Sevilla: Central Bohol's Rice Country on the Chocolate Hills Approach

Sevilla sits inland in west-central Bohol, bordered by Bilar to the east and Sagbayan and Calape to the north and west — rolling terrain on the western approach to the central Bohol uplands, between the Loboc River watershed to the east and the drier karst highlands further north. Rice fills the valley floors, coconut the slopes, and the municipality sits close enough to the Chocolate Hills corridor that private tours occasionally pass through, without Sevilla being a stop in its own right. Sevilla is a fifth-class municipality — the Philippines classifies towns by average annual income, and fifth class sits toward the lower end, a bracket that tracks fairly closely with the absence of any developed tourism infrastructure here. It covers roughly 6,486 hectares across 13 barangays, among the smaller land areas in Bohol’s interior belt.

The town was organized as a parish under Spanish administration and named for Seville, following the common Iberian place-naming pattern applied across the Philippines. In 1768, the suppression that reorganized ecclesiastical administration across interior Bohol — following the earlier Dagohoy Revolt disruption — touched Sevilla’s parish structure along with its neighbors; the current church building reflects later rebuilding over that 18th-century foundation. The fiesta follows the standard Bohol pattern of procession and communal feasting, dedicated to a Marian or founding-saint title consistent with the Augustinian Recollect parish tradition. Cebuano is the daily language.

What’s here, briefly

• Sipatan Twin Hanging Bridge — the municipality’s one developed visitor site, in Barangay Sipatan roughly 10 minutes by road from Loboc town. Two parallel 40-metre bamboo walkways span the Loboc River, each wide enough for one direction of foot traffic. The crossing began as a single working footbridge — bamboo decking hung from rope, used to move farm produce and livestock over the water rather than people out for a look at the view. As countryside tourism grew through the 2000s, the barangay council reinforced the structure with steel cable through a Philippine-Australian Community Assistance Program (PACAP) grant, while keeping the woven bamboo flooring and handrails — which is why the deck still flexes noticeably underfoot even though the steel, not the bamboo, now carries the load. PACAP funding also built a multipurpose hall on the far riverbank, used as a crafts display space and rest stop. A crossing takes two to three minutes at an easy pace; entrance runs around PHP 20 per person, going toward maintenance and barangay programs.
• Busai Falls — reachable by pump boat from the Sevilla–Loboc boundary up to Barangay Ewon, a quieter stop for visitors with extra time beyond the hanging bridge.
• The countryside drive — the road through Sevilla runs past open rice paddies and coconut groves, karst hills visible to the north.
• Sevilla Parish Church — the town church and plaza, Spanish-colonial in foundation.
• A waypoint on the interior loop — useful for travellers exploring central Bohol by private vehicle or motorcycle rather than a destination to plan around.

Getting there

From Tagbilaran City, the route runs 1–1.5 hours by jeepney or bus north through Corella and Bilar, branching off the main Tagbilaran–Carmen highway; jeepneys serving the interior depart from the Dao Terminal area. By private vehicle, Sevilla combines naturally with a Chocolate Hills day trip — it sits roughly 15–20 minutes west of Carmen by road. For the hanging bridge specifically, the Carmen countryside highway toward Loboc (roughly 30–40 kilometres from Tagbilaran) is the more direct approach, with a short signed turnoff before Loboc proper; most countryside tour vans slot the bridge in between the Bilar man-made forest and the Loboc River cruise rather than routing through the Sevilla poblacion itself.

Local economy

Rice and coconut farming carry most households, supplemented by the informal income the hanging bridge generates for Barangay Sipatan — vendors on both riverbanks sell woven handicrafts, rice cakes, and cold drinks to passing tour groups, and women’s and people’s organisations in the barangay draw additional income from craft sales tied to the bridge traffic. It is a small but real example of a single piece of community infrastructure doing double duty, as both a river crossing and a modest tourism income stream, rather than the town having any purpose-built visitor economy.

Local taste

Freshwater fish from streams and small ponds supplements the rice-based diet; tinolang manok — chicken in ginger broth with green papaya — is a common household dish. Kalamay, the sticky rice-and-coconut-milk sweet cooked with brown sugar, is produced across this stretch of central Bohol and sold at roadside stalls along the Tagbilaran–Carmen highway. On the far bank of the hanging bridge, vendors sell rice cakes and simple refreshments to visitors crossing over, a smaller-scale version of the same roadside snack culture.

Practical realities

Accommodation: none in Sevilla — Carmen has limited guesthouse options 15–20 minutes east, and Tagbilaran remains the practical base. Roads: good on the main route; secondary barangay roads can require a motorcycle. At the hanging bridge: closed-toe shoes are worth wearing, since the bamboo decking gets slippery in wet season; morning visits between 8 and 10 a.m. give better light for photos and arrive ahead of the tour-van crowds. Payment: cash only, both at the bridge and in the poblacion — there is no reliable ATM access in Sevilla itself.

Other places to consider

• Carmen — the Chocolate Hills Complex, 15–20 minutes east.
• Sagbayan — the neighboring interior municipality and its own Chocolate Hills viewpoint.
• Calape — bordering to the northwest.

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Route detail reflects publicly available information as of 2026-07-16. Confirm road conditions before travel. bohol-philippines.com earns a commission on bookings made through partner links at no cost to you.