.
ang ganda ng place…
Thanks for the article,
I see that you posted more pictures than your usual article which is greatly appreciated, due to some of us readers needs more convincing that the place is great so more images is the best way to convince us. And secondly, some of us don’t have the money and time to go there yet, more images will compel or inspire us to save money and allot some time in the future to go there. A gallery would be great though 😉
Great article again, you really help a lot. Some of this place you travel and wrote will owe you in the future. So please keep it up, I can only give you moral support.
God bless you and keep you safe on your future travels.
thank you so much Jun, I really appreciate your kind words. we really don’t need a lot of money to travel (although it doesn’t hurt if we have more funds), there are cheap places to visit. i will continue updating this blog with more travel guide and more photos as you suggested. thanks a lot! 🙂 bless you more. take care always!
nice find! mukhang mahirap talagang makita yan pag walang guide. at parang ang sikip ng entrance. hehehe. magkasya kaya ako dyan?
hopefully ma-squeeze in namin ito sa itinerary pag punta namin ng Cebu this august. ilang oras kaya ito from Cebu City?
Yun napo ang entrance Ms.Gael? grabe ang liit.. hehehe…
Sana mapuntahan ko ito pagdating ko ng Cebu… 🙂
thank you for featuring our place Alegria. Thus, i must include Salay CAve in my hectic schedule this December vacation of mine.
Again, Thank you. Please do continue inspiring nephyte travellers like me.
Godbless.
sarah
hi sarah, thanks for your kind words. there’s more in alegria, sayang when we went there mejo limited lang time ko.
Did you notice a pool of water inside the cave? An underground spring perhaps? 🙂
madilim kase noon, wala kameng ilaw. lol pero mukhang malalaim pa ang caves at mejo basa basa nga yung ibang formations. sana nga merong spring! 🙂