Our 2nd destination was Baluarte of Chavit Singson – an interactive wildlife sanctuary and facility, with the breathtaking view of its dominating scenic boulders amidst trees and greens in the heart of Vigan, Ilocos Sur.
Baluarte is a 10-20 minute drive from Bantay BellTower. It is owned by Ilocos Sur Governor Luis "Chavit" Singson and sometimes called Chavit's Fortess. Unlike other zoos, Baluarte is a wildlife sanctuary dedicated to facilitating education, conservation and protection of endangered species and wildlife. Visitors of Baluarte are guaranteed to rediscover life amongst the animals in unique and entertaining ways through first-hand experience. In fact, one can come and play with the animals inside Baluarte. It is so interactive that visitors can feed them, pet them, whistle with them and even roar with them.
There are so many things one can do there interacting with the animals. You'll have fun riding a small horse-drawn carriage called “tiburin”. And also whistling and playing with the parrots. I visited the butterfly garden and petted some exotic iguanas. It was incredibly awesome. You can also ride a camel. There were plenty of snakes and pythons there too.
The most unforgettable experience I had at Baluarte is my encounter with the tiger. Even though I've had a picture with the tiger when I was in High School but its still awesome. At one point I'd like to cuddle the tiger as if it was a huge stuff toy but the moment it moved, I felt apprehensive.
There are more to see and more to do in Baluarte. Indeed, it is more than just a zoo. Going there will surely be an extraordinary adventure especially for families. For us, visiting Governor Chavit Singson’s Baluarte was a perfect treat to end our Ilocos Tour. The best thing about it – IT IS ABSOLUTELY FREE! Yes, you read it right – admission to Baluarte is FREE!
One of the different spiders
One of the different scorpions
Turtles
Close up with the snake
Mini alligator
Close up with the Iguanas
Tiger
Butterfly Garden
Ducks
Peacocks
Safari Gallery
This is a new building inside the park where one can see many mounted heads of real animals, trophies of the owner who hunted them. While I may not like the idea of killing these animals, it still looks awesome looking at them preserved and mounted. There are also animals preserved whole and some are just skins of these wild animals. Some of animals that can be seen are wildebeasts, bisons, tigers, lions, bears and deer. The good thing about this gallery is that it is well maintained with properly labeled items and no admission fee just like in the other sections of Baluarte.
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