Poro Island (Filipino: Pulo ng Poro) is an island in the province of

Cebu Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 16 ...

, located east of

Cebu Island Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 1 ...

and west of

Leyte Island Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

. Two

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Poro The Poro, or Purrah or Purroh, is a men's secret society in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, and the Ivory Coast, introduced by the Mane people. It is sometimes referred to as a hunting society and only males are admitted to its ranks. The femal ...

and Tudela, are located on Poro Island. It is one of the four

Camotes Islands Camotes Islands is a group of islands in the Camotes Sea, Philippines. Combined area is . The island group is located east of Cebu Island, southwest of Leyte Island, and north of Bohol Island. It is from Cebu City and is part of Cebu. Accordi ...

along with Pacijan Island,

Ponson Island Ponson may refer to: Places * Ponson Island, an island located in the province of Cebu * Carcen-Ponson, a commune in south-western France * Ponson-Dessus, a commune in south-western France * Ponson-Debat-Pouts, a commune in south-western France ...

, and

Tulang Island San Francisco, officially the Municipality of San Francisco ( ceb, Lungsod sa San Francisco; tgl, Bayan ng San Francisco), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 59 ...

. The island is one of the early Pacific contact sites between the East and the West.

Geography

Bukilat Cave

The island hosts various caves. One example is the Bukilat Cave which is a large natural cavern in the southeastern part of the island. Because of naturally formed piercings in its canopy, the interior is well illuminated. There are many stalactite and stalagmite formations in the cave. It was used as a shelter for Poro Island residents during the

Japanese occupation of the Philippines The Japanese occupation of the Philippines (Filipino: ''Pananakop ng mga Japones sa Filipinas''; ja, 日本のフィリピン占領, Nihon no Firipin Senryō) occurred between 1942 and 1945, when Imperial Japan occupied the Commonwealth of the ...

during the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

era.

Waterfalls

Busay and Pangunuron Falls are among the waterfalls in the island.

Buho Rock

Buho Rock is a hole in a cliff wall said to have been formed when a Spanish warship mistook it for an enemy ship in the mist and fired cannon into it. It is reached by a stone staircase, and offers views of Poro and the sea.

Language

The Poro islands are home to the ''Porohanon language'', one of the most endangered languages in the Visayas. The language is only used in the Camotes Islands, which are composed of four municipalities. The language is classified as distinct from Cebuano (Bisaya) by the

Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino , logo = , logo_width = , logo_caption = , seal = Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF).svg , seal_width = , seal_caption = , formed = 1937 (first formation)1991 (reformed) , preceding1 ...

and is vital to the culture and arts of the Porohanon people. Islands of Cebu {{CVisayas-geo-stub