Don Salvador Benedicto Banana Belt
Description
Banana farming in the highland barangays. In Don Salvador Benedicto, the highland town between Bacolod and San Carlos, cool enough to grow what the lowlands can’t. Bananas here are several distinct varieties — saba for cooking into banana cue, turon and ginanggang; lakatan and latundan for eating fresh. Coconut groves feed three chains at once: copra, sap for tuba and vinegar, and fresh buko. Roadside stalls beside the groves are the cheapest place to buy either.
Tips
The Ceres bus from Bacolod to San Carlos via DSB runs straight through the farming country and is both faster and cooler than the coastal route — ask to be dropped at the market. Bring a layer; it"s genuinely cold up here by Negros standards.
Stops
Northern Sugar & Seafood Corridor
How to get there
Ceres bus, Bacolod to San Carlos via Don Salvador — about 2 hours, historically around ₱130, and the faster of the two routes. Ask to be dropped at the market.
Best Times
Morning, while highland produce is being brought to market.