San Carlos

The climb from San Carlos on the Tañon Strait coast up to Canlaon City, the upland vegetable-growing centre on the slopes of Kanlaon Volcano. The road gains height steadily rather than dramatically, moving from coastal lowland through sugarcane into terraced vegetable country as it crosses into Negros Oriental. Canlaon works as a highland market town: produce moves down this road daily toward San Carlos and the coast, which shapes the traffic — early-morning vehicle movement is mostly agricultural. The drive ends in a town that sits noticeably cooler than the coast and functions as a base for the volcano’s eastern approaches.