104 places · 7 areas

Places of the Bangsamoro

Islands and white sand, lakes in the highlands, mosques, falls and the old forts and houses of the sultanates: what is there, how to get there, and what to know before you go.

Ervin Malicdem · CC BY-SA 4.0Photo by Ervin Malicdem, CC BY-SA 4.0. Open the source file.

Beaches 6

Islands 11

Mosques 10

Lakes 5

Falls 5

Mountains 7

Nature 21

Heritage 22

Museums 5

Cities 2

Markets 2

Memory 8

Every place is traced to the pages it came from, and the guide’s own entries are the travel workspace’s. Photos are from Wikimedia Commons or English Wikipedia under free licences, each credited on the photo. 7 areas: Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte and del Sur, Tawi-Tawi, Cotabato City and the Special Geographic Area.

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The Liguasan Marsh seen from the International Space Station in 2013, the Mindanao River meandering through its wetlands.

Places · Nature

Ligawasan Marsh

Datu Piang, Maguindanao del Sur

Also known as Liguasan Marsh

Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainPhoto by Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain. Open the source file.

Overview

One of the largest wetlands in the country — channels, floating vegetation, birds.

The marsh spreads across the Maguindanao lowlands where the Rio Grande de Mindanao slows and spreads, and it is enormous — a shifting system of open water, channels and floating mats that changes shape between wet and dry season. It is one of the country’s most important wetlands for birds, and a fishery that a great many families live from.

It also sits on substantial natural gas reserves, which has made it a subject of regional politics for decades and is part of why it has never been developed for visitors.

Seeing it means getting in a boat with someone who knows the channels. There is no other version of this trip.

Things to do

  1. 01Take a boat through the channels with a local guideArrange the boat and guide in the barangay; nothing is scheduled, and the marsh is easier to get around by boat in the wet season.
  2. 02See the water lilies turn the marsh pinkWhen the water lilies bloom, parts of the marsh turn into a sea of pink.
  3. 03Look for the comb-crested jacana at dawnThe marsh is the only place in the Philippines where the comb-crested jacana can be seen, among at least 92 bird species recorded here.

Food to try

  • Datu PiangTapul rice from the marsh farmsThe marsh's farmland grows prized rice varieties called tapul or denorado; tilapia and mudfish are raised in its waters.
  • Banana-leaf parcels of pastil, one opened to show shredded meat over steamed rice.MaguindanaonPastilRice and shredded meat in a banana leaf — the region’s breakfast, and its icon.Photo: Obsidian Soul
  • A mound of yellow turmeric rice, the kiyoning or kuning of Moro tables, topped with chicken in palapa.MaguindanaonKiyoningTurmeric rice, yellow and fragrant, cooked in coconut milk.Photo: Obsidian Soul
  • Lacy discs of tinagtag, the fried rice-flour snack sold at Ramadhan stalls in Maguindanao del Sur.MaguindanaonTinagtagA lattice of fried rice-flour batter, crisp and sweet.Photo: Bangsamoro Information Office

The food is halal. Named eateries come from dated listings, so check they are still open.

Sourcesen.wikipedia.org ·newswav.com ·sunstar.com.ph ·maritimereview.ph