Mabinay Root Crop Zone
Description
Cassava and gabi farming in the Mabinay upland barangays. In Mabinay, the karst interior town on the cross-island road, all caves and upland farms. Cassava, camote, gabi and ube are the fallback staple in the uplands here — boiled as merienda, and the base of kakanin and budbud. Native siling labuyo grows in backyards rather than fields: small, fiercely hot, sold by the heap in the market.
Tips
The natural halfway stop if you"re crossing the island by land, so plan a meal break here rather than pushing through. Cave tours and the food zones are on opposite sides of town; a habal-habal for a couple of hours is the practical way to see both.
Stops
Dumaguete–Valencia Food Belt
How to get there
On the cross-island road between Dumaguete and Kabankalan/Bacolod — buses crossing the island stop here.
Best Times
Early morning — markets, landings and roadside stalls all run hardest before 8am.