Negros Occidental
Bukaw sits by the Malogo River in Silay, and the province begins just past our gate. Explore Negros is our slow guide to the three cities closest to us: Silay, Bacolod and Talisay. These are the houses we'd walk through, the plates we'd order and the hours we'd keep. We checked the details, and we'll tell you when something is closed. Go out for a morning, come back for the river, and rest in between.
The house itself is written up as Bukaw, the owl house by the Malogo.
Drive times on these pages are approximate, from Silay City proper, not measured from our gate.
For a whole day on one road, the notes live in Day Trips. The first is Mambukal: a hot spring, a long massage, ginger tea, and chicken inasal in Bacolod, home after dark.
Ride apps in Bacolod, the airport shuttle, and a note on what is not running here are in Getting around.
Last checked 27 October 2026.
Silay is the town we come home to. More than thirty heritage houses, a 1927 cathedral, and a bakery that has been rolling pastry since the 1920s. Small enough to walk in a morning.
Photo by Joelaldor, via Wikimedia Commons. Resized for this page. CC BY-SA 4.0.
The City of Smiles. The province's museum, the capitol lagoon, the cathedral, and the long café evenings of Lacson Street. What to eat is on the food guide.
Photo by Herbertkikoy, via Wikimedia Commons. Resized for this page. CC BY-SA 4.0.
Most people only pass through. Stop. The Ruins glows at dusk, Balay ni Tana Dicang keeps an old household's story, and the road climbs into cool highlands.
Photo by Ralff Nestor Nacor, via Wikimedia Commons. Resized for this page. CC BY-SA 4.0.
Chicken inasal, cansi, piaya and Silay's lumpia ubod. What to eat, what it costs, and a crawl from Silay to Bacolod.
Photo by Obsidian Soul, via Wikimedia Commons. Resized for this page. CC BY-SA 4.0.
MassKara, Panaad, Kansilay, Minulu-an and Cinco de Noviembre. A month-by-month calendar, with the dates we could confirm.
Photo by Ralff Nestor Nacor, via Wikimedia Commons. Resized for this page. CC BY-SA 4.0.
A long white island off Cadiz, and a sandbar in the Sagay Marine Reserve that comes and goes with the tide. These are full days. Go when the sea is calm.
Photo by Choi2451, via Wikimedia Commons. Resized for this page. CC BY-SA 3.0.
Silay's houses, the ones you can enter and the one that is closed. A slow walk, then the museums in Bacolod, Talisay and Manapla.
Photo by Ralff Nestor Nacor, via Wikimedia Commons. Resized for this page. CC BY-SA 4.0.
From Gaston's mill at Buen Retiro in Silay to the haciendas, and the life of Fr. Fernando Cuenca in old Minuluan.
Photo by Ralff Nestor Nacor, via Wikimedia Commons. Resized for this page. CC BY-SA 4.0.
Coral stone, Good Friday processions, and a modern chapel inside a sugar mill. A seven-church loop you can drive in a day.
Photo by Elmer B. Domingo, via Wikimedia Commons. Resized for this page. CC BY-SA 3.0.
From the airport and around town
Grab and the other ride apps in Bacolod, the airport shuttle, and which names are not available in Negros.
Through the year
These are the dates we could confirm, not a promise for next year. The full calendar, with sources, is on Festivals.
Bacolod · 20 January
Bacolod · Chinese New Year. In 2026 it ran 20–22 February.
Bacolod, Panaad Park · One week in April. In 2026 it ran 13–19 April.
Silay · Early June, ending 12 June. In 2026 it ran 1–12 June.
Talisay · Early September, ending 10 September. In 2026 it ran 4–10 September.
Bacolod · October. In 2026 it ran 1–18 October. 2027 is not announced.
Negros Occidental · 5 November, a provincial holiday
Silay · 13 November
The river after
Go out for the morning. Come back while the light is still on the water. River time and the river does not rush are the two essays we mean by that.
Flying in? We can meet you at Bacolod–Silay Airport with a van. Pickup is an extra charge. Write to us and we will arrange it.