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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An inlaid chest, carved okir panels and brass jars crowd a craft shop in Tugaya, the Maranao craft town on Lake Lanao.

Places · Heritage

Tugaya

Tugaya, Lanao del Sur

Department of Tourism · Philippine government workPhoto by Department of Tourism, Philippine government work. Open the source file.

Overview

The brass and craft town of the Maranao, on the western shore of the lake.

Tugaya is where Maranao brass is made — kulintang gong sets, gadur vessels, betel boxes, and the cast and engraved work that carries okir ornament. It is a working craft town rather than a market: the casting, the engraving and the finishing happen in the houses and workshops along the road.

Woodcarving and weaving are here too, and the town is the practical answer to the question of where the objects in the Aga Khan Museum come from.

Buying directly from a workshop is normal and is the point of coming. Brass is heavy — plan for that before you fall in love with a gadur.

Things to do

  1. 01Watch brass cast by the lost-wax methodTugaya's foundries cast brass and bronze by the lost-wax method, including the gador, a pair of ornate brass urns; ask before photographing inside a workshop.
  2. 02Buy straight from a workshopBuying direct is the point of coming: prices are negotiated, nothing takes a card, so bring cash, and remember that brass is heavy.
  3. 03See the langkit panels woven for the malong landapWeavers here use back-strap looms and slow needle-weaving to make langkit panels, which are sewn into the traditional Maranao malong landap.
  4. 04See okir chests inlaid with shellWorkshops under the houses make gongs, drums and baul, wooden chests carved with okir and inlaid with polished tipay shell.

Food to try

  • Turmeric-yellow kuning rice and grilled chicken pater served on a banana leaf.MaranaoPalapaThe condiment the whole Maranao kitchen is built on — scallion bulb, ginger, chilli, coconut.Photo: Obsidian Soul
  • Piaparan a manok, chicken cooked with turmeric, coconut milk and grated coconut, served on a banana leaf.MaranaoPiaparanChicken or fish cooked in coconut with palapa and turmeric.Photo: Lokalpedia
  • A plate of beef rendang, the slow-cooked spiced beef that Maranao cooks call randang.MaranaoRendangThe slow-cooked dry coconut beef curry, in its Philippine form.Photo: Miansari66
  • MaranaoInatoEveryday Maranao home cooking, served as a set with rice and palapa.

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

Places to stay

Through local contacts, the city tourism office, or MSU. Online listings for Marawi are sparse and not always current.

  • hotel · MarawiRanaw Business HotelBusiness hotel used for MSSD events in Marawi, October 2026Named in 2026
  • hotel · MarawiSamsara Palace Hotel and EventHotel and events venue listed by the Bangsamoro Parliament, July 2026Named in 2026
  • hotel · MarawiSantorini Hotel, Garden Cafe and Events PlaceHotel with a garden cafe and events place, listed by the Bangsamoro Parliament, November 2024Named in 2024
  • resort · MarawiLake View ResortLakeside resort above Lake Lanao; hosted an MPOS livelihood training, May 2024Named in 2024

Each is named in an official or dated source; none could be checked against an accreditation list. No prices: rates change quickly, so confirm and book directly before you go.

Sourcesen.wikipedia.org ·en.wikipedia.org