Jumalon Butterfly Sanctuary and Art Gallery – A Welcome Respite From City Life

The Jumalon Butterfly Sanctuary and Art Gallery is one of the many museums one can find in the Queen City of the South. What sets it apart from the other museums in the city is what it has on display. Tucked away in the middle of the city, the museum was established in 1974 by the late Professor Julian Jumalon at his residence along Julian N. Jumalon Street, Cebu City.

Jumalon Butterfly Sanctuary and Art Gallery – image source: philippinetravelnotes.blogspot.com

Finding the place may not be easy, but once visitors arrive they are given an educational talk and tour of the museum. The museum has numerous butterflies from all around the world on display. Aside from butterflies, it also displays moths, some of which are rather colorful.

Jumalon Butterfly Sanctuary and Art Gallery – image source: commons.wikimedia.org

A talk is given inside the former living room of the house-turned-museum. The venue of the talk itself already has a good number of well-preserved specimens of moths and butterflies. Visitors can take pictures as long as they do not use the flash of their cameras.  Once the talk is finished, visitors are given a tour of the sanctuary/garden.

Jumalon Butterfly Sanctuary and Art Gallery – image source: jumalonbutterflysanctuary.com

The sanctuary features fauna to attract local butterflies. The butterflies mate and breed inside the sanctuary, where visitors can see the different stages in the life of the butterflies. The tour of the Jumalon Butterfly Sanctuary and Art Gallery ends inside the art gallery where the works of the Jumalon family are displayed. A number of these works are lepido-mosiacs. These mosaics are made using the butterfly wings that come from damaged specimens. The mosaics show a number of tourist sites around the city along with national heroes.

Jumalon Butterfly Sanctuary and Art Gallery – image source: www.livingincebuforums.com

The children of the late Professor Jumalon are carrying the legacy of their father through the Jumalon Butterfly Sanctuary and Art Gallery. It does not receive any support from private or government institutions, and maintenance is mainly sourced from the entrance fee and the Jumalon family themselves.

Jumalon Butterfly Sanctuary and Art Gallery – image source: cushtravel.com