Exploring Capisaan Cave in Nueva Vizcaya

The first cave I explored was the Sumaguing Cave in Sagada, Mountain Province. That was way back in 2007. The second, although it may not be strictly a cave, was the one at the Underground River in Palawan. The third were the Ambongdolan Caves in nearby Tublay, Benguet. For my fourth, it’s the Capisaan Cave in Nueva Vizcaya… and I have to say it’s the best I have seen so far. Let me give you a glimpse of it the best I can.

(Disclaimer: All photos are mine, unless otherwise indicated in the pics.)

The first I heard of Capisaan Cave was through friends who went there first. Then we became insistent on checking it out too. It took around 5 days of whirlwind planning via Facebook and, at 1AM on a Saturday, nine of us met up at Good Taste Restaurant in Otek Street, bought packed breakfast and lunch, and got on the hired van for that 8-hour trip to Kasibu, where Capisaan Cave is located.

Capisaan Cave (or I’d much prefer to call it “Caves”, even if the signs at the entrance used the singular form) is located in Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya. It is now under the supervision of the local government units, and is one of the highlights of the province’s eco-tourism thrust.

At 4.2 kilometers, it is the fifth longest cave system in the Philippines. We surely felt it, spending around 5 hours to explore it.

Exploration of the caves started waaaaay back in 1998, and I am quite surprised that it is not as popular as Sagada’s Sumaguing. Looks like that is about to change, though, as more and more people are discovering this gem of a cave.

At around 9am, we arrived at the house of Pastor Pawid, who welcomed us and became one of the two guides (with Pastor Rafael) that brought us into the Cave.

We made quick work of breakfast, registered, suited up, then entered via the Alayan Cave entrance. There are 8 entrances indicated on the sketch of the map, but only 2 or 3, I think are open to the public, Alayan and Lion Cave being two of them. Our group came in through Alayan, and exited at the Lion Cave entrance.

Entering the cave, we had to have helmets and headlamps. Not to worry if you don’t have these with you, because the barangay has them for rent. Helmet is mandatory, headlamp is not, but I suggest you have one. Seriously. If not for viewing the cave formations, then to make sure that you are stepping on something… well, something.

I noticed early on that there seemed to be very little bats inside the cave. Or, if they were there, they hid themselves well. And clean up well, too. There’s none of that overpowering “bat-poop” smell that I normally associated with caves.

Early on, we were warned that we’d have to cross through bodies of water while traversing the length of the cave. And then we came on to Lorenzo’s Pool, which they said was chest-level. In my case, more like chin-level. 🙂 There were no ropes, by the way. So it was our wits and hands that went to work. Tricky, considering how we were also holding on to cameras which are NOT waterproof, by the way.

Water inside the cave was coooooold. We stepped on it, and the groans grew louder as the water rose up. I confess to groaning out loud when it reached my navel. Phew.

So we have all learned the basics about rock formations found inside caves. There are the stalagmites, or those that rise from the floor due to “the dripping of mineralized solutions and the deposition of calcium carbonate”. There are the stalactites, which are the types that hang from the ceilings or the walls of limestone caves.

During this adventure, we learned of two other types: the soda straw and helictites.

Soda Straw, or simply straw, comes in the form of a “hollow mineral tube”, just like a straw, and it is often growing on the roofs of caves, and other places where water leaches slowly through cracks. There is a possibility for it to turn into a stalactite when the hole is blocked (and it is no longer hollow).

Helictites, on the other hand, “change their axis from the vertical while it is growing”. They can be curved or angular, as though they grew in zero gravity.

Oh, and there was a part that looked like the maw of a dinosaur!!

This cave, I think, has it all. You get to climb up steep inclines, scramble for solid footing, wade through shallow waters, struggle in deep areas, cling to the guide because darn-girl-from-the-boondocks-can’t-bloody-swim, crawl through tight spaces, hit your head against low roofs and protruding rocks, lower yourself through even narrower holes, get your feet buried in slime-slash-mud, and freeze your arse off because even if you want to get out of the water like NOW, you can’t.

Oh, yes, this is an all-in-one place to be.

And I absolutely loved it. Can’t you tell?

Oh, and here’s a creature we spotted on the walls. 🙂

It wasn’t long before we saw a light at the end of the tunnel – literally! – and when we reached it, our guide went, “Congratulations, you survived Capisaan Caves!” We looked at our timepieces and realized we’ve been inside the cave for a little more than 5 hours! And I felt like it was just 2! Time flies when you’re having so much fun, and I was having a total blast. Again, can’t you tell?

This was a very, very satisfying trip. I love it when I get convinced to go to places I have never heard of before. It’s like a period of discovery. I still appreciate doing research beforehand to know what I am in for, but there is a certain excitement exploring something on a clean slate. If you love surprises, you’d totally get what I’m saying here.

We went back to Pastor Pawid’s home, imposed on him and showered. We shared some coffee with him and chatted for a bit, then set off back for home at around 4pm.

I especially enjoyed the parts where we had to climb down through holes and when we had to be submerged in the water, freezing cold though it was. The cave formations were definitely something to behold, and I loved how, everywhere you turn, there is something worth checking out. There were also challenging moments, like passing the halfway point, or the Sang-at Salug (an Ilocano phrase that literally translates to “go up, go down”, or “ascend, descend”); and crossing a deeeeeeeeep (but short, I grant you that) pool where again I wondered why I didn’t make any attempts to learn how to swim.

Personally, the entire spelunking adventure was a highlight for me, so I can’t pick just one or two. If somebody is going to tell me to go back here, I’d definitely consider it. This is one experience I’d love to repeat.

Estimated expenses per person amounted to around Php 1,000.00, inclusive of van rental (Baguio to Kasibu and vice versa), packed breakfast and lunch (from Good Taste Restaurant), registration and guide fee (Php 200.00), rental of helmet (mandatory, at Php25.00 each) and headlamp (at Php 10.00 each). We left Baguio City at 2am, then arrived back around 11pm.

(UPDATE: This trip took place middle of 2015. It would appear that their policies have changed since then, so you might expect being charged with entrance fees. As for how much, I’m not quite sure, please refer to helpful comments below by other more informative sources. 🙂 Thank you)

This last pic is a shout-out to Joseph, who was diligently taking photos. Haha! Thanks, brotha!