Lapu - Lapu Shrine - Mactan Lapu-Lapu City

On a Sunday morning, my wife decided to join a Cebu Tour with her co-employees but since we are over-capacity I decided to use my Honda Beat-Fi just to have that same tour experience. It took us 35minute ride from our place to the shrine. As we came early we took an early glimpse of the place.

I browsed the Internet for some of the overview of the shrine. Please check below.

The Lapu-Lapu Shrine is a 20-meter bronze statue located in the Mactan Shrine park in Punta Engaño, Mactan Island, Cebu. The statue was erected to honor Rajah Lapu-Lapu, the native chieftain of Mactan Island who defeated Ferdinand Magellan during the historic Battle of Mactan in 1521.

The Lapu-Lapu memorial statue is on top of a pedestal surrounded by a low-level fence and shows the Cebuano hero in his native costume with a sword on his right hand and a shield on his left.

The Lapu-Lapu Shrine is inside a plaza commonly known as the Magellan Shrine park that commemorates the events of the Battle of Mactan. Thousands of foreign and local tourists visit the park every year. The park includes the Magellan Shrine and a covered structure that houses a huge mural painting of the Battle of Mactan and a commemorative marker.

The Magellan shrine is a large memorial tower built in 1866 to honor Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and is built on the area where Magellan is believed to have been killed in 1521.

The covered structure in the park houses a mural painting on the wall depicting the Battle of Mactan. A commemorative marker in front of the painting reads “Here on April 27, 1521, Lapu-lapu and his men repulsed the Spanish invaders, killing their leader, Ferdinand Magellan. Thus Lapu-lapu became the first Filipino to have repelled European aggression.”

Every year in April, during the anniversary of the Battle of Mactan, the park hosts the “Kadaugan sa Mactan,” a re-enactment of the epic battle.

Later the tour then prepared for their next spot. While I have another spot in mind we rode ourselves to our next itinerary. 

Snapshots:

@cebuadventureph

Cebu Taoist Temple - Lahug Cebu City

About Cebu Taoist Temple:

The Cebu Taoist Temple was built in 1972 by the Cebu’s substantial Chinese community. This temple is composed of two different temples: one is the Phu Sian Temple, built by another Chinese community, which is not open to the public; another is the main temple which is 270 meters above sea level.

The latter is the only temple open to worshippers and non-worshippers. Entrance to the temple is a replica of the Great Wall of China. The temple includes a chapel, library, souvenir shop, and a wishing well. It also has a spacious balcony that has an access to the scenic of the city.

A parking space was provided for temple goers.

How to get there:

The Cebu Taoist Temple is located in a private subdivision, the Beverly Hills Subdivision, in Lahug, Cebu City. It can only be reached through a private car, taxi, or a motorcycle for hire called the “habal-habal”. But motorcycles for hire are allowed only until the gate of the subdivision and one needs to walk from the gate to the temple which will take for more or less 15 minutes. If you are in the mood for some hiking or exercise, you can just walk from where the jeepney dropped you, in sudlon, and hike or walk till you reached the temple. It will take you more than 30 minutes to reach the temple but it will be a good walk still because you will be passing through tree-lined streets, a perfect way to commune with nature.

Snapshots:

@cebuadventureph