Interested in butterflies? Who would have known that a lot of butterflies live in a sanctuary located at Basak, Pardo?

The Jumalon Butterfly Sanctuary is just a hundred-peso taxi fare away from the known hotels of Cebu City. The sanctuary will ask you a hundred pesos as an entrance fee, which is pretty reasonable—keeping butterflies and maintaining the health of the plants will be expensive. The place is difficult to find, because the street in which the house is located used to be called another name. So it is necessary that you call the staff to tell them that you are coming. Don’t forget to ask the questions!

Upon entering, a guide will show you inside enclosures where butterflies will breed and if you are lucky, you will be given a chance to hold caterpillars or butterflies! 

A highlight of the sanctuary is the mosaic of old butterflies. Don’t get them wrong, they didn’t kill butterflies in the process—they used damaged butterfly wings, or wings from butterflies that crossed the rainbow bridge. It is amazingly done. 

Do not expect the sanctuary to be something very big; it is just a house converted into one. They have a good collection, and the staffs are generous enough to answer your questions! So don’t be shy, and be curious. This place is recommended for families, schools, and anyone interested. So explore this pretty sanctuary. It will only take you an hour or 2 to tour the place, so being busy isn’t a reason not to check this place out.

Trivia:

The house/sanctuary was built in 1974, and is the legacy of the late Professor Julian Jumalon.

Jumalon was a Cebuano artist-turned-lepidopterist. He was a graduate of Fine Arts, but he had the passion for butterflies. Armed with that passion, he travelled around the world to collect butterflies, and traded the local species for foreign ones. He also planted “food plants” in the sanctuary to attract butterflies.

Now, his children are the ones maintaining the sanctuary in honour of their father, without any support from institutions.

Discover. Seek. Learn. Enjoy! Cebu’s Best.

#cebusbest #y101fm