One day boattour to Culion Island

The island of Culion with its similar named municipality was known in history as the largest leper colony in worldwide.

In 1622 the first missionaries arrived at the island to spread cristianity.

Fort Culion was built in 1740 for protection against the reoccuring moro raids.

The Island of Culion was declared a leper colony in 1904 by the ruling US american Gouvernor Wright due to the increasing number of lepronse.

On its 25th anniversary more than 16,000 leprose lived an isolated life on Culion.

With the arrival of medicines in 1947, the number of deseased was lowered dramatically until finally in 1992 the municipality of Culion was founded and the island itself became free for new settlements. The first municipal council in the history of this young settlement was elected in 1995.

Today, lepra is easily cured with cheap antibioitics and is no longer present in Culion and may be extincted worldwide in the near future.

When making a one day boat trip to Culion, make sure to visit the old spanish fort with its katholic church and the Lepra-Museum close to Culion Sanitarium

You can find a lot of information about Culion on Wikipedia