Anda

IJsselstein, Wednesday, 26 January 2011 (updated: Monday, 14 February 2011)

Anda is located on a small peninsula at the eastern tip of Bohol, 99 kilometers from Tagbilaran City. It has a long stretch of white beaches, that have only recently started to be developed for tourists.

History

Originally, the municipality was a barangay of Guindulman called Quinali after to the characteristic land formations of sand, gravel and corals that filed layer after layer amassed by waves since time immemorial. The town was made into a separate municipality on March 12, 1875 and was renamed "Anda" which is said to mean walking and moving (to posterity). Others claim this name was chosen in honor of Simon de Anda y Salazar, who was the Spanish governor of the Philippines in 1769.

Highlights

Beach near Anda

As already mentioned, Anda has some very nice long beaches. One can walk along this beach for some four kilometers, almost all the way from the boundary with Guindulman to the town center, which is facing the beach.

Behind the beaches, the coast is formed from lime-stone rocks and cliffs, often overhanging the beach and heavily eroded. When climbing those rocks, you need to observe utmost care, as they are very irregularly shaped and can be very sharp. Behind some of the cliffs, one can find caves, some of which have served as burial places for the local people in pre-hispanic times. (Unfortunately, some of these burial places have been pilfered by unscrupulous antique dealers, with the wooden coffins being offered for sale in Tagbilaran.)

Further inland, one can find numerous impressive caves, some underwater. Be careful to only enter caves with an experienced guide who knows the local conditions!

Anda Church

In the town itself, you can find the parish church, dedicated to Santo Niño, which was completed in 1926. Although this church looks plain from the outside, it boasts some excellent ceiling paintings, by the well-known Cebuano artist Ray Francia, who decorated many of Bohol churches. Those in Anda are probably the best preserved, and well worth the trip to this remote place.

Ceiling Murals in Anda Church

A little to the east of the town one can find some impressive rock-formations that form the easternmost point of the Anda peninsula, locally known as lamanok.

Lamanok point near Anda

Anda at a glance
Population:	17863
Number of households:	3072
Land area:	6110 ha
Number of barangays:	16
Distance from Tagbilaran:	99 km

Barangay	Population	Households
Almaria	386	73
Bacong	2058	402
Badiang	1817	241
Buenasuerte	478	70
Candabong	2164	369
Casica	462	86
Katipunan	684	102
Linawan	1105	184
Lundag	1087	165
Poblacion	1286	247
Santa Cruz	1151	188
Suba	1215	228
Talisay	1135	205
Tanod	643	102
Tawid	785	154
Virgen	1407	256

(Based on figures from the census of 2000)

Links

Wikipedia article on Anda.

AndaBohol.info has a large number of nice pictures of Anda.

Jeroen Hellingman

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