Unidos Landscape, Nabas, Aklan

Although a comparatively small and quiet town in the Visayas, the town of Nabas has much to offer to the adventurer looking for a marvelous place to visit.  With its cheerful and friendly townspeople, visitors are ushered to a simple but relaxing lifestyle amid unspoiled natural landscapes and shorelines.    

The municipality of Nabas is a 4th class municipality in the province of Aklan, Philippines. It is located before the town of Malay and Buruanga Peninsula at the northwest tip of Panay Island. It is a coastal town bounded on the north by Sibuyan Sea; on the south by the municipalities of Pandan and Libertad, Antique; on the east by Sibuyan Sea and Ibajay, Aklan; and on the west by Malay and Buruanga. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 28,345 people in 4,691 households.

History

Accounts about the earliest community of Nabas are uncertain but the initial documentation for the town’s existence was recorded in 1845. Facing the Sibuyan Sea, the town started as a small coastal village referred to as Barrio Alimbo which extends to the hills and mountains to the west. This small community occupies the flood plains of Alimbo River where the village derived its name. Fishing and farming is the primary source of livelihood, even today except for the hunting which was common at that time because of the abundances of wild pig, monkey and deer in the area.

Before, the town was only part of the municipality of Ibajay under the jurisdiction of Capiz Province. Ibajay’s municipal boundary was so vast but with the poor road system. The natives of this municipality spoke two distinct Aklanon dialects. The eastern side of the municipality that is the Ibajay utters a dialect generally spoken by most municipalities of the province. On the other hand, those in the western side constituting now the municipalities of Nabas, Malay and Buruanga spoke and continue to speak until today a dialect currently regarded as Malaynon but with softer intonation. The same dialect was also influenced and spoken by the neighboring Antiqueños, particularly the people from the towns Libertad, Pandan, and Sebaste of Antique Province.

The developing populaces whose tongue and customs diverge from those of the eastern community build awareness amongst people of the west. The invasion of migrants from the nearby province of Antique continued that further emphasized the difference in dialect and culture to some extent. In 1853, their notion of a separate municipality for better living and independence serves as the foundation for taking a part of Alimbo in concert with its adjoining barrios of Nagustan, Panaytayon (Toledo), Gibon, Namao (Rizal), Kabangrosan (Union), and Pakilawa (Unidos) ceased to be a barrio to form a new municipality inevitably. The municipality was formed in 1854 and named Navas, after Governor Nava of the province of Capiz who came to inspect the area before its creation.

The Cartilla System, an early teaching methods that dominantly use the letter "b" than "v" cause the variable spelling of "Navas" and “Nabas”. In 1906, the Municipal Council in a resolution approved by unanimous vote adopted the name Nabas as the official name.

Nabas Bariw Festival

The Nabas Bariw Festival is celebrated to commemorate the feast day of St. Isidore the Farmer, the town's patron saint. It is celebrated annually from May 12 - 15. This celebration showcases the town's hat, mat and other bariw products as well as the town's unique tourism sites and natural attractions.

During this affair, various skills in mat, hat and bag making and designing are demonstrated. Among the events is a contest to produce the biggest hat and mat contest. The festival is highlighted by continuous street dancing by folks from the town's 20 barangays dressed in colorful bariw costumes accompanied by indigenous bamboo instruments.

The festival is intended to promote the town's cottage industry, which is thriving livelihood activity in Nabas. It also promotes the town's well preserved cold spring resorts, lagoons, long winding coastline, rivers, and low elevation intact forest home to various endemic flora and fauna.

Accommodation

• Shangri-la's Boracay Resort & Spa - Barangay Yapak, Barangay Yapak, Boracay / Caticlan, Philippines 5608
• Boracay Regency Beach Resort - Balabag, Boat Station 2, Boracay / Caticlan, Philippines
• Boracay Golden Phoenix Hotel - Boat Stn 3, Manoc Manoc, Boat Station 3, Boracay / Caticlan, Philippines
• Palm Breeze Villa - Sunrise Cove, Bolabog Beach, Bulabog Beach, Boracay / Caticlan, Philippines 5608
• Sea Wind Resort - Roberto&Gloria Tirol Park, Balabag,, Boat Station 1, Boracay / Caticlan, Philippines

Accessibility

Airports

Aklan is famous for Boracay, a resort island one kilometer north off the tip of Panay. It is known for its white sandy beaches and is considered as one of the most prominent destinations in the Philippines. Because of this, there is frequent air travel to the province's airports in Kalibo and Caticlan. The Kalibo International Airport is about ten minutes from the main plaza.

From Manila Airport, travel to Kalibo or Caticlan Airport will take more or less 45 minutes.

The following are the airports in Aklan:

• Kalibo International Airport
• Godofredo P. Ramos Airport (Caticlan-Boracay Airport)

Public transportation around the province and the city is by tricycle, taxi, multicab, and jeepney.