Mesias Cave

Overview

Mesias Cave is an inland cave in Barangay Cabawan, Tagbilaran City, listed in the provincial tourist-attraction inventory under Nature / Cave (Inland). A cave this close to a provincial capital’s city limits is unusual on most Philippine islands; Bohol has them because the island sits on a limestone karst plateau — the same uplifted coral shelf that produced the Chocolate Hills further inland — riddled with cavities where rainwater has dissolved the rock over geologic time.

A local blog account places Mesias Cave within the Botanical Gardens in Cabawan district, alongside a second, neighboring cave called Lahos-lahos Cave. The same account records a piece of local folklore — unverified and presented here only as folklore, not fact — that the caves in this area were rumored to have been used to stash Japanese treasure, a common World War II-era treasure-hunting legend told about caves across Bohol and the wider Visayas.

[TO ENRICH: cave dimensions, speleothem features, wildlife (bats, swiftlets), access trail condition, guide availability, ownership or management, entry fee — none of these were confirmed by a genuine search and still require on-site verification.]

Location

Barangay Cabawan, Tagbilaran City, Bohol. Cabawan is in the southern part of the city — also the barangay where Maribojoc Mangrove Firefly Watching is based (noting that Cabawan appears in both Tagbilaran City and Maribojoc records — confirm jurisdiction).

Getting There

From the Tagbilaran City center, Barangay Cabawan is accessible by tricycle. Tagbilaran Airport (TAG) is the closest air gateway.

Practical Info

• Currency: PHP
• Language: Cebuano, Filipino, English
• [TO ENRICH: entry fee, guide requirement, hours, lighting in cave, safety]

What to Expect

An inland cave within easy reach of Tagbilaran City. Cave character and features require enrichment before detailed visitor guidance can be provided.

[TO ENRICH: cave length, chamber count, difficulty of passage, notable formations]

Notes

• Listed in BPTO inventory under Nature / Cave (Inland)
• Tagbilaran City is the provincial capital; airport code: TAG
• The cave sits within a Botanical Gardens area in Cabawan, alongside Lahos-lahos Cave.

Enjoying The Great Life: Where to find treasures in Bohol and other tidbits, accessed 2026-07-17 — source for the Botanical Gardens location and the (unverified) Japanese-treasure folklore.