Caramoan, officially the Municipality of Caramoan (; ), is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Camarines Sur Camarines Sur (; ), officially the Province of Camarines Sur (Central Bikol language, Bikol: ''Probinsya kan Habagatan na Camarines''; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Bicol Region on Luzon. Its ca ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 51,728 people.

History

The name Caramoan has been officially used since 1619, the year it was named by a Spanish missionary friar, Francisco de la Cruz Y Oropesa. Fr. Oropesa penetrated the thick virgin forest of the Caramoan Peninsula and founded a small settlement in a place called Baluarte. This settlement was subsequently turned over to the administration of the Holy Bishopric in 1696. Prior to the arrival of the Spaniards, it was determined that the place was once called Guta de Leche, which was given by Dutch traders who operated a gold mine in Lahuy Island and who frequented the area to trade with the natives. The name was perhaps derived from the milkdrop stalagmites found among the rocks of Guta Port. Upon the arrival of the Spaniards, the place came to be called "Carahan" for the

sea turtle Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerh ...

, which was at that time to be found in great number along the shores of the Peninsula.

Geography

Caramoan is bounded on the north by the town of Garchitorena formerly town of Caramoan and the

Philippine Sea The Philippine Sea is a List of seas#Marginal seas by ocean, marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean, Western Pacific Ocean east of the list of islands of the Philippines, Philippine Archipelago (hence the name) and the List of seas#Largest seas ...

of the Pacific Ocean; on the north-east by the island province of

Catanduanes Catanduanes (; ), officially the Province of Catanduanes (), is an island province located in the Bicol Region of Luzon in the Philippines. It is the 12th-largest island in the Philippines, and lies to the east of Camarines Sur, across the M ...

; on the south by Lagonoy Gulf; on the east by the Maqueda Channel and on the west by the municipality of Presentacion. The municipality covers approximately with approximately of irregular coastline surrounded by the vast ocean, bay, seas and swamps. It is approximately from

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila ( ), commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region (NCR; ), is the capital region and largest List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines, metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located ...

; from the municipality of Pili, where the seat of the provincial government and the Naga Domestic Airport are located; and east from Naga City, the heart of Bicol. The municipality is located at the tip of the Caramoan Peninsula, a rugged place of land extending into the waters of the

Maqueda Channel The Maqueda Channel is a strait in the Philippines, eastern side, separating the island of Catanduanes from the Caramoan Peninsula in the Bicol Region of Luzon. The strait connects Lagonoy Gulf and the Philippine Sea The Philippine Sea ...

on the north and east and

Lagonoy Gulf Lagonoy Gulf is a large gulf in the Bicol Peninsula of Luzon island in the Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western ...

on the south. It has been dubbed as the ''Emerging Paradise of the Pacific'' due to its white and pink sand beaches known internationally.

Caramoan Islands

Off the coast of the peninsula are numerous small islets. The 10 principal islands of the group are:

Barangays

Caramoan is politically subdivided into 49

barangay The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...

s. Each barangay consists of

purok A ''purok'' () is an informal division within a barangay in the Philippines. While not officially considered a local government unit (LGU), a ''purok'' often serves as a unit for delivering services and administration within a barangay. ''Pur ...

s and some have

sitios A ''sitio'' (Spanish language, Spanish for "site") in the Philippines is a territorial enclave that forms part of a barangay. Typically rural, a ''sitios location is usually far from the center of the barangay itself and could be its own bar ...

. * Agaas * Antolon * Bacgong * Bahay * Bikal * Binanuahan * Cabacongan * Cadong * Colongcogong * Canatuan * Caputatan * Gogon * Daraga * Gata * Gibgos * Guijalo * Hanopol * Hanoy * Haponan * Ilawod * Ili-Centro * Lidong * Lubas * Malabog * Maligaya * Mampirao * Mandiclum * Maqueda * Minalaba * Oring * Oroc-Osoc * Pagolinan * Pandanan * Paniman * Patag-Belen * Pili-Centro * Pili-Tabiguian * Poloan * Salvacion * San Roque * San Vicente * Santa Cruz * Solnopan (

Poblacion ''Poblacion'' (from Spanish '' población'', meaning "population"), sometimes abbreviated as Pob., is a term used in the Philippines to refer to the administrative center, downtown, old town, or commercial area of a city or municipality. It ...

) * Tabgon * Tabiguian * Tabog * Tawog * Toboan * Terogo

Climate

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Caramoan was 51,728 people, with a density of .

Economy

Tourism

Tourist destinations include the Caramoan National Park, the Centro, and Gota Beach, where activities include diving, swimming, snorkeling and spelunking.

''Survivor'' series

Caramoan has been the site for several editions of the competitive

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

show ''

Survivor Survivor(s) may refer to: * one who survives Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Survivors, characters in the 1997 KKnD series#Armies, ''KKnD'' video-game series * ''The Survivors'', or the ''New Survivors Foundation'', a fictional ...

''. The area has hosted the U.S. version in two consecutive seasons ('' Survivor: Philippines'' and '' Survivor: Caramoan''), the Serbian version for two consecutive seasons and the Israeli version for three consecutive seasons (** '' Survivor: The Philippines'', '' Survivor: Fans vs. Survivors'', '' Survivor: Camarines''). Bulgarian Survivor also filmed its fourth season there in May to July 2009. '' Robinson 2010'', the 12th season of the Swedish version of the franchise, was filmed in Caramoan from May to June 2010. Finnish versions were filmed in there in 2018 with all-celebrity cast, and in 2019 half-famous and half- regular people cast. The 8th season of ''

Koh-Lanta ''Koh-Lanta'' is a French reality game show based on the international ''Survivor'' format. The series premiered on August 4, 2001. The show is broadcast on TF1 and there have been 22 regular seasons and 7 special seasons. The show has been host ...

'', the French edition of ''Survivor'', also was shot there. TV director Corinne Vaillant stated that "the powdery sand, the coconuts on Gota beach and the neighboring islets are a 'dream' for the French people. We chose Caramoan because it’s really wild. It’s necessary that contestants don’t see anything other than nature for them to believe that they’re really lost in the wilds.” The only season of ''

Survivor India ''Survivor India'' is an Indian reality television game show franchise based on the Swedish show '' Expedition Robinson'' created in 1997 by Charlie Parsons. It is produced by Banijay India. Subsequently, the show was syndicated international ...

'' was shot in Caramoan, with an Indian production crew spotted in the area in March 2011. The first season of ''

Supraviețuitorul ''Supraviețuitorul'' () is the Romanian version of the international ''Survivor (franchise), Survivor'' reality competition television series, itself derived from the Swedish television series ''Robinson (TV series), Expedition Robinson'' created ...

'', a Romanian reality game based on Survivor was shot in Caramoan in the summer of 2016, as well as the first and second season of ''

Robinsonův ostrov ''Robinsonův ostrov'' was a Czech Republic, Czech reality television program debuting in 2017. In 2016, TV Nova (Czech Republic), TV Nova bought the broadcast rights to air their own version of ''Expedition Robinson''. The name alludes to both ...

'' (Czech version). In spring of 2016 the first season of the Slovenian version of Survivor Philippines was filmed on 4 different islands, including Catanaguan and Tayak.

References

External links

Official Site of the Province of Camarines Sur
{{Authority control Municipalities of Camarines Sur