Bakhawan EcoPark

BAKHAWAN ECOPARK

Five minutes from town in New Buswang (P40 by tricycle), this 120-hectare park is the base for a mangrove reforestation project begun in the late 1980s. Visitors can check out intertidal ecology from an 850m boardwalk while enjoying birdsong and mud critters. It’s a welcome green escape from the polluted city.

The Bakhawan Eco-Park is a 220-hectare mangrove forest located in in Kalibo, Aklan, Philippines. The mangrove reforestation project started in 1990 when the local government and several non-government organizations transformed the muddy shoreline of Barangay New Buswang into a mangrove reforestation site to prevent flood and storm surges in the community. The park is dubbed as the Philippines' most successful mangrove reforestation project. The Eco-park is operated by the Kalibo Save the Mangroves Association (KASAMA). The word "bakhawan", in the local dialect, means "mangrove"

Today, the Bakhawan Eco-Park is considered as one of the most popular tourist attractions in Kalibo.[8] The centerpiece of the Eco-Park is a 1.3-kilometer bamboo trail that takes visitors deep into the mangrove forest. The park is an ideal destination for Eco-Tourism, it is home to different species of mangrove trees and it serves as a sanctuary for various types of birds and marine species. Other features in the park includes a watchtower, souvenir shop, canteen, massage area, charcoal briquetting, picnic huts and a Center for International Mangrove Studies.