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Donsol, officially the Municipality of Donsol, (
Central Bikol Central Bikol commonly called Bikol Naga, also known simply as Bikol, is an Austronesian language spoken by the Bicolanos, primarily in the Bicol Region of southern Luzon, Philippines. It is spoken in the northern and western part of Camarines ...
: Banwaan kan Donsol; Tagalog: Bayan ng Donsol) is a 3rd class
municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
in the
province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
of
Sorsogon Sorsogon, officially the Province of Sorsogon ( Bikol: ''Probinsya kan Sorsogon''; Waray: ''Probinsya han Sorsogon''; tl, Lalawigan ng Sorsogon), is a province in the Philippines located in the Bicol Region. It is the southernmost province in ...
,
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 50,281 people. Donsol is from Sorsogon City and from
Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
.


Geography


Barangays

Donsol is politically subdivided into 51
barangay A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolita ...
s.


Climate


Demographics


Language

The majority of the population speak Eastern Miraya, an Albay Bikol language of Inland Bikol group of languages. The language is also spoken in four towns of Albay and some parts of Pilar and Castilla, Sorsogon. It is mutually intelligible with Western Miraya. People of Donsol can also speak and understand Tagalog or Filipino, the national language, and English.


Religion

The majority of the people adhere to
Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and each barangay has a patron saint and fiestas are held annually. Iglesia ni Cristo is the second largest religion of the population and has several local congregations in the municipality.


Economy


Tourism


Whale shark (''butanding'') viewing

Swimming with
whale shark The whale shark (''Rhincodon typus'') is a slow-moving, filter-feeding carpet shark and the largest known extant fish species. The largest confirmed individual had a length of .McClain CR, Balk MA, Benfield MC, Branch TA, Chen C, Cosgrove J, ...
s, locally known as ''butanding'', was featured as the ''Best Animal Encounter in Asia'' by ''Time'' magazine in 2004. Whale sharks can be seen between November and June, with presence peaking between February and May. The presence of whale sharks in the town of Donsol was known to the local residents for more than 100 years, but the locals believed these gentle giants were dangerous. This wrong notion changed when on December 26, 1997, a group of scuba divers led by Romir Aglugub – a PADI diving instructor, discovered their presence, interacted with, and came in contact with the whale sharks. Even the members of the diving group of Romir were having second thoughts about whether the fish is docile, until the instructor led the way into the water and came in contact with the whale sharks. Copy of video footage taken by the group was passed on to the media and the WWF-Philippines. By March 1998, Donsol became world-class tourist destination and now known as the “Whale Shark Capital of the World”. Interaction with the whale sharks is regulated by the local Department of Tourism (DOT) office. WWF guidelines are generally observed to protect the sharks. Rules include limiting the number of swimmers per boat to six, prohibiting scuba divers, and requiring staying farther than three meters from the sharks. In recent years the number of male sharks has out-numbered female sharks by 20:1. Generally, the females that are seen are large mature adults in the 7m ~ 9m range. Increasing numbers of sharks show propeller marks on their backs. Anecdotal evidence from local fishermen suggests that prop strikes are from fishing boats in the off-season, rather than from tourist boats during the main February–June tourist season. In 2006 five sharks were found dead on the surface of the water, within 30 miles of Donsol. They had all been shot at close range. One shark had 13 bullet wounds to the head. The locals blame this on commercial fishermen shooting the sharks if they are caught in their nets. Manta rays, which are also protected in the Philippines, are also over-fished and sold in local markets in the Sorsogon area. Groups from
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
,
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
,
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
, and the Philippines make up the largest groups of visitors. Most tourists book guided tours with dive centers familiar with whale shark interaction.


Food

Bicolano delicacies are plentiful in Donsol. Bicolano cuisine is well known for dishes cooked in "gata" or
coconut cream Coconut milk is an opaque, milky-white liquid extracted from the grated pulp of mature coconuts. The opacity and rich taste of coconut milk are due to its high oil content, most of which is saturated fat. Coconut milk is a traditional food in ...
. A famous dish to try is "laing" or "gabi", which is dried
taro Taro () (''Colocasia esculenta)'' is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in Afri ...
leaves cooked in coconut cream with cuts of meat or fish. Another famous Bicolano dish available in Donsol is "Bicol Express" which is
pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved; ...
stir fried with shrimp paste, heavy coconut cream, and green
chilli pepper Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for t ...
s. It is a spicy dish that is best eaten with hot, steamed
rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...
. A Filipino favourite is a dish called Sisig. Sisig is deep fried pork simmered in Calamansi juice, salt, pepper, and chilli peppers. It is eaten with hot, steamed rice or as a bar snack. There are a few restaurants in Donsol that serve these dishes.


Accommodations

Tourism continues to develop piecemeal in Donsol. The first hotel in the area is the Amor Farm Beach Resort, established in 1997, followed by the Woodland Beach Resort in 1998 that started off as a family vacation house. Interest to visit the quaint and quiet town grew as soon as news of whale shark sightings grew amongst the international marine biologist community. Tourists can now avail rooms that cater to all financial budgets, from the backpacker to the family vacationer from various resorts and homestays in Donsol. Most establishments accept only cash, but there is an ATM in Donsol located inside the Municipal Town Hall. There now are several resorts that accept credit cards. Giddy's Place PADI Dive Resort in the town center and Elysia Beach Resort in Dancalan are two of them. Landlines are non-existent in Donsol and most rely on mobile telephones. Internet service came to Donsol in 2008 using cellular technology. There are a few internet shops in town.


Other attractions

Donsol has a not so known, but equally unique, night firefly tour and shrimp-catching night tour available all-year round. Donsol also is becoming the best jump-off and base for divers to the Manta Bowl and San Miguel Island in Ticao due to the existence of better tourist facilities than the other rural towns. Diving in Donsol itself is not allowed. Donsol also is a great trekking and biking site, due mainly to the abundance of hilly areas and fields.


References


External links


Donsol Profile at PhilAtlas.com
* Philippine Standard Geographic Code
Philippine Census Information

Local Governance Performance Management System



WWF's Community-Based Ecotourism and Coastal Resources Management Project in Donsol, Sorsogon
{{Authority control Municipalities of Sorsogon