Camiguin
the tiny 'island born of fire,' where seven volcanoes guard the sweetest lanzones in the country and even the cemetery is underwater.
What Camiguin is known for.
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productLanzones
→ Roadside stands and the public market, esp. October
Camiguin's volcanic soil grows lanzones so sweet the whole island throws a festival for them. Around October the trees glow gold with the grape-sized fruit — buy them by the kilo and taste why locals insist no other lanzones comes close.
source ↗foodPastel
→ Vjandep and other bakeshops, Mambajao
The soft, yema-filled bun that became Camiguin's defining pasalubong — born in 1990 when Eleanor Popera Jose baked a batch from what was left of her husband's Christmas bonus, founding Vjandep. Eat one fresh on-island and you'll understand the obsession.
source ↗foodKiping with latik
→ Mambajao public market and local stalls
A humble island sweet: a thin, crispy cassava wafer drizzled with latik, the caramelized coconut sauce locals can't get enough of. Find it at the market alongside suman and binaki — proper merienda for a few pesos.
source ↗landmarkThe Sunken Cemetery
→ Off Catarman, boat or shoreline viewing
When Mt. Vulcan erupted in the 1870s it dragged the old town cemetery under the sea — now a giant cross marks the spot and divers swim over coral-crusted tombstones below. Eerie, beautiful, and pure Camiguin: a landmark only a volcanic island could have.
source ↗festivalLanzones Festival
→ Mambajao, third weekend of October
Every October the island honors its golden fruit with street-dancing and costumes literally built from lanzones leaves — the harvest thanksgiving that anchors Camiguin's calendar. Sweet fruit, big drums, small-island warmth.
source ↗What grows here.
The produce this place is actually famous for — and the market to buy it at, instead of the airport gift shop.
Camiguin lanzones are reputed the sweetest in the country — locals credit the volcanic soil — and the whole island throws a week-long festival in Mambajao every October at peak harvest.
Eat, drink & shop the towns you pass through.
Independent, Filipino-owned — from the karinderya that’s fed the port for forty years to the roastery the cool kids queue for. Your spend lands where it belongs.
Camiguin
MarketMambajao Public MarketTry Lanzones, suman, kiping, fresh catch
The whole island's commercial heart in one small, friendly market: golden lanzones in season, trays of suman, kiping and binaki, and whatever the boats brought in. The most affordable, most local way to taste Camiguin.
BakeryVjandep BakeshopTry Pastel (soft buns with yema custard filling)
The bakeshop that turned a 1990 family recipe into Camiguin's signature bun — soft, pillowy, oozing yema, now in a dozen-plus flavors. Buy them warm on-island rather than at some far-flung airport counter; fresh pastel is a different, better thing.
MakerKiping and suman makersTry Kiping with latik, suman
The market-stall makers keeping island merienda alive — crispy cassava kiping under a drizzle of caramelized latik, and suman from a handful of small producers. A few coins buys you a taste of everyday Camiguin.
MarketLanzones roadside standsTry Fresh Camiguin lanzones (in season)
In season the island's roads line up with families selling lanzones by the kilo straight off their own trees — the sweetest in the country, they'll insist. Buy here and your pesos land right in the growers' hands, no middleman.
MakerCantaan Giant Clam SanctuaryTry Community giant-clam conservation and snorkeling
A community cooperative in Barangay Cantaan has nurtured over a thousand giant clams since 1977, seven of the world's nine species among them. Snorkel above them with a local guide; your small fee funds island-led conservation, not a resort.
BakeryVjANDEP PastelTry Yema pastel buns
Camiguin's defining pasalubong — yema-filled pastel from a 1990 Mambajao bakeshop.
CaféThe Lanzones Farm by ArawTry Lanzones Crepe Cake and Lanzones Danish with espresso-based coffee
An agri-tourism farm cafe in Mambajao blending Camiguin's lanzones-growing landscape with specialty coffee and house pastries built around the namesake fruit.
Festivals & the living scene.
AprPanaad sa Camiguin (Lenten Island Pilgrimage)CultureAround the island; Old Volcano Walkway, Catarman · Holy Wednesday to Good Friday
Panaad means 'a vow,' and on this small volcanic island tens of thousands keep it by walking the full 64km circumferential road as a Holy Week penance, many barefoot, from Holy Wednesday through Good Friday. The traditional start is Benoni Port; the spiritual high point is the climb up the 1,000-step Old Volcano Walkway in Catarman, past 15 life-size Stations of the Cross to a Risen Christ statue overlooking the sea and the Sunken Cemetery. Local's tip: you can join for any stretch at your own pace rather than the whole loop — walk the cooler pre-dawn hours, carry water, and aim to reach the Old Volcano ascent at first light.
source ↗JunSan Juan sa Hibok-HibokFestivalCamiguin · Jun 23–25 yearly
Island-wide water festival for St. John the Baptist — sea-bathing, a fluvial parade and beach games.
source ↗OctLanzones FestivalFestivalCamiguin · 3rd week of Oct
A whole island celebrating its sweet lanzones harvest in costume and dance.
all yrSto. Niño Cold SpringNatureCatarman, Camiguin · year-round
Camiguin's largest cold spring, where icy water bubbles up through the sandy floor of a clear public pool ringed by trees, about 45 minutes by motorbike from Mambajao. Bring snacks, settle into a nipa cottage, and come on a weekday — it's a local family favorite, so weekends fill up.
source ↗all yrWhite Island Sandbar & Mantigue IslandBeachesMambajao · best Mar–Oct
White Island is a bare, uninhabited horseshoe sandbar a 10-minute bangka ride out, with Mt. Hibok-Hibok and Mt. Vulcan framing your photos; Mantigue adds a forested islet with a protected snorkeling sanctuary. Catch the 5am sunrise boat to have the sandbar to yourself — there's zero shade, so bring your own.
source ↗all yrVjandep Bakeshop — Original Mambajao BranchFood57 Plaridel Street, Mambajao · year-round
The original pastel bakery, started in January 1990 by Eleanor Popera Jose with her husband's Christmas bonus: a soft, pillowy bun with a distinctive cap top, filled with yema custard from a family heirloom recipe. Competing bakery Sweet Island Pastil uses Queensland butter for an airier, less sweet bun — local regulars debate which is truer to the original, and ordering both in one sitting is the correct move. Local's tip: buy at the Mambajao branch on Plaridel Street, not the CDO commissary; and beyond pastel, ask the karinderyas near Naasag Beach for chicken surol — native chicken stewed in coconut milk with lemongrass, the island's version of tinolang manok that nobody exports.
source ↗Show 5 more
all yrKibila Giant Clam Sanctuary & Ocean NurseryEcoGuinsiliban · year-round
A community clam-breeding sanctuary at Cantaan run by the Cantaan Centennial Multi-Purpose Cooperative, growing around 2,000 giant clams (7 of the world's 9 species) before reseeding the reef. Entrance is just P25 for the educational tour; pay an extra ~P150 to snorkel over the clams on the natural reef, and pair it with the white sandbar right beside it.
source ↗all yrArdent Hibok-Hibok Hot SpringWellnessMambajao · year-round; open 6am–10pm
Volcano-fed pools at the foot of Mt. Hibok-Hibok — a steady 38–40°C of sulfur-rich mineral water under a canopy of jungle trees and moss-covered rock. Local's tip: go after dark, when the water feels hotter against the cool night air, the day-trippers are gone, and it's the perfect wind-down after a sweaty island loop. Keep soaks short — the water runs hot.
source ↗all yrSto. Niño Cold SpringWellnessEsperanza, Camiguin · year-round; best dry season Dec–Apr
A mineral cold spring fed by Hibok-Hibok snowmelt — stepping into 18°C water in the tropics after a hike is its own hydrotherapy. The spring pools sit inside coconut groves with zero commercial development. Tip: go before 10am to have the pools to yourself; combine with the Ardent Hot Springs the same afternoon for a hot-cold contrast circuit.
all yrMt. Hibok-Hibok Summit TrekNatureMambajao, Camiguin · best Jan–Apr; requires DENR permit
An active stratovolcano — last erupted 1953 — with a 3–5 hour summit hike through dense cloud forest that opens onto crater views few tourists see. The trail starts in Mambajao and the summit emerges suddenly through cloud. Tip: book a registered guide through Camiguin LGU or your resort; start before 5am to summit by 8am before clouds swallow the top. DENR permit required.
all yrWhite Island Zero-Waste Day ProgramEcoMambajao, Camiguin · year-round; cleanup Sun mornings
Camiguin's White Island sandbar became a zero-waste destination in 2022 after barangay Mambajao fishermen organized a plastic-free protocol: reusable cups, glass bottles only at the pier canteen, volunteer cleanup each Sunday. Boat transfer is ₱500 roundtrip and includes a reusable bag. Tip: the 7am departure from White Beach port means you reach the sandbar before the Cagayan de Oro day-trippers; the island at 7–9am, with Hibok-Hibok catching morning light behind you, is the standard shot.