Escalante Banana & Coconut Belt
Description
Banana and coconut growing in the north coast barangays. In Escalante, a north-coast city where rice, cane and the Visayan Sea fishery meet. 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
Fish landings, drying belts and cane country sit within the same municipality, so a short loop covers several links of the chain in one morning.
Stops
Northern Sugar & Seafood Corridor
How to get there
On the main highway route through this part of the island; Ceres buses and jeepneys serving the corridor pass through.
Best Times
Early morning — markets, landings and roadside stalls all run hardest before 8am.