This highway is the reason you can reach Balamban and Toledo and Asturias and many other distant cities or municipalities in a matter of almost 2 hours only. It’s like the SRP of the South and the 2 Mactan Bridges in Mandaue/Lapu-Lapu. The Transcentral Highway is indeed one of the most revolutionary transportation innovations Cebu has ever made. Through this mountain highway, land trips to lots of places in Cebu’s central and northwestern parts can be faster and easier.
The Transcentral Highway is a major road that is approximately 33 kilometers. It stretches from Plaza Housing, Lahug to Barangay Prenza, Balamban. At an aerial view, it looks like a long snake perfectly nestled in the middle of the mountains and green trees. Some locals and visitors even consider the place a mini Kennon Road of Baguio City because of its evergreen surroundings and cool temperature. In fact, it can be really foggy up here during rainy days.
a foggy Transcentral Highway (image source: http://www.panoramio.com/)
Because Transcentral is surrounded by green trees and other natural attractions that Cebu’s mountains boast of, it has been a famous spot for taking pre-nuptial pictures. Also, there’s a wide range of tourist attractions that can be found along this highway. One of these is the Adventure Cafe where visitors can ride a zip line and enjoy a different kind of aerial view! Another must-go destination is the Island In The Sky Resort where a cable car and a hanging bridge can be found. There’s also the Canso X, a mountain adventure park in Cansomoroy, Balamban that lets Cebuanos experience thrilling canyoning activities and outdoor sports, such as biking, rock climbing, rappelling, river trekking, and swimming. The highway also gives easy access to Tops, Mountain View Nature’s Park, Ayala Heights, and many many more known attractions in Cebu. If you drive slowly here, you can even take wonderful pictures of the vast Tsuneishi Heavy Industries, Inc. or Balamban’s Shipyard down below!
the long, colorful hanging bridge found in one of the mountain resorts along Transcentral
To commute along Transcentral, ride a v-hire in Citilink Terminal or Ayala Center Cebu Terminal that’s bound for Balamban. The whole trip from the city to the dead end of this huge mountain highway in Balamban proper would take 1.5 hours only, while fare would be 100-120 pesos.
