For a province that is a mainstream travel destination since it’s famous for surfing, I was kinda surprised that this waterfall was not yet a popular tourist attraction when I visited La Union. 📍Tangadan Falls, San Gabriel
🇵🇭LA UNION ADVENTURE PRIMER🇵🇭
✈️🛳🚌 How to get to La Union:
⏺ Ride a bus bound for Vigan or Laoag (e.g. Partas Bus in Cubao).
⏺ Alight at the city proper of San Fernando, La Union (travel time: 5 – 6 hours depending on traffic condition and number/duration of stop-overs).
🏄🏝🚴Sites to Explore/Activities:
⏺ Ma-Cho Temple of San Fernando City
📌From San Fernando City proper, you can walk for a few minutes or ride a tricycle to get to the temple.
⏺ Tangadan Falls of San Gabriel
📌From San Fernando, ride a jeepney bound for the town of San Gabriel (travel time: 1.5 – 2 hours).
📌Hire a tricycle that will take you to the jump-off.
📌Register and secure guide/s.
📌The trek to reach the waterfall takes about 30 minutes to 1 hour depending on your pace.
⏺ Urbiztondo Beach of San Juan (surfing site)
📌From San Fernando City, ride a jeepney bound for San Juan.
📌Ask the driver to drop you off at Urbiztondo Beach (travel time: less than 1 hour).
My friend and I decided to check this province off our bucket list one weekend of 2014. We left Partas Bus Terminal by midnight and arrived before sunrise in San Juan. We checked in and left our stuff at The Circle Hostel then rode a jeepney to San Fernando City where we had our breakfast. The streets were beginning to get busy by the time we hailed a tricycle that took us to Ma-Cho Temple. Upon entering its premises, I felt nostalgic right away as the atmosphere reminded me of my elementary days in my Chinese school in the province where I grew up. 📍Ma-Cho Temple, San Fernando CityAfter an hour or so of roaming around the temple, it was time to get to our next destination in our itinerary. It took us almost two hours to get to the town proper of San Gabriel. After negotiating with a tricycle driver, we were on our way to the jump-off. Kudos to our driver for also helping us find someone who would guide us. 📍Tangadan Falls, San GabrielThe trek to get to the waterfall was quite challenging as there was no established trail. There were instances that we even had to scramble through boulders. We just took photos when we arrived at Tangadan Falls. I couldn’t take a dip because it was way too cold and I was suffering from a flu during that time. 📍Ma-Cho Temple, San Fernando City
⏰⏳ SAMPLE DAY TOUR ITINERARY:
12:00 AM ETD for San Fernando
6:00 AM Breakfast
7:00 AM Ma-Cho Temple
8:30 AM ETD for San Gabriel
10:00 AM Commence trek
11:00 AM ETA Tangadan Falls
12:30 PM Trek back to jump-off
1:30 PM ETD for San Juan
3:00 PM ETA Urbiztondo Beach (surfing)
5:00 PM Wash up
6:00 PM ETD for 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 tricycle transfer rates.
📜✏️ Tips/Reminders:
📌Always check the weather first if you will be going to Tangadan Falls. Expect rain and a muddy trail during monsoon season (June-February).
📌There are a lot of resorts in Urbiztondo Beach. If you want to spend the night, make sure that you book in advance especially if you are visiting on weekends, holidays and summer vacation.
📌You can join organized travel events online.
📌Always observe the LNT principles.
When we got back in Urbiztondo Beach, we just relaxed by the shore because we were not allowed by the instructors to surf. Sadly, the swell was too dangerous for newbies like us. It was fine with me for I was not feeling well anyway. I just swam for a few minutes. The seawater has always been a natural medicine for me. When I was young, my father would take me to the beach every time I’d have a flu. 📍Tangadan Falls, San GabrielFast forward to 2015, my friend and I organized a day tour in La Union. I know it was pretty much a tiring itinerary for our participants but at least we wouldn’t need to spend money on lodging. Besides, most of our joiners were mountaineers so they’re kinda used to exhausting activities. 📍Ma-Cho Temple, San Fernando CityOur trek en route to Tangadan Falls was entirely a different experience than what I went through in 2014. The manicured trail made the trek manageable even for first-timers. Although the sad part was missing out on some awesome spots along the river. Visitors won’t pass by those spots once they take the established trail. 📍Tangadan Falls, San Gabriel The last part of our itinerary before going back to Manila that afternoon was surfing of course. Unfortunately, the swell was way too small to create long shore waves to ride on so again, I just swam with some of the joiners while other participants dealt with the type of waves that the beach had to offer even if it took time before they got waves of good quality. Nonetheless, it was a successful travel event. 📍Ma-Cho Temple, San Fernando City
***For more photos in La Union, please click this link. For other destinations in Ilocos Region, you may visit this link.
