I don’t know what they teach grade-schoolers in Philippine elementary schools nowadays, but I can still remember the first lessons we’ve had in our Sibika at Kultura (now I think it’s Social Studies…?) and the types of land forms and bodies of water. When it came to talon, or waterfalls, the prime example used was Pagsanjan Falls. Fast forward more than two decades later, and I was finally able to lay (more than) my eyes on Pagsanjan Falls in Laguna.
I’ve always kept my eye on any opportunity to visit Pagsanjan Falls for the past couple of years, especially wanting to go there during the Bangkeros Festival. However, what stopped me were accounts I’ve heard and read about being ripped off or visitors ending up having to spend too much. Then I saw others who suggested an alternative route to get there – one that does not involve using a boat, having to haggle with boatmen, and basically not spending an arm and a leg. Aaaaand it also happened that my colleagues and I were looking for a place to visit for that rare two- or three-day-in-a-year trip that we take. They were up for some hiking and walking, so Pagsanjan it is, then.
The conventional – and more popular – way of getting to the Falls would be to rent one of those boats with two boatmen, who will two you and your group up the river until you get to the waterfalls. We didn’t choose this one because (a) it’s expensive, and (b) we didn’t want to have to spend what is supposed to be a relaxing trip arguing with people and stressing ourselves out haggling.
The other route involved walking down a paved road, hiking through a friendly (in my opinion) trail, descending down flights and flights of steep and narrow stairs made of steel, and rappelling straight down on chutes. Yep. Quite challenging. AND THRILLING.
How We Got There
We had our own vehicle and, straight from our temporary lodgings, we made that quite lengthy trip to the Cavinti Town Hall, where we planned on inquiring with their Tourism Office on how to get to Pueblo El Salvador, which is the jump-off point for the hike. At that time, we came across someone wearing a yellow shirt with Pueblo El Salvador emblazoned on it. It turns out he’s with the municipal government, and he’s assigned at the Park. So he rode on his motorbike, and we followed him all the way to the Park.
There, we changed into clothes made for getting wet, registered, had a bit of a briefing about the Falls, and were strapped with waist harnesses. What were the harnesses for, you ask? You’ll find out later.
A Falls That Goes By Many Names
Growing up, we were all taught about Pagsanjan Falls. Others calls it the Cavinti Falls. Locals lovingly refer to it as Magdapio Falls. Which is correct?
It got the name Pagsanjan Falls by virtue of the fact that the river runs through the town of Pagsanjan. The jump-off point for those visiting via boats is at Pagsanjan.
But if we are going to be technical about it, the actual location of the waterfall is the town of Cavinti, which is a neighbor of Pagsanjan. Hence, Cavinti Falls.
What about the Magdapio Falls name? This was a name adapted by the locals. According to local folklore, there were two star-crossed lovers (doesn’t every tragic story have some of those?), Magda and Pio, whose love was forbidden that they decided to run away together. I forgot the exact details as recounted by the staff at Pueblo El Salvador, but to cut the story short, the two disappeared somewhere around the waterfalls. Search parties roaming the area kept screaming out their names, “Magda!” and “Pio!” until the echoes overlapped, and it sounded like “Magdapio”. And so it became Magdapio Falls.
Or so they said.
When We Got There…
Now let us talk about Pueblo El Salvador Nature’s Park and Picnic Grove. From what I surmised, this eco-park is operated by the local government unit of Cavinti. It’s a nature park with lots of fruit trees and vegetation, and also a place where guests can have their picnics. And it serves as the gateway to the Falls.
We saw lots of fruit-bearing trees as we were walking through the trails. On our way back, we even had a ball of a time picking santol fruits. We went home with our stomachs filled, along with a large plastic bag filled with santol. Haha! The staff did not admonish us or fine us for it, though.
The hike started out light enough. We just started following a concrete road. Then it forked into a foot trail which does not pose any or much difficulty at all. I had non-hikers (as in zero prior experience) in our group and, except for the mid-morning heat, they didn’t complain at all.
Props to the Park’s managers and operators for maintaining the state of the trail. It’s well-kept and clean, and the guides were also watchful and friendly. And they got a kick out of passing us on the road while riding their motorbikes. Huh.
There’s a scenic overview or a viewdeck with a large statue of El Salvador del Mundo who, I’m guessing, is the patron saint of the place. It is from here where the challenging part of the trail begins.
And by challenging, I meant steep. If you have weak knees, let them knock together. You are allowed to. The steel stairs are at such a steep angle, and quite narrow – barely the length of your feet – so one misstep might mean breaking your neck in ninety different places. So you gotta watch it.
Then you’ll arrive at the first chute. I don’t really know what these are called, so let’s just use chute. Your waist harnesses will come in handy, because you will be strapped in, and lowered through the chute down below. There are horizontal bars that you can crawl down on, but that’ll take a lot of time, so I understand why they prefer visitors to be lowered down.
Understand, though, that it is not machine-operated. The guides will be the one to carry your weight via the ropes. Another set of propz to them for their strength and endurance (there were 13 of us, hah!)
After the first chute, the descent continues, and so is the steepness.
Then another chute comes up just as we’re getting a glimpse of the river down below. This is the longer one, and right below is the steepest set of stairs yet. This is one good way to conquer one’s fear of heights, in my opinion. I was just grinning from ear to ear in anticipation. I think I was high that time, haha!
The stairs right after the chute was so steep that the guides were strict that you should hold on to the rope (with one of them holding the other end) as you go down. Because the possibilities of slipping is higher here and, if you fall, there’s the river and the rocks down below, waiting to break your neck in nineteen-hundred places.
Once you’re past the stairs, though, you’re already on solid ground, and at the Boatmen’s Waiting Area. There was only one boat waiting when we got there. It was already half past 10 in the morning, and we’re so glad there wasn’t a crowd of visitors, which was one of the things I was apprehensive about when seeing the photos taken by other visitors.
Walk past the waiting area, round the bend, and you will come up to your first glimpse of Pagsanjan Falls, for real.
Already the photo-taking started. There was a raft coming out of the cave under the waterfalls (the group who arrived via the lone boat in the waiting area).
So my impression? This 91-meter high waterfall looks pretty, exactly like the ones I saw in textbooks. But then again, I am guessing that the writers of these textbooks don’t really go out much, so they have no idea that there are far prettier waterfalls in the country.
Still, I derive a certain delight at finally seeing something that I have only ever read about or heard about from my teachers. For many Filipinos, especially of my generation, Pagsanjan Falls is almost like canon.
We wasted no time in going to the Devil’s Cave, or the cave right underneath the waterfalls. We put on the requisite life vests and boarded the raft as soon as it was vacated by the previous group. Then off we went!
The raft was filled with screams and yelps as we drew closer to the cascade. So this wasn’t my first time going directly under the cascade (see my post about Tinuy-an Falls here), and I was already anticipating the pressure on my head. I was worried for a while because they did not make us wear helmets (the other groups did!!), but it did not matter anyway because it took only a few seconds to get past the “downpour”.
Welcome to the Devil’s Cave. We tried exploring it, thinking it’d go somewhere deeper, but it was really no more than a few feet from the water. Still, it was quite a treat being there, behind the curtain of the water falling from the top of the mountain. The water was kinda cold, but tolerable. There was a constant spray on our faces from the cascade, so taking decent pictures was touch and go. Still, we did – and took – what we could.
The guides allowed us to play around while in the Devil’s Cave for maybe 20 to 30 minutes, then we decided to head back, because we were already hungry. Gotta admire these rafters for being able to pull the whole thing with all 13 of us on board!
When we headed back, we experimented and lay down on the raft, facedown, so the water fell down on our backs and the back of our legs as we passed through. It was one of the most painful leg massages we ever had! We were all still laughing at the end of it, though.
I do not have a bucket list. I don’t plan on having one, because (a) I’m too lazy to do so, and (b) I’m afraid I might end up with a list too long, with many of them ending up as disappointments coz I couldn’t tick them all off. So I do not have a list to cross Pagsanjan Falls off of. Still, I am so grateful to have been able to see it, and even come up close and personal with it.
After eating what snacks we brought down, we headed back up the way we came. This time, most of us opted to just climb the bars in the chutes instead of having the guides heave us up via the harnesses. We’re merciless, but not heartless. 🙂
And here’s something fierce that welcomed us when we reached the concrete road. You’d think he’s huge, eh?
But nope, he’s the adorable size of an adult palm. Barely more than.
If you are wondering what else you can do in Cavinti, here’s a shot of their tarp that I took from the Reception area of the Park. We asked the staff where we could bathe and freshen up, and they told us to take a ten-minute drive to the Bumbungan River Ec0-Park. There, we took a bath on the cascading water from down the side of the ride (note lower pic below).
Again, there was something fierce that also frolicked in the water, because I think he also felt too hot. 🙂
It was a fun, fun, trip for all of us. I’m glad we got to do this together. Most of my companions are not really used to hiking or walking a lot, and some of them even experienced rappelling for the first time. I think this was also the first waterfalls for a couple of them. It’s not my first waterfalls but, as I mentioned several times before, beauties like these NEVER GET OLD.
The numbers:
The hike from the receiving area of Pueblo until the waterfalls took around 1 hour. It’d be faster if you’re a small group and you don’t have to wait minutes for the others to rappel down. But the walk was relaxing and the trail was quite nice that you don’t really notice the minutes ticking by.
What we took was the Package B. Package C, which is the boat ride, can cost one person at least Php1,250.00, and that’s not even including the tip that boatmen are said to ask guests. Or so we’ve been told.
For the option that we picked, we only had to pay Php270.00 each, and this already covered the fees of the guides and the use of the harnesses and life vests, as well as the raft. However, we decided to pool a minimal amount to give as tips to the two gentlemen who handled our raft to and from the Devil’s Cave. We so didn’t mind at all~
.Until the next adventure, mates~!