Tibiao and the Kawa Baths

Bathing In A Sugar Cauldron Over A Wood Fire, Above A River, In The Least Visited Province On Panay · Tibiao, Antique

A KAWA IS THE ENORMOUS CAST-IRON VAT THAT SUGARCANE JUICE WAS BOILED DOWN IN. IN TIBIAO THEY FILL ONE WITH WATER, THROW IN HERBS AND FLOWERS, LIGHT A WOOD FIRE UNDERNEATH IT AND YOU GET IN. Somebody tends the fire and adjusts the heat while you sit in a cauldron on a platform above the Tibiao River with mountains in front of you. IT IS COMPLETELY LOCAL IN ORIGIN, faintly absurd, and one of the genuinely memorable things in the Visayas. THE REST OF TIBIAO IS THE RIVER: KAYAKING DOWN IT, and BUGTONG BATO FALLS, a seven-tier cascade of which the first three are reachable on a walk of about forty minutes. ANTIQUE IS THE LEAST-VISITED PROVINCE ON PANAY - people drive through it between Iloilo and Boracay without stopping - and the coast road under Mount Madja-as is the reason to slow down. Take the kawa in the late afternoon or after dark, when the air has cooled and the fire and the mountains do the work, and book the slot ahead - there are only so many vats.

Tuno, Tibiao, Antique, Tibiao, Antique, Philippines

TIBIAO IS ON THE ANTIQUE COAST ROAD, roughly THREE TO FOUR HOURS FROM ILOILO CITY and about TWO FROM CATICLAN, the Boracay jump-off - which makes it a natural stop rather than a destination. KAWA BATHS ARE BOOKED THROUGH THE RESORTS AND OPERATORS AT TUNO, usually with a slot and a set duration; THE FIRE IS REAL AND THE ATTENDANT MANAGES THE TEMPERATURE, so tell them if it is too hot. BUGTONG BATO FALLS is a walk of about forty minutes from the drop-off with A GUIDE REQUIRED; the first three tiers are the usual trip. KAYAKING IS SEASONAL AND DEPENDS ON THE RIVER LEVEL. ACCOMMODATION IS SIMPLE RIVERSIDE LODGING. The wet months, roughly June to November, raise the river and close the kayaking; typhoons cross Panay.

Tibiao and the Kawa Baths on Spottos · Explore more places on Spottos