Dingalan was a quiet and seemingly off-the-radar town of Aurora back then. Its sister municipality, Baler, always gets the limelight. But thanks to social media, this town has been gaining popularity, which in turn helps the locals for their source of livelihood.
🇵🇭DINGALAN ADVENTURE PRIMER🇵🇭
✈🛳🚌 How to get to Dingalan, Aurora:
⏺ Ride a bus from Metro Manila to Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija (e.g. Five Star Bus in Cubao or Baliwag Transit in Cubao/Caloocan; travel time is 2 – 3 hours depending on traffic condition and number/duration of stop-overs).
⏺ Transfer to a van en route to Dingalan (travel time: 1.5 – 2 hours).
⏺ Hail a tricycle to reach feeder port which serves as the jump-off.
⏺ Register and secure guide/s.
⏺ Hire a boat that will take you to Dingalan’s tourist spots.
🏄🏝🚴 Sites to Explore/Activities:
⏺ Agria Point, Barangay Paltic (Lighthouse and Mountain View Deck)
📌The boat ride to White Beach (jump-off) takes about 30 – 45 minutes.
📌The trek to reach the view decks is recommended for beginners.
📌It will take about 30 minutes to 1 hour to reach the lighthouse while another 30 minutes to 1 hour of trek to get to Mountain View Deck.
⏺ Lamao Caves
📌Ask your guide/boatman to take you to these caves.
📌The boat ride from White Beach to get to the caves takes roughly 30 minutes but may take longer depending on sea condition.
Just like Hulugan Falls and Mt. Ulap, I have known about this place before it was introduced to the public. It all started with a post in a travel group in 2015. It was a photo of a local from Aurora atop the lighthouse overlooking Dingalan’s verdant hills and cliffs. Right at that very moment, I was like: Damn! I want that!The post of the guy does not have any details. He just responded to people’s comments that he may be reached through Facebook Messenger. I tried to message him but unfortunately, I got no reply. I googled the place and there was this blog about the lighthouse but the pieces of information on how to get there weren’t complete. I actually lost hope. I badly wanted to see this place.With just the name of location in hand, I used Facebook’s search bar to find this place. It was my last resort. I typed in “Agria Point” and there were few photos of the lighthouse. I tried reaching out to these profiles who posted the photos. Fortunately, one of them replied and taught me how to get there. Finally.I asked my college buddy right away if he wanted to come with me. We finally agreed on the date and off we went to exploring the town of Dingalan.We met up early and arrived in Cabanatuan City by 6:00 in the morning. After breakfast, we hurriedly proceeded to the terminal of vans bound for Dingalan. It was weekend but since the place was not yet a mainstream tourist spot, there were no other tourists aside from us so we had to wait for other passengers until the van was full.
⏰⏳ SAMPLE ITINERARY:
2:00 AM ETD for Cabanatuan City
5:00 AM ETA Cabanatuan / breakfast
6:00 AM ETD for Dingalan
7:30 AM ETA Dingalan / buy packed lunch
8:00 AM ETA Feeder Port
8:30 AM ETA White Beach
9:00 AM Trek to lighthouse and view deck
12:00 PM Lamao Caves / lunch
2:00 PM Head back to Feeder Port
3:00 PM Wash up
4:00 PM ETD for Cabanatuan
6:00 PM ETA Cabanatuan
7:00 PM ETD for Manila
10:00 PM ETA Manila
💰💶 ESTIMATED BUDGET (for a solo traveler): Php 2,500 – Php 3,000
***Expenses may vary depending on personal consumption of food and other necessities. If traveling alone, you will solely shoulder the guide fees and boat rental fees.
After almost two hours on the road, we finally arrived at the town proper. We asked a tricycle driver if he could take us to the port. He asked us if we were going to White Beach and the lighthouse. It must have been a famous attraction here among the locals.Upon reaching the port, the place seemed deserted. Okay, so what now? I thought to myself. Then I saw a middle-aged man in the corner and asked him where we could hire a boat to White Beach. He shouted and called this guy from one of the boats parked. After some negotiations, he finally agreed to take us to White Beach.White Beach. I was actually expecting a beach with white sand. When we docked at the shoreline, I couldn’t see any white sand. Never mind. Swimming was not our objective for the day anyway.One of the caretakers welcomed us and said that her son would guide us to the lighthouse. I was really excited. The year was 2015 and I have never been to any cliff facing the Pacific Ocean.It rained that day so the trail was really muddy. Good thing I was wearing my Native boots. When we reached the hill, I quickly climbed the stairs to get to the lighthouse. Back then, people were still allowed to climb the top of it. I first asked the kid if we could. He just reminded us to refrain from stepping on the solar modules.
📜✏ Tips/Reminders:
📌Please be reminded that you could no longer get on top of the lighthouse since it has been closed to the public.
📌Expect rain, muddy trails and rough sea condition during monsoon season (June-February).
📌There are available cottages in White Beach. You can also pitch your own tents.
📌Eateries are available in Dingalan’s town proper.
📌The last trip of vans going back to Cabanatuan from Dingalan leaves between 4:00 PM – 4:30 PM (much earlier if the van is already full).
📌You can join organized travel events online to save on time and cut on costs.
📌Always observe the LNT principles.
☎ Contact:
📌Tour Guide: Argie (09464054785)
I was speechless when I finally saw it with my own eyes. The view was breathtaking. I know that nowadays, people have been comparing Dingalan with Batanes. For someone who has been to Batanes, I’d say that both of them are amazing. Besides, every place is beautiful in its own right.After taking lots of photos, we went back to the town proper to have our lunch. I posted the pictures on Facebook and my friends had been asking me where it is. I kept it a secret. I thought maybe the place was not yet ready for the influx of tourists.A few months after my discovery, I organized a travel event here. That was the start of it all. Dingalan became famous after that. It was known before as Agria Point but now, the hills bear a different name. I am even not sure if the locals could still remember its original name.It was 2017 when I decided to pay Dingalan a visit again. Everything was already regulated by their tourism office. After that travel event I organized, somehow, I was able to help by bringing in another source of income for the locals. I’m pretty sure they have no idea who I am or what I did for their municipality but I am so glad that I could be of help to them.This was taken on my first trip here. During the first few months after it became popular, people were still allowed to get to the lighthouse but after a visitor broke the solar panels, the authority finally had to close it down. I just hate it when things like this happen because of an irresponsible tourist. I hope the LGU does its job in preserving this place. It is really a gem that people of Dingalan should be proud of.
***For more photos in Dingalan, please click this link. For other destinations in Aurora and Central Luzon, you may visit this link.
