Daranak Falls + Calinawan Cave
Hello friends!
I am currently kind of rush-writing this blog entry since a lot of you might be looking for a quick day trip over the holy week that doesn’t require you to go so far from Metro Manila.
So here’s how my story goes.
My friend and I were planning to go to Hidalgo in Quiapo to buy film for my first generation Pentax camera so that I could take snaps for my Pico de Loro beach adventure BUT that plan wasn’t pushed through so instead I tested the spontaneity of my most adventurous friend by telling him OKAY CHANGE OF PLANS WE’RE GOING ON A ROAD TRIP!
And so here we are in Daranak falls with no towels or extra clothes and our picnic basically involved Nerds, Mentos, a Reese bar and some coffee. Oh boy.
Coming from Greenhills, it only took us an hour and a half to get to Daranak falls in Tanay Rizal (Daranak Falls is totally Waze-able, download) and the view going there is amazing! Fields and mountains surrounded us all the way so it gave us the total road trip atmosphere. Also, there will be a lot of signs leading you to Daranak Falls as you get closer so it’s very easy to find. We didn’t even stop to ask for directions.
Upon entrance to Daranak Falls here are the fees you need to pay:
P30 Parking Fee
P50 Entrance Fee (they even give out government issued receipts)
And that’s it! Just cross the bridge, climb a little bit of stairs and you’ll arrive at the beauty of the falls. This is the first time I’ve ever seen and experienced waterfalls by the way. My greatest regret in this spontaneity though, is not bringing my portable SLR. Tsk.
P.S. If you also decide to go here on a whim, don’t worry cause they sell swimming shorts there for about P100 only.
What I love about Daranak falls is how it is so well maintained and well guarded by the local government there. They even have a lifeguard on duty by the falls, which is only available for swimming from 8am-5pm. When we got there around 3pm though, there were fairly a lot of people already.
Instead of jumping right into the falls, we asked around if there are other activities we could do in the area to maximize our stay there so we were introduced to Calinawan Cave. A local guide who took us to and from the cave charged us P200 for 2 people, this involves a 30-minute hike to get to the cave. The trail involves an uphill trek (there was a part where we were surrounded by butterflies!) but soon becomes plane land where you'll bump into a lot of doggies, chickens and chicks!
P.S. Be careful though because the rocks along the uphill trail are covered with moss, so I slipped and landed on my bottom. I still have a hot compress on my spine.
Upon reaching the jump-off point of Calinawan cave, you have to pay an entrance fee of P20 per head and the tour guide for the cave charged us another P200 for 2 people. They also provide you with flashlights, which goes to show how properly organized this tourist spot is. Yay! The tour guides, who are also locals there, are issued government IDs. So what'd I tell you? So well-governed!
We got toured by Ate Liit, who gave us a comprehensive history lesson on Calinawan cave (P200 is so worth it!). Plus, she is game to take as much photos as you would like! The cave has 5 levels or layers going further down (think Dante’s Inferno! Uh wait that’s not such a good imagery is it? Still kind of cool though!). You will only get toured for 2 levels and if you do decide to go down all 5 levels, you just need to tip them extra based on your discretion. We didn’t go through all 5 levels because the first 2 levels already contain a lot of cool rock formations that resemble interesting things, you get to see where bats live (there aren't any bats though so don't fret!), and you’ll get to witness the formation of stalagmites and stalactites (very cool).
I really recommend all of you to take a tour of Calinawan Cave because it's so easy to go through and it's the kind of cave that's really vast and spacious, unlike other caves that make you a bit claustrophobic. It's majestic, really.
And finally, my favorite part! I always save jumping into bodies of water after a hike because it makes everything worth it and extra special. Ladies and gents, God gives you Daranak Falls.
The water was so cold in a very heavenly way! Plus I think it kind of conditioned my hair. I didn't mind not taking a shower for the trip back to Manila. Totally unprepared, remember?
I took this photo below when I was under the waterfalls. Totally worth getting my phone quite wet. (I'm seriously thinking of putting my phone in a Ziplock next time)
And of course, cliff diving to make the trip really epic. HEAD FIRST! (Don't try this alone, I had formal platform diving lessons before I could do this)