Ozamiz in Misamis Occidental, Philippines is a small city of just over a hundred thousand residents. It was previously known as “Misamis,” which had been an old Spanish town in the early 1800s.
It was established because of the Spanish garrison, the Nuestra Senora dela Concepcion del Triunfo stone fort, which had been constructed to protect the land from the pirates of Lanao.
This is a two-part guest post from Ace Diloy, an opportunity travel photographer, who went around Ozamiz in one day.
My name is Ace. I’m actually not a blogger, but more of an opportunity travel photographer.
That means someone who gets to travel to different places because of work, education, or business, and makes it a point to photograph people and places of interest. It’s not to be confused with tourist photography or hardcore travel photography.
Finished clay pots at Naomi’s Garden.
I would imagine that one travels to Ozamiz not as a tourist, since the tourism industry here isn’t really developed. If you happen to have a scheduled flight to this place, and would like to explore the city in a limited amount of time, then read on.
If you’re staying at the city center, then your main mode of transportation would be tricycles or pedicabs. Fare would be Php8 pesos within the city proper regardless if you are the only passenger.
You have quite a few choices for accommodation. There are pension houses scattered in the city, ranging from Php300 for a fan room, to in excess of around Php500 for an air-conditioned room.
One of the places you can visit in Ozamiz is the Cotta Fort. It was built in 1755 as a Spanish outpost. Think of it as a much smaller Fort Santiago in Manila.
Entrance to the Cotta Fort.
There is a Php10 entrance fee that you would have to fork out to the guard on duty, not to be confused with the stone guard below, who also stands at the entrance of the fort.
When you enter, you will see a huge tree which is believed to be as old as the fort itself. There’s really nothing to see inside, as it is a fort – an enclosed space. So if you’re fond of grass, then you’ll be happy to explore Cotta Fort.
Stone statue in Cotta Fort.
There is a small “museum” inside the fort, but, as expected, it was virtually empty. The only redeeming piece inside was the box containing old bones. The bones were supposed to be discovered when the local government excavated the arsenal structure inside the fort.
I would have forked out an additional 10 pesos just to hold those bones, but I decided it would be better spent on sago and gulaman (local sweetened drink) instead.
Ancient bones in Cotta Fort.
The old arsenal.
It does get interesting when you climb the fort wall. There is a mini lighthouse overlooking the cotta park. Unfortunately, you can’t climb it. From the cotta fort wall, you can also see Lanao Del Norte, which is around 20 minutes away by ferry.
Mini lighthouse in Cotta Fort.
After Cotta Fort, I decided to go to Bukagan Hill. The hill houses a tower which has four huge bells weighing 7 tons each. It was too heavy for the Cathedral’s belfry, so it was decided that a special tower in Bukagan Hill would be constructed to house the enormous bells.
One of the bells in Bukagan Hill.
Another one of the bells in Bukagan Hill.
Doing prior research, web info indicated that the road going uphill to Bukagan would be well paved. In order to go there, one would have to hire a habal-habal (single motorcycle).
The driver wanted Php300 for a round trip, but I managed to haggle it down to Php100. Local contacts advice against going solo to the place, as there have been reported muggings in the area.
The Bukagan Hill bell tower.
The road initially was as described, well paved. But after reaching the foot of the hill, the terrain suddenly changed. It became rough, and after about less than a kilometer, it was near impossible to take photos while riding in a habal-habal. The expected well paved road was gone and was replaced with one littered with rocks the size of small coconuts.
After reaching the top, though, you would be greeted by the Bukagan Hill bell tower, and it’s a beautiful view indeed.
It was just too bad that the tower had been defaced by vandals. The place had so much potential for tourism!
After leaving Bukagan Hill, I decided to head over to Naomi’s Garden (entrance fee: PhP10), located about 10 minutes from the city proper.
It sits in a sprawling 12-hectare property, and it was indeed beautiful and peaceful there, with all its fruit trees and ornamental plants. The roses look nice, as well as the orchids and the bonsai, but I have to admit that it wasn’t really my cup of tea.
I just took a quick look around, and then I went to look at their pottery shop which was more interesting for me. I can show you how the process is done.
The source for their red clay is this…
The raw clay is rid of large rocks, and then fed to this machine which flattens and smoothens it.
After molding, the pottery is air dried depending on the size. It is then baked in the kiln in order to strengthen the pottery.
It was quite fascinating to observe the whole process, and I was happy that the workers there were very accommodating in answering all of my questions. It can’t be easy handling raw clay every day, but they seemed to be content in their jobs.
The clay is then molded by hand…
…and then set out to dry.
I went out to Naomi’s Garden in Ozamiz to see the flowers; I didn’t expect I’d be learning how pottery is made. That experience certainly made my day!
How to go to Ozamiz: Ozamiz is accessible by direct flight from Manila via Cebu Pacific or Philippine Airlines. The Ozamiz City airport is about 15 minutes via tricycle from the city center. Fare would be around Php60 per person.
13 Comments. Leave new
Where can i find the habal habal going to bukagan hills? I m going to ozamuz tomorrow. Hp to get ur reply. Thanks
Thank u for featuring our city 🙂
GwuPa kaAu taga kzamis b
@ Baktin: Next time, make sure to fork out P100 to go to Bukagan Hill 😉
Wow. You’ve been to Bukagan Hill! 🙂 I missed this last time and I never knew about it until today.
@ CA: I’ve never been to Ozamiz either 🙂 Hopefully next time I go home to Mindanao, I’ll find time to go visit.
never been to ozamiz, looks like there’s so much to see here! Gusto ko yung stone statue sa cotta fort 🙂
Gay, IKR? He’s also funny in real life 😀
Laughing at the P10 you’d like to spend for touching the eerie bones, but would spend it on a drink instead!
@ Mervs: Let us know when you’ve been to Ozamiz. One more post about it coming up!
@ Red: I love outback Australia’s landscape. You think maybe we can trade places for once? haha
Fascinating! Nothing quite like this downunder here in Australia – you’re lucky to have such a beautiful and historic place to explore!
wow! this will be a helpful guide for my trip to Ozamiz later this year… thanks po! maganda din daw yung swimming with the dolphins sabi ng friend ko… i just don’t want to try it, baka magalit ang mga animal lovers… hehehe!!!