Welcome to Central Visayas!
The Central Visayas (Region VII) is one of the administrative regions of the Philippines, part of the Visayas island group. The Visayas are roughly the central third of the Philippines, so this region is approximately in the center of the whole country.
This region has some magnificent beaches, many dive spots and, in Cebu City, historic landmarks which date back to 1521. The island of Bohol has the charming Chocolate Hills and diminutive tarsiers and is popular with leisure travelers, including many Koreans and Japanese.
The pioneering Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan was killed at the Battle of Mactan, now the city of Lapu-Lapu, by local chieftain Lapu-Lapu in the year 1521. A shrine in Cebu City was built in memory of his death centuries later. The oldest urban center in the Philippines, the walled city in Cebu, was built by the Spanish colonizers in the 16th century, parts of it survive (some only as ruins) and are tourist attractions today. The walled city of Intramuros in Manila was patterned after this walled fortress.
The Sinulog Festival in January is the region's most popular religious cultural event. It is centered in Cebu City but also celebrated in many nearby areas.
Wikivoyage divides the Visayas up without using the administrative regions, see the Visayas article for details.
Central Visayas (Cebuano: Tunga-tungang Kabisay-an, Tagalog: Gitnang Kabisayaan) is an administrative region in the Philippines, numerically designated as Region VII. It consists of four provinces: (Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor) and three highly urbanized cities: Cebu City, Lapu-Lapu, and Mandaue).
Major islands are the eponymous Cebu, Bohol, and Siquijor, together with the eastern part of Negros. The regional center and largest city is Cebu City. The region is dominated by the native speakers of four Visayan languages: Cebuano, Bantayanon, Boholano, and Porohanon. The land area of the region is 15,895.66 km2 (6,137.35 sq mi), and with a population of 8,081,988 inhabitants, it is the second most populous region in the Visayas.
On May 29, 2015, the region was redefined, when Central Visayas (Region VII) lost the province of Negros Oriental to the newly formed Negros Island Region. However, the region was dissolved, with Negros Oriental returned to Central Visayas on August 9, 2017.