Silay City Trip Overview
Get to know more about the rich history and cultural heritage of Negros. This trip focuses on the Spanish heritage and the history of the sugarcane industry and haciendas of Negros. You will visit heritage houses, museums and century old churches guided by our DOT accredited tour guides.
Additional Info
* Duration: 7 hours
* Starts: Silay City, Philippines
* Trip Category: Cultural & Theme Tours >> Cultural Tours
Explore Promoted Experiences
What to Expect When Visiting Silay City, Western Visayas, Philippines
Get to know more about the rich history and cultural heritage of Negros. This trip focuses on the Spanish heritage and the history of the sugarcane industry and haciendas of Negros. You will visit heritage houses, museums and century old churches guided by our DOT accredited tour guides.
Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Stop At: The Ruins, Hda. Sta. Maria Brgy. Zone 15, Talisay, Negros Occidental 6115 Philippines
Known as the “Taj Majal” of Negros, this the ancestral mansion of the family of wealthy sugar baron Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson built on a 440 hectare sugar plantation in Talisay, City Negros Occidental in the early 1900’s in memory of his Portuguese wife Maria Braga Lacson, who died during the birth of their eleventh child.
During World War 2, Filipino guerillas burned it down as a countermeasure to prevent the invading Japanese forces from using it as a military office.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Balay Negrense Museum, Cinco De Noviembre Street Barangay III, Silay City, Negros Occidental 6116 Philippines
Also known as Victor Fernandez Gaston Ancestral House is a museum in Silay City, Negros Occidental in the Philippines, showcasing the lifestyle of a late 19th-century Negrense sugar baron. It is notable for being the first museum to be established in the province of Negros Occidental.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Hofilena Heritage House, Silay City, Negros Occidental Philippines
During World War II, when the family fled to the mountains, the house was used by Japanese commanders who had meetings here. The house was later occupied by the Americans.
In 1962 the house was opened to the public. It was the first ancestral house to be opened in the city. The next house to do so was 30 years later.
The house is also a repository of art finds collected by the owner-curator Ramon Hofileña and his family. The second floor is a gallery of over 1,000 art treasures, featuring the paintings and sketches of national artists Juan Luna, Felix Resurrecion Hidalgo, Fernando Amorsolo, Ang Kiukok, Vicente Manansala, H.R. Ocampo, and BenCab. Alongside these master’s works is a sketch made by the young Jose Rizal, the national hero, and a painting by Spanish artist Francisco Goya.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: San Diego Pro-Cathedral, Silay City, Negros Occidental Philippines
The San Diego Pro-cathedral, formerly known as the San Diego Parish Church or the St. Didacus Parish Church before its declaration as a pro-cathedral in 1994, is an early 20th-century church in Silay City, Negros Occidental in the Philippines. It is the only pro-cathedral outside of the national capital of Manila, and is unique in Negros Occidental for being the only church in the province featuring a cupola or dome.
The ruins of the older church can be found at the back of the church that was built in 1841.
Duration: 30 minutes
Pass By: CINCO DE NOVIEMBRE, Silay-Mambulac Rd, Silay City Heritage Zone, Silay City, Negros Occidental, Philippines
Cinco De Noviembre marker or the Farmacia Locsin was owned by Don Leonardo de la Rama Locsin that served as a secret collection booth for the donations used for the revolution of Negros. Instead of donors name and the amount donated, he recorded it as a name of medicine and the grams meant the amount of money donated. In this event Negrenses prove their kills in tricking Spaniards while establishing a functioning government in a street corner.
Stop At: Capitol Lagoon Park, Corner Gatuslao and Lacson Streets Provincial Capitol Complex, Bacolod, Negros Occidental Philippines
The Capitol Park and Lagoon is a provincial park located in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental, in the Philippines. One of the features of the park are matching sculptures depicting a woman standing alongside a water buffalo and that of a man pulling another water buffalo. These sculptures are located at the northern and southern ends of the lagoon. These figures were executed by Italian sculpture Francesco Riccardo Monti who also did the sculptures of the Metropolitan Manila Theater and the University of the Philippines – Visayas Iloilo campus. Guillermo Tolentino also contributed as a sculptor of the figures.
Duration: 15 minutes
Stop At: Negros Occidental Provincial Capitol, North Capitol Road Gatusalo St, Bacolod, Negros Occidental 6100 Philippines
In 1926, then Governor Jose Locsin decided to erect a provincial capitol building that reflected the province’s status as the wealthiest at that time due to the boost in the sugar industry.
The works of National Artist for Sculpture Guillermo Tolentino are displayed in the capitol building and the lagoon fronting the building
Duration: 15 minutes
Stop At: San Sebastian Cathedral, Rizal Street, Bacolod, Negros Occidental Philippines
Famously called Bacolod Cathedral, the San Sebastian Cathedral is the most famous religious and historical landmark in the province of Bacolod.
Duration: 15 minutes
Stop At: Pope John Paul II Tower, Bacolod, Negros Occidental 6100 Philippines
The seven-storey building is dedicated to the late Pope John Paul II who visited this capital city on the 20th of February 1981. It was such a momentous and festive event for the people of Bacolod City that time as they were blessed by his visit.
The Pope John Paul II Tower is a pilgrimage center that embodies and perpetuates the ideas, life, advocacies, commitment and holiness of Pope John Paul II – an ardent Promoter of the culture of life and the culture of love.
Duration: 15 minutes