Pilar is one of the municipalities in the province of Capiz. The town’s cottage industry is patis (fish sauce) making. The town is blessed with mountains that have extensive deposits of marble, red and white clay which are used in ceramics and pottery making, and granite. The area is near the sea where the locals can get fish for their livelihood. The town has a sugar central and is a part of Northeastern Panay Agro-Industrial Center (NEPAIC).

Places to See

This place is where you can find the mummified corpse of Maria Basanes, a woman who died of heart attack in 1929 at the age of 47. The body of this woman did not decay, and ten years after her death, the body was exhumed and it was found out that it was still intact and well-preserved. It is a brownish black mummy. It is display in a cabinet, wherein the front is made of glass so it can be seen by people who want to view her mummified body.

Tucad Reef is a four-hectare submarine islet of seashells and corals. The beauty of this island can be more appealing when the tide is low. The whole island emerges and you can see huge array of beautiful seashells and corals that are lined up in the shore. The shells have different colors like green, red, blue, pink, and mauve. You can collect them as souvenirs.

The Virgin Mary Shrine is an 80-foot-high Marian statue that was built on top of the Agtalin Hill Chapel in Barangay Dulungan. The Miraculous Medal Statue is the highest Marian statue in Asia. The Blessed Mother is standing above the chapel. Climbing up to the shrine requires you to take 185 steps. The view on the top is stunning; the place is overlooking Pilar Bay. The people visit this place not only because of the beautiful view it offers but because of their enormous faith in the Blessed Virgin Mary. Thousands of devotees go to this shrine every first Saturday of the month to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary and for the Healing Mass and prayer for the sick. The faithful believe that some people with incurable diseases were healed by praying at the shrine.

In the fishing village, you can find the three-kilometer-long, palm-fringed, fine gray sand Casanayan Beach. You can find fields of sugarcane, rice, and corn. It is a small fishing village where patis (fish sauce) and ginamos are made.

Pilar Caves is located on the hillside. It has six entrances to interlinked chambers of different sizes, with deposits of syenite, granite, and marble. Years ago, townspeople discovered earthen pots with incised design. It is believed that the cave was a pre-Hispanic burial site. The Balisong Cave where the Capiz revolutionaries routed Spanish soldiers can also be found here. It is worth a visit because it offers good features. From afar, it is a grayish-black rock rising 200 feet above sea level. Various plants hang from the cliffs, bloom in the summer, and keep the area smelling blissfully sweet.