Harka Piloto is a marine sanctuary located in Silonay Island in the eastern part of the city, the sanctuary is actively protected by the local government. Given its protected status, Harka Piloto is now an ideal site for diving and snorkeling.
The island has a total area of 26.7 hectares and the marine sanctuary was established in 2004 which led to the organization of Bantay Dagat volunteers.
Aganhao Island
Located near Silonay Island, Aganhao has a small strip of white sand beach frequented by local excursionists. In terms of ecotourism development, Aganhao serves as a spill-over site for potential visitors to Harka Piloto Marine Sanctuary.
Baco-Chico Islets
These islets are located in Calapan Bay. The reefs surrounding the islands has a potential for scuba diving.
Baruyan River
This is a long river that ends at Caluangan Lake. Highly ideal for river cruising (or kayaking). What makes the river more interesting is that it is not clogged by any man-made development such as fish pens. Together with the lake, the sites still possess the character of a rural ambience most attractive to tourists seeking such kind of an experience.
Caluangan Lake
A wide lake that that is surprisingly still unclogged by fish pens. With Baruyan River as the connecting attraction, tourists can have leisurely cruises or kayaking activities in Caluangan Lake.
Ecotourism Sites in Calapan City
ECO-ADVENTURE
Scuba Diving
Calapan City has a good potential for scuba diving given the wide expanse of its marine territory and a good number of small islands. The city also serves as a natural spill-over area for the established diving destinations such as Batangas and Puerto Galera.
Muck Diving
Muck diving is a fairly new activity that involves scuba diving and to a large extent, macro photography. One opportunity presented by muck diving is that it does not require pristine, large tracts of coral reefs. In fact, muck diving would be most successful in areas where other substrates such as sand or mud would be present. Calapan Bay has wide areas that have good potential for muck diving offering different substrates such as sand, seagrass, and small coral heads.
Harka Piloto Marine Sanctuary as an island marine school
Students and conservation personalities shall be encouraged to visit the area for possible learning opportunities.
Snorkeling
Snorkeling is highly ideal and it could also bring more visitors to Harka Piloto. With a good coral cover, it will also validate the site as an outdoor learning area (marine camp).
Scuba Diving
Since most of the dive sites in Batangas and Puerto Galera are fairly visited by most domestic scuba divers, Harka Piloto is marketed as a new dive site.
Kayaking
To be introduced as an add-on, kayaking will provide the visual attractiveness of the Harka Piloto as a recreation area.
Glass-bottom Boat
As part of the educational and recreation programs in Harka Piloto, a glass bottom boat will be introduced in the area. Said boat takes care of the guests who cannot swim or would opt to view the living corals and other marine life on board a board. This also affords the one trip or a guide to handle more guests compared to snorkeling that would require lower ratio between guides and guests.
River Cruising
Baruyan River, together with Caluangan Lake was developed into an ideal river cruising destination. Simple development such as the establishment of raft or kayak stations was established in the area through the help of hotels and resorts owners. This helps the existing accommodation facilities to have the chance to offer more activities for their guests who prefer simple activities.
Mountain Biking, Hiking, and Trail Running
These are activities that are easily introduced in the interiors of Calapan City. Community trails already exist and can easily be utilized for these activities. One site that is promoted is the Bulusan Eco-Trail that has an expanse that includes the premises of the Calapan Recreational and Zoological Park to rivers systems, forests, and the Suqui Beach area.
Calapan Recreational and Zoological Park Tour
Already an existing park used by locals to savor nature, this area was improved to become a zoo to make its landscape more ideal for tourist use. Aside from the improved landscape, other improvements came in the form of the following:
• Planting of more bird trees (fruit-bearing trees) in order to attract more birds and make it into an ideal birdwatching site
• Adding more outdoor facilities for camping, picnics, and outdoor sports
• Zipline and Wall Climbing Adventure
Skim Boarding
The wide and shallow expanse of beach areas in Calapan make it ideal for skim boarding which has been gaining enthusiasts and visitors to sites offering such activity.
Rock Climbing
The south-eastern part of the Silonay Island has a rock wall that could be an ideal site for rock climbing.
Birdwatching
The Department of Tourism is going full-blast in marketing the Philippines as a birdwatching destination. With a good number of bird species in the whole of Mindoro Island, Calapan develops birdwatching as an ecotourism activity, or link it to other possible birdwatching sites such as Naujan Lake and Mt. Halcon.
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