TACLOBAN CITY – In this pandemic, people seldom go out and explore new places.

However, a town in Leyte offers its guests a unique, healthy, and safe experience closest to nature away from the noise and pollution in the city.

“Shinrin-yoku,” or forest bathing popularized in Japan, is known to fight death due to too much stress from day-to-day living.

Burauen, Leyte lets tourists experience forest bathing or cool down without actually taking a bath, but cleansing one's self or immersing in the forest through a two-hour trail.

The Tanguile Trail derived from the giant century-old Tanguile trees dominant in the area allows tourists to learn about the Mahagnao Volcano Natural Park's flora and fauna.

It likewise enables them to use their senses in listening to birds chirping and droplets of rain, walking barefoot while feeling different textures of plants and trees, smelling the flowers and inhaling fresh air, and tasting sweet wild berries.

It ends at Malagsum Lake, one of three lakes in the natural park that gives a view of wild ducks and migratory birds from Western countries.

Aside from breathtaking views of the lakes and sea of clouds in the mountains, a meal at "The Farm" serving native dishes from locally sourced ingredients is one of the highlights of the trail.

Guests are welcomed by the whole community, including elders who entertain the guests with guitars and festive dances.

They also boast of their "lawot-lawot," a dish made from 21 native vegetables cooked in coconut milk that has been passed off to generations.

The newly constructed road from the town proper, leading to its prime tourist attraction, the Mahagnao Volcano and Natural Park, is expected to boost the town's eco-tourism as it is also considered as the spring capital of Leyte.