Revisiting Cano Guapo

It has been months since I visited Campuestohan Highland Resorts, also popularly known as Cano Guapo for its dynamic owner, Ricardo “Cano” Tan. Every time I visited there is always something new but last Friday’s trip I saw more new and amazing wonders in Campuestohan, now a major destination for tourists as attested by the kind of visitors going to Campuestohan.

According to Cano, 70 percent of the tourists who come to Campuestohan are from outside Bacolod. Indeed the people we met there were from Bayawan, Oriental Negros who came in busloads. They said they travelled eight hours to be in Campuestohan. Another group, a rather large family said they came from San Carlos City and learned about Campuestohan from Facebook. They said that although the trip was long, they were well rested after their first night’s stay. The air was cool and the wind from the forest lulled them to sleep.

Indeed the number of visitors to Campuestohan must be increasing geometrically because last year Cano opened a large parking space and now another parking space is being developed. The two parking spaces can accommodate 500 vehicles plus 150 inside the resort.

It seems that Cano’s imagination is without limit. There are new attractions. There is the Cable Hamster Wheel, the first of its kind in the world according to Cano. It is like the Bubble Walk on the water but in the Hamster Wheel one walks up high on the air like the hamster in his cage that turns until it reaches 150- meters to another station. There are four wheels available that can travel at the same time.

Under construction is what I think the largest and the first Wave Pool in the Visayas. The pool covers 3,000 square meters of water area where one can liaise and get a massage of sorts from the action of the waves.  It is surrounded by terraces of water flowing from fountains. At the entrance is a giant whale shark with its tail curled up to allow space inside its belly. Then there are two Jacuzzi baths as one enters the pool area.

For the adventurous, a 25-foot waterfall feeds water into the pool but this waterfall provides an opportunity for water rappelling, again a first in this part of the country. To conserve and insure the cleanliness of the pool, the water passes through a filter before it flows back into the pool. This is important, because the pool is exposed to the sun and would grow algae if not constantly cleansed.

The Wave Pool I estimate would be the most expensive among the attractions of Campuestohan Highland Resort for its sheer size, numerous additions and magnitude of the work. I did not ask when this will be operational, but from the number of workers this year Negros will have an attraction nowhere else to be found and enjoyed in this region.

The four-lane sky bike is of course another first as well as the 250-meter obstacle course for the young and the daring but to insure that in case the faint-hearted may have a change of heart after undertaking the course, there are well-spaced “escape hatches” of sorts where resort assistants are ready to help bail him or her down into terra firma.   

The structure for cable cars has started and soon will be operational. This will give those who are afraid to take the zip line to see Campuestohan from an air-view while seating inside the car and traversing the extent of the resort from one end to another.

Cano said that the focus of resort is the family so that there are plenty of attractions for kids. Aside from the swimming pools, there is the carousel, a horse and a train for riding. There are now 14 wigwams but instead of drab animal skin, it is concrete and multi-color-painted, with modern facilities inside for a family and a bronze stature of Chief Crazy Horse astride guarding the village.

Cano has started constructing what probably would be the only kind of house in the world as he described it, but let’s wait till it is finished and see it becoming a Negros icon as tourist icons identify countries in the world.

Since the second quarter of last year national government began widening and concreting the road to Campuestohan so that now the trip is smooth and faster (35 minutes from Bacolod). Soon Campuestohan will link with Talisay on completely concreted road. Congressmen Evelio Leonardia and Alfredo Benitez kept their promise.*

back to top