“I want that!” I exclaimed to myself as I was drooling over the otherworldly photos of this cave I saw online. Up until now, it’s still one of my biggest dreams to explore the mundane and mysterious hollows of the largest cave system in the Philippines. But at least I was able to take a peek of it last April 2016. 📍Langun-Gobingob Caves, Calbiga
🇵🇭WESTERN SAMAR ADVENTURE PRIMER🇵🇭
✈️🛳🚌 How to get to Western Samar:
⏺ OPTION 1:
📌Take a plane from Metro Manila to Tacloban City, Leyte (e.g. Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific and AirAsia).
📌Ride a taxi or jeepney to get to the terminal of vans bound for the municipalities of Western Samar.
📌Transfer to a van to reach the towns of Western Samar.
📌Alternatively, you can fly via Cebu Pacific from Manila to Calbayog City.
⏺ OPTION 2:
📌Ride a bus from Metro Manila to Matnog Port, Sorsogon (e.g. DLTB and Philtranco; travel time: 15 – 16 hours depending on traffic condition and number/duration of stop-overs).
📌Take the RORO ferry from Matnog Port en route to the port of Allen in Northern Samar (travel time: 1 – 2 hours depending on sea condition).
📌Ride a bus or van to reach Tacloban City (this route will pass by the towns of Western Samar).
Samar is probably one of the most underrated destinations in the Philippines. This was a blessing in disguise somehow. Compared to most of the spots I have visited in other parts of the country, the tourist attractions of Samar are still far from being abused by the uncontrollable number of irresponsible travelers frequenting these places which would eventually lead to their environmental degradation if left unregulated by the authorities. 📍Tarangban Falls, Calbayog City
🏄🏝🚴 Sites to Explore/Activities:
⏺ Tarangban Falls and Bangon Falls of Calbayog City
📌If coming from Tacloban City, ride a commuter van bound for Calbayog City (travel time: 3.5 – 4 hours).
📌Transfer to another van bound for the town of Allen. Remind the conductor to drop you off at the crossing going to Bangon/Tarangban Falls (travel time: roughly 1 hour).
📌Hire a motorcycle and guide.
📌The trek to get to these two waterfalls takes about 30 minutes to 1 hour depending on your pace.
⏺ Langun-Gobingob Caves of Calbiga
📌From Tacloban City, ride a van bound for Calbiga (travel time: 1.5 hours).
📌Hire a motorcycle to get to the jump-off then trek for about 1 – 2 hours to get to the entrance of the cave. It is much better if you check the FB page of Trexplore The Adventures led by Sir Joni Bonifacio. He offers caving packages in Calbiga.
⏺ Lulugayan Falls of Calbiga
📌From the town proper of Calbiga, hire a motorcycle that will take you to the jump-off (travel time: 45 minutes to 1 hour).
📌Hire a local guide then trek for about 15 – 30 minutes to get to the waterfall.
My travel buddies and I woke up early and traveled from Biri Island to the city of Calbayog. We asked the public jeepney driver to drop us off the the junction where we could hail a motorcycle that could take us here at Tarangban Falls.The trek to get to the waterfall was not that far but the distance would still make you sweat considering the hot weather that day.I had to borrow my friend’s phone with its removable fisheye lens so I could take this shot of this wide waterfall since my camera’s unable to do so even though it has wide angle lens.It may seem peaceful in these pictures of mine but the truth is, the place was jam-packed with tons of locals who wanted to bathe and beat the heat. It was the month of April after all.My apologies since these pictures were taken against the light. I am also not a fan of shooting waterfalls in broad daylight with sunrays hitting the cascades.Once we already captured ample images of Tarangban Falls, we agreed to proceed to our next stop.We trekked for a few minutes to reach Bangon Falls. This waterfall is just a stone’s throw away from Tarangban Falls.The ambience here at Bangon Falls was quite the opposite of Tarangban’s because there was virtually nobody when we arrived.It was already lunch time when we finished our tour of the waterfalls and we headed to Catbalogan City next. We then traveled to Calbiga where we would be spending the night.
⏰⏳ SAMPLE ITINERARY:
DAY 1
7:00 AM ETA Tacloban Airport
8:00 AM ETD for Calbayog City
12:00 PM ETA Calbayog City / check-in / lunch
1:00 PM ETD for Tarangaban Falls and Bangon Falls
5:00 PM Head back to lodge
7:00 PM Dinner
DAY 2
6:00 AM ETD for Calbiga
9:00 AM ETA Calbiga / check-in / breakfast
10:30 AM ETD for Lulugayan Falls
12:00 ETA Lulugayan Falls
1:30 PM ETD for Langun-Gobingob Caves
3:00 PM ETA Langun-Gobingob Caves
6:00 PM ETA lodge
DAY 3
6:00 AM Wake-up call / breakfast
7:00 AM ETD for San Juanico Bridge
8:30 AM San Juanico Bridge Photowalk
10:30 AM ETD for Tacloban Airport
1:00 PM ETD for Manila
💰💶 ESTIMATED BUDGET (for a solo traveler): Php 6,000 – Php 7,000 (exclusive of airfare)
***Expenses may vary depending on the type of accommodation you will avail and personal consumption of food and other necessities. If traveling alone, you will solely shoulder the guide fees and motorcycle transfer rates.
📜✏️ Tips/Reminders:
📌Always check the weather first before going to these tourist spots. Expect rain during monsoon season (June-February).
📌It is advisable to hire local guides since there are forks along the trails going to the waterfalls and cave.
📌Allot at least one more day if you plan on spelunking in Langun-Gobingob.
📌Always observe the LNT principles.
The next morning, our rented motorcycles picked us up from our hotel to take us to our first destination for the day, this very beautiful Lulugayan Falls.It was a grueling butt-numbing ride through the seemingly off-the-beaten path towards this piece of natural wonder tucked away in the mountains of Calbiga.Thank the gods it was just a leisurely trek for a few of minutes from the jump-off to see the waterfall.This scenery was undoubtedly etched in my memory that day. Boy was it so beautiful. The epic bumpy ride to see Lulugayan Falls was worth it.After enjoying the cool breeze along the way from Lulugayan Falls, we headed to our next stop, the biggest cave system in the country, Langun-Gobingob Caves.We would have wanted to avail of spelunking packages and camp out inside the cave for a couple of days but we just opted to see the mouth of the cave because we didn’t have much time left to spare in our itinerary.I could still remember that hopeless feeling when we got lost along the trail. Our motorcycle drivers just knew someone near the area who could guide us to the cavern so we asked for his assistance but even he was not so sure of the exact location since he seldom visits the place. We were so tired from all the hike back and forth. The unexpected rain also made the experience extra challenging.I almost screamed in delight once we reached the cave entrance. Finally, I thought to myself as I heaved an exhausted sigh. We finished our half-day tour of Calbiga past lunch time. Our tour guides brought us back to our accommodation for us to wash up. It was time to continue journey to Eastern Samar.Two days in Western Samar certainly didn’t suffice. We only saw a miniscule percentage of what this province offers. Up until now, Samar is still one of the islands in my list that I wanna go back to in the future. My friends and I generally were able to cover a lot of destinations during our 8-day trip in Samar but we still have a long way to go. 📍Lulugayan Falls, Calbiga
***For other destinations in Samar, you may visit this link.
