Tacloban
the Waray capital that danced through Yolanda and got back up, where MacArthur waded ashore to 'return,' the San Juanico Bridge arcs to Samar, and Calle Zamora's stalls hand-pack binagol into coconut shells just as they did a century ago.
What Tacloban is known for.
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foodBinagol
→ Pasalubong stalls on Calle Zamora, downtown Tacloban; from Dagami
Sweetened mashed talian taro and glutinous rice packed into a polished coconut shell (bagol), wrapped in leaves and steamed — the town of Dagami's gift to Leyte. Dense, rich, faintly nutty, it's the pasalubong that says you've actually been to Tacloban. Buy it fresh along Calle Zamora.
source ↗foodMoron
→ Calle Zamora pasalubong stalls; Abuyog Public Market for the famed version
Leyte's chocolate suman — ground glutinous rice cooked in coconut milk, swirled with cacao, twisted into a banana-leaf log. The smoother, sweeter cousin of plain suman; Abuyog's morón is legendary among makers who refuse to cut corners. Eat it with your morning coffee.
source ↗landmarkSan Juanico Bridge
→ San Juanico Strait, between Tacloban (Leyte) and Samar
The graceful 2.16-km arc over the swirling San Juanico Strait — the country's longest bridge over seawater — stitching Leyte to Samar. Walk it at sunset, watch the whirlpools below, and understand why it's the pride of the whole region.
source ↗craftBasey Banig (Samar mat weaving)
→ Basey town weaving cooperatives and Saob Cave, Samar (40 min from Tacloban)
Just across the bridge in Basey, Samar, women weave dried tikog grass into intricate banig mats inside the cool of Saob Cave — a centuries-old craft beside an old Spanish church. Buy a hand-woven mat or bag straight from the weaving cooperative.
source ↗festivalPintados-Kasadyaan & Sangyaw Festivals
→ Tacloban City streets, late June (around June 29)
Every late June, Tacloban paints bodies head-to-toe to honor the tattooed 'pintados' warriors of old Leyte and to celebrate the Santo Niño with street dancing. The Pintados tradition was revived in 1986 and it's the Waray's loudest celebration of identity.
source ↗heritageMacArthur Landing & Yolanda resilience
→ MacArthur Landing Memorial Park, Palo, Leyte; Yolanda memorials in Tacloban
At Red Beach in nearby Palo, bronze statues mark where MacArthur waded ashore in 1944 to fulfill 'I shall return.' Pair it with Tacloban's quiet Yolanda memorials — the city that survived the world's strongest landfalling typhoon in 2013 wears its survival with grit.
source ↗Eat, drink & shop the towns you pass through.
Independent, Filipino-owned — from the carinderia that’s fed the port for forty years to the roastery the cool kids queue for. Your spend lands where it belongs.
Tacloban
ShopCalle Zamora pasalubong stallsTry Binagol, moron, sagmani, pastillas, roscas
The downtown street where generations of stalls hand-pack Leyte's holy trinity of delicacies — binagol from Dagami, moron from Abuyog, sagmani — at affordable, working-class prices.
ShopAida's DelicaciesTry Binagol, moron, sagmani, pastillas, roscas
A Zamora Street fixture inside Tacloban Shopping Center stocking the full Leyte spread — binagol, moron, sagmani, pastillas, roscas — where Taclobanons load up on pasalubong before catching the boat or plane home.
MarketTacloban City Public MarketTry Fresh seafood, native delicacies, produce
The everyday Waray pantry — fresh seafood, produce, and native delicacies sold cheap, with snack stalls spilling onto the surrounding sidewalks. The real, affordable engine of local eating, rebuilt after Yolanda.
MakerMary's Abuyog Special Chocolate MoronTry Abuyog chocolate moron
From Abuyog's public market, the makers famed for an unsurpassed chocolate morón — stubborn about quality, twisting each banana-leaf log by hand. The benchmark moron the Calle Zamora stalls aspire to.
MakerDagami binagol makersTry Binagol (taro pudding in coconut shell)
The inland town of Dagami is the original home of binagol — families mashing talian taro and packing it into coconut shells by hand, the source behind the binagol you buy in Tacloban.
MakerBasey banig weavers (Saob Cave)Try Hand-woven tikog banig mats, bags, and home goods
Across the San Juanico Bridge in Basey, Samar, women converge each morning inside cool Saob Cave to weave dried tikog into the country's finest, most intricately patterned banig mats and bags — a centuries-old craft you can buy straight from the weavers.
RestaurantOcho Seafood & GrillTry Fresh seafood, paluto-style grilled and steamed dishes
A Tacloban seafood institution since 2002, grown from a tiny Enage Street eatery into the town's go-to for fresh paluto seafood — where families gather for celebrations without breaking the bank.
RestaurantLa Maison PunjabTry Indian curries + French pastries
Intimate Tacloban room fusing French patisserie with Punjabi-Indian cooking.
CaféThe Roastery by Matchstick & Co.Try Freshly roasted local and imported single origins; public cupping sessions and brewing demos
Eastern Visayas' leading specialty micro-roastery, born on a Leyte farm and now a Tacloban coffee shop running public cupping and barista-training sessions.
CaféEspazio Arts + Food + HistoryTry Coffee and food (truffle cream pasta, baked cheesecake) amid artifacts; free 2nd-floor WWII/Leyte history gallery
A mini-museum you can dine in: a Tacloban cafe filled with vintage pieces and a free second-floor WWII-and-Leyte-history collection on Juan Luna St.
Festivals & the living scene.
all yrNow.HereFoodTacloban · café-bar
An independent café-bar in Tacloban — a local pick.
We haven’t published a verified route through Taclobanyet — it’s on the list. Meanwhile, the planner can sketch a multi-stop way in, or browse the routes we’ve verified.