The Ruins
Talisay, near Bacolod
The skeletal mansion of a sugar baron, its Italianate columns preserved after a wartime fire — beautiful at sunset.
All destinations
Visayas
Bacolod
Negros Occidental · Philippines
The 'City of Smiles' in sugar-country Negros, known for the MassKara Festival, sweet local food, and grand ruins and ancestral homes nearby.
Places to visit
Mambukal Mountain Resort
Murcia, Negros Occidental
A highland resort with hot springs, a series of waterfalls, and a boating lagoon in cooler air.
Silay heritage houses
Silay City
A neighbouring city of preserved ancestral mansions, several open as museums of the sugar-era gentry.
Things to do
MassKara Festival
Every October the city fills with smiling-mask dancers and street parties, Bacolod's signature celebration.
Local tips
Eat chicken inasal
Bacolod is the home of chicken inasal — annatto-and-calamansi grilled chicken best eaten with garlic rice by hand.