Rainy Season Adventures!

The best time to travel in the Philippines is from February to May only. After these months, you might encounter flight or ship delay/cancellation, or be stranded at the port or airport due to a typhoon or bad weather.

Going to the beach is not an option. There will be no blue sky, a lot of clouds and rain.

But from November up to January, I still travel around the Philippines even though it is raining. And the best activities/adventures to do during rainy season are the following: 

1. White River Rafting 
Either you go to Chico River in Kalinga, Cagayan De Oro or Davao. Rain is number one reason why you will love white river rafting. The rapids will be a lot stronger and there will be a lot of adrenalin rush and thrills along the adventure.
Luzon - Chico River
Mindanao - Cagayan De Oro or Davao

river rafting in Cagayan De Oro

Related links -  
CDO - http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2013/03/white-water-rafting-in-cagayan-de-oro.html
Rapids http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2013/04/top-5-rapids-in-philippines-for-tourists.html
Kalinga - http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2013/03/passing-in-kalinga.html
Best adventures - 
http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2012/11/12-of-my-best-adventures-in-philippines.html
Davao - 
http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2012/11/white-river-rafting-in-davao.html

2. Spelunking
Spelunking/Caving is becoming popular in the Philippines. 
For those living in Luzon, you should not miss seeing the caves in Sagada, Quirino and Cagayan.
For those living in Visayas, the caves in Negros Oriental. 
While for those living in Mindanao, there also caves which you can visit.

Related link -
Sagada - http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2012/11/my-adventures-in-sagada-plus-itinerary.html  / http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2013/03/backpackers-trip-to-sagada-my-third-trip.html
Callao caves - http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2013/02/callao-caves.html
Top 10 caves - 
http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2013/04/top-10-caves-in-philippines-for-tourists.html
Quirino - http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2013/03/amazing-quirino.html
Isabela - http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2013/03/ilagan-isabela.html
Caves in the Philippines - http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2012/11/caves-in-philippines-spelunkers-dream.html



3. Going to the Falls or Rivers
Have you experienced the rapids going to Pagsanjan Falls, Laguna or Bamboo rafting at Villa Escudero, Quezon? If not, maybe it is time that you should do so. Rain is not a problem in going to the river or falls. In fact, waterfalls are best seen during rainy season when the water peak or pouring is at the highest!

Related link
Pagsanjan Falls - http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-thrill-of-rapids-in-pagsanjan-and.html
Enchanted River - 
http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2012/12/enchanted-river.html
Villa Escudero - http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2012/12/get-close-to-nature-in-villa-escudero_31.html

Enjoy the Philippines While it is Raining!

Callao Caves

Cagayan Valley is composed of five provinces: Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, and Quirino. And I have toured all the said provinces. Batanes is number one spot in the region.

Most of the region lies in a large valley in northeastern Luzon, between the Cordilleras and the Sierra mountain ranges. 

from www.myspace.com

Cagayan Valley is the second largest region of the Philippines in terms of land area.

Among the numerous tourist spots in Cagayan, there are three spots that I like most.

First is the Cagayan river which is the longest river in the Philippines.

From cagayanvalley

Second, is the Palaui Island in the  northwestern part in the municipality of Santa Ana, Cagayan province.

And the third, is the Callao Caves..

from www.flickerriver.com

December 22, 2011

Christmas was fast approaching and I am off to Cagayan to see the famous Callao Caves.

From the plane, I was able to see the aerial view of the longest river in the Philippines, Rio De Grande Cagayan.

It was an early flight and it was cloudy that day.

Past an hour, the Cebu Pacific flight landed in Tuguegarao.

I hurriedly went to the city and went to the public market of Tuguegarao and I was able to hire a tricycle ride to Penablanca, Cagayan. I opted using the tricycle because there was no available jeepney ride that day. 

Penablanca, Cagayan is the cave capital of the Philippines.  In Peñablanca alone, there are 300 caves, most of them unexplored.

I cannot recall exactly how much I paid the tricycle that day but I am certain that it did not exceed P500.00. It was also my ride back to the city. 

Travel time to the jump-off point is almost an hour.

The connecting bridge was destroyed by the last typhoon and the tricycle itself had to board a barge in order to reach the other side. A river runs through the locality.

We were nearing the spot...

Finally, we reached the jump-off point but I had to ride a boat in order to go to the other side anew.

I paid only P20.00 for the boat ride.

The ride was only ten minutes. 

Arriving at the jump-off point, I ascended towards the entrance of the cave. If I recall it right, there were 183 steps ascending.

While ascending the stairs, one can view the breathtaking sight of the river

Finally, after fifteen minutes of ascent, I was able to reach the marker.

I hired my guide and paid P200.00.

I did not have my dslr then and so I just used my digital camera. 

This is one of the things I learned in spelunking, bring a camera with a powerful flash!

The Callao Cave is fairly easy to explore. It  has 7 chambers to explore. 

You can finish the tour in less than an hour. But the trail was very slippery and muddy that day. 

After almost 2 hours in the cave and exploring some of the chambers, I decided to go back to the city.

I boarded the same boat and went to the other side of the river. Boarded the tricycle, went to the city and boarded a van to Isabela.

Visit the Callao Caves! =)

Related links -
Adventure

Trekking - http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-neophyte-trekker.html

Spelunking - http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2012/11/caves-in-philippines-spelunkers-dream.html

Skywalk/Edge Coaster - http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2012/11/adventures-in-cebu-city.html

Trekking - http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2012/11/two-mountains-in-one-day-mt-maculot-and.html

Mt. Pinatubo - http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2012/11/mt-pinatubo-trek-capas-tarlac-trail.html

Top Ten adventures - http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2012/11/12-of-my-best-adventures-in-philippines.html

River Rafting - http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2012/11/white-river-rafting-in-davao.html

Sagada - http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2012/11/my-adventures-in-sagada-plus-itinerary.html

Mt. Makiling - http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2012/11/mt-makiling-trek-and-itinerary.html

Pagsanjan - http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-thrill-of-rapids-in-pagsanjan-and.html

Beach

Boracay - http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2012/11/boracay.html

Coron - http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2012/11/enchanting-coron.html

El Nido - http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2012/11/el-nido-adventure-of-lifetime.html

Others –

Batanes - http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-captivating-and-stunning-beauty-of.html

Bukidnon - http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2012/11/exploring-bukidnon-twice.html

Bohol - http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2012/11/experience-bohol.html

Top Ten Places - http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2012/11/top-ten-places-in-philippines-i-visited.html

32 Ecotourism spots - http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2012/11/32-ecotourism-spots-in-philippines.html

Top 10 summer pics 2011 - http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2012/11/top-10-of-my-pictures-for-summer-2011.html