Our Pagudpud Northbound Tour begins with a visit to Kabigan Waterfalls, located in Barangay Balaoi. Now, the very last waterfall I visited was way back in 2005 in Sagada, Mountain Province. I remembered I had to trek for a good 30 minutes under the blazing sun before seeing the beauty of the falls.
This time it was no different.
Before we were allowed in, we paid a P10 entrance fee per person and P100 tour guide fee at the Kabigan Falls tourist office. Our guide, Kuya Bodie (not the guy from Batibot, haha) told us that it is a 2-kilometer hike to get to the falls. I thought, whew, OK I can do this. Thank goodness, the dirt road didn’t slope up so much. Also, a large length of the road went through wooded areas so it wasn’t so punishing to walk under the noon sun.
Along the way, we passed by green rice fields, obviously nourished by the waterfalls. There were also a few houses and a couple of refreshment stands selling food and drinks to tourists. When we got to the wooded area, we could hear nothing but the beautiful music of birds singing above us and the bubbling streams flowing along the road. Add the refreshing canopy of trees and that’s all I need for a great afternoon nap. Haha.
The dirt road was occassionally broken by shallow streams from the falls and a few wooden bridges (where the water is deeper).
After over half an hour of trekking, we finally arrived at the base of the falls. Woooo!
The water was so cold — I took gulps of it then splashed some on my face. Whew, that was so refreshing. Too bad we didn’t have our swimsuits with us so we could not take a dip in the clear water. We could only look with envy on the people frolicking in the water.
Note to self: visit Kabigan again and bring swimsuits and food and drinks and stay for a day!
Because we had other places to visit on the northbound tour, we grudgingly walked back to the tourist office. But not after taking a leak at the bathroom in the middle of the forest. All that cold water and all, you know. 😛
Mind you, this is not an ordinary, hole-in-the-soil type of toilet. It’s a real flushing toilet inside a real bathroom cubicle with clean, flowing water. These toilets are much better than the ones at Kapurpurawan. Constructed with tourists’ convenience in mind. Great for people with bladder control issues like me, haha. Really, the Ilocanos think of everything!
This is part of the Pagudpud Northbound Tour which includes the following:
- Kabigan waterfalls
- Patapat Viaduct
- Agua Grande
- Paraiso ni Anton
- Timmangtang Rock
- Bantay Abot Cave
- Dos Hermanos Islands
- Blue Lagoon
- Burol ni Coco Martin — totally optional, haha!
The tour costs P600 (for a maximum of 3 people). To book a tour with our friendly driver, Manong Vincent (tricycle #166), call or text 0921-983-6637 or 0926-273-5210.
Photo credits: Pictures without my watermark are courtesy of Rein Balangatan ^_^
Agent 007 Jimmy-san, how on earth did you find me?? 😀 Don’t be jealous; you know you can always go on a trip with Violy-sensei and the kids. Leave your empire for a while and take time to relax 😉
Nice adventure and pix. I’m jealous. Haha