Negros Occidental - The Ruins in Talisay City

In the afternoon of my day 1 in Negros Occidental, I visited this 903 square meter skeletal structure that is truly one of its kind.

"The Ruins" is considered as one of the 12 most fascinating ruins in the world. A monumental landmark that can be found in Talisay City, Negros Occidental.

It is the ancestral house of Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson, a rich and young Filipino Sugar Baron. Built in the early 1900's, as a memory of don Mariano's wife Maria Braga, a young Portuguese lady he met in one of his trips in Hongkong. During its heyday, the mansion was the largest residential structure.


The house is of Italianate architecture with a touch of renaissance structure typical of the homes of English ship captains. One of Don Mariano’s sons even supervised the construction of the mansion making sure that only A-grade mixture of concrete was used. Unfortunately, it was set to fire during World War II by the USAFFE (United States Armed Forces in the Far East), to prevent Japanese Forces from using it as their headquarters. The raging inferno took three days before it reduced to ruins.


Since it was opened to the public in January 2008, "The Ruins" continues to fascinate local and foreign tourists at any time of the day. It is recommended to visit at dusk, as the lights that lit up the place adds to the mansion's radiance and innate charm.


The Ruins stands today as a living testament of how privileged Negrenses lived in the early days.


How to get there
From Bacolod City, take a jeepney going to Bata, tell the driver to drop you off at Bangga Rose Lawn Farm (fare is 7.00 pesos). From there, take a tricycle going to "The Ruins", fare is 15.00 pesos.

This Negros Occidental solo trip happened last December 11-12, 2010. Here is a series of posts on my 2-day experience in one of the most progressive provinces in the country. Discover the places I've been to, the people I met, the food I tasted and the experience I gained in this memorable adventure. Bacolod, Murcia, Talisay and Silay | Mambukal Resort in Murcia | The Town of Murcia | The Ruins in Talisay City | Silay City, "The Paris of Negros" | The Capitol Park and Lagoon Complex | The San Sebastian Cathedral and Bishop’s Palace | Pope John Paul II Tower in Bacolod City | Heritage Houses in Silay City