Antequera: Bohol's Sunday Basket Market Town

Antequera sits about 16 kilometres north of Tagbilaran in the rolling inland hills of western Bohol, a fourth-class municipality of roughly 84 square kilometres and around 20,000 residents. It carries no coastline and no place on the mainstream tourist circuit, but its Sunday public market draws a steady stream of day visitors — mostly domestic travellers and Filipino-diaspora shoppers — as a distribution point for the rattan, bamboo, and pandan baskets, trays, and mats woven in household workshops across the municipality’s 19 barangays.

The town takes its name from Antequera in Andalusia, part of the same colonial-era pattern of Iberian place names applied across Bohol. It was constituted as a municipality during the Spanish administrative period, and the parish church of Saint Augustine on the town plaza — established by the Augustinian Recollects, with its current structure dating mainly to the 19th century — anchors the fiesta calendar around the 28 August feast day. The Sunday market itself functions as much as a social institution as a commercial one: families from outlying barangays travel in on Sunday mornings to sell handicrafts and produce, most active from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m.

A local specialty worth noting among the standard market foods — puso, grilled corn, roasted chicken — is budbud kabog, a millet rice cake wrapped in banana leaf and grated coconut, increasingly rare at urban markets but still made here by older vendors who keep the traditional recipe. It pairs with native tablea chocolate drink when available.

What’s here, briefly

• Antequera Sunday Handicraft Market — the main draw: rattan baskets, woven mats, and bamboo furniture sold direct from producers, well below Tagbilaran shop prices.
• Saint Augustine Parish Church — a modest Spanish-era church on the plaza with surviving colonial stonework on the belltower and facade.
• Abatan River corridor — the river’s upper reaches pass near the municipality, with informal barangay footpath walks possible.

Getting there

Jeepneys on the Tagbilaran–Antequera route leave the Integrated Bus Terminal on CPG Avenue North roughly every 30–45 minutes; the ride takes 30–40 minutes for PHP 20–25. Private vehicles follow the road north through Corella.

Travel tips

The Sunday market is the reason to make a special trip — any other day, Antequera is a quiet agricultural town with limited visitor services. Arrive before 9 a.m. for the best selection. There is no tourist accommodation in the municipality; Tagbilaran City, 30–40 minutes south, is the base for a day trip.

Other places to consider

• Corella — the next town north on the road toward the Rajah Sikatuna Protected Landscape.
• Balilihan — a neighbouring interior municipality on the same western Bohol hill corridor.
• Tagbilaran City — the provincial capital and the appropriate day-trip base.

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Location and travel detail reflect publicly available information as of 2026-07-16. Confirm market days and hours before travel. bohol-philippines.com earns a commission on bookings made through partner links at no cost to you.