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Surigao’s best known secret

One of the best known secrets that the province of Surigao del Norte has to offer, aside from Siargao Island better known as the “Surfing Capital of the Philippines, is the enchanting Sohoton Caves.

The place was named “Sohoton’’ because of the very unusual way of getting into this majestic group of islets. One must pass under, “sohot’’ in Surigao dialect or “suot or lusot’’ in Tagalog, in order to witness a breathtaking view of unspoiled nature that is a sight to behold.

Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA) general manager and chief executive officer Robert Dean S. Barbers went to Sohoton Caves to formally turnover PTA’s Visitor’s Center to the Municipality of Socorro as part of its mandate to devolve the function of promoting tourism to the local government units (LGU). As a sign of appreciation of the town of Socorro to Barbers, the local officials of Socorro passed an ordinance naming the place after his father, Sen. Robert Z. Barbers Visitor’s Center in honor of the late Statesman who is considered by fellow Surigaonons as one of the best national leaders that their province ever produced.

In order to get to his captivating tourist destination, one would take a one and a half hour drive from Surigao City up to the town of Claver which boarders the province of Surigao del Sur and takes a 45-minute boat ride going to the municipality of Socorro where one would find a cluster of magnificent coral isles known as Sohoton.

Sohoton Caves can only be accessed by a small pump-boat during low tide for a window of opportunity to get the passageway to the numerous fascinating caves, crystal clear waters and amazing preservation of its bio-diversity and marine life. However, one must not be consumed by all this enthralling sights and must be very wary of the time before the tide rises or else one would be trapped into these magical islands.

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