We drove from Panglao to Tagbilaran to catch this natural phenomenon at sundown! The photo may seem simple but those are hundreds of fireflies behind us shining like Christmas lights in February. You can catch this on a clear day in Bohol almost every day. This was one of the Bohol countryside activities that we did amd we're glad that we chose the Maribojoc Mangrove Firefly Watching boat situated at the Abatan River for this ride.
The guests come in at sundown. There is ample parking space and the turnover is around 30 minutes to 1 hour. They do first-come-first-served here. We paid P1800 for a boat (2 people, 1-5 people in a boat are the same rate) via Gcash so do remember to bring cash for this. And a pair of people flagged us down on the road to here to ask for a P150 "Environmental Fee" and provided us with Bohol city receipts so do be ready for that... There's an easy short inclined walk down to the deck
and you'll find the cashier, restrooms and waiting area here. Pay first then they will call your number. We chose the boat instead of the kayak since the cost is the same (P900 per person). We arrived around 7:15pm and had to wait until 8pm due to the crowd.
The good thing is we get this boat all to ourselves. They give you life jackets for the ride.
The kayakers looked tired and a little wet... they were provided towels after. I believe there is a staff to row for you per kayak hehehe. But the boat has a balancer so water will get in that hole. Just imagine being like this for 1 hour with a higher chance of capsizing at night. There are no crocodiles though, they said.. I also saw a paddle board version of this in another part of Bohol but that one said 4 hours (?) and stand paddle on your own with a group so no thanks hehe. And wouldn't taking pictures be hard..?
We boarded around 8pm and the boatman took us to 3 sites. They said that the guides would routinely go around every day to look for the fireflies before the tours. They officially open at 5pm for the public and have been in business for 15 years (?). The type of fireflies here, according to our local firefly guide Kuya Jay, are aquatic and they just stay along the river. We stopped and saw the first tree twinkling with possibly hundreds or thousands of fireflies!
The adults eat the nectar or pollen of the mangrove flowers and mate. Some lights were busy flying (males), while the others just remained stationary and their less bright lights flickered slowly (females). This is how to tell males from females and that firefly predators are lizards and spiders, he said.
We didn't want to leave without taking a picture or video of the fireflies dancing in the moonlight so Kuya Jay really tried lol. He tried to teach me to put my camera on Night mode, focus, lower brightness slowly or else it will blur then edit the brightness, exposure and sharpness. Of course, I am not good at these things haha.
We spent like 15 to 20 minutes per site just staring, admiring and taking shots for our memories.
The night was just perfect and the air was fresh in this part of Bohol. Fireflies inhale and turn their lights on and exhale to turn it off. You can see them from around 6pm here to 3am if there is no rain and strong winds. Adult fireflies have a short life span of around 2 months though, although they live long enough to mate and lay eggs so the cycle goes on. What a stark reminder that life is short.
I've never seen so many sparkling fireflies in my life in one tree. Kuya said they will move to another flowering tree once they've exhausted the food. Some males also won't make it since the females might eat them to gain nutrients. I had a tiny one in my hand at some point but it quickly flew away. I will cherish these fleeting moments and continue writing about them.
We finished at around 8:40pm. Many thanks to the Maribojoc Mangrove Firefly Watching team. You can reach out to them on Facebook to avail of boats for 1-5 pax, 6-10 pax, 11-14pax and 15-18pax and kayak per pax.
Bohol Night Activity at the Maribojoc Mangrove Firefly Watching Abatan River Site!
