Dumaguete: Casaroro Falls
Cascades of Casaroro Falls
I thought I would never be able to go on with this trip. I had a flu that seems to resurface for the past couple of weeks. And when I thought I was well already, I swam and had my flu back again. Talking about stubborn. I knew I had a trip coming real soon which made me a bit frustrated being in sickbay. Come November 1 morning, the day we were about to leave, I decided to push through despite having a fever the night before and some persistent dry cough. I was feeling a bit better when I woke up so off I go headed to the domestic airport for Dumaguete and Siquijor. I always thought, hey this may be the best time to see if those Mananambals (healers) in Siquijor could relieve me of my sickness.
Casaroro Fall’s 70 feet plunge
It’s funny, when I left home I have no money. I have to borrow money from my mom for my taxi fare and have to text my ever reliable travel buddy Oggie who’s already waiting there at the airport so I could borrow money for the terminal fee. Shame on me. It’s just that last night it was really hard to find a decent ATM and with money at that since everyone seems to be withdrawing money for the long weekend. I even have to borrow money to buy some snacks at the terminal. If only I could just borrow money for the whole trip.
Passing through rocks and streams
To make a long story short. Despite not being 100% of my health at that time I went on with my trip. And fortunately during the duration, I never got a fever, maybe the fresh air of Dumaguete did me good. Now my only problem is my cough, more irritated by Oggie making me laugh which instead of laughing is making me cough more. Haha. For a preview of what our IT was and what I’ll post here for the next few weeks, check out Oggie Poggie’s Lagal[og] Blog (pautang ulit ha. Hehe).
Casaroro gorge, a perfect fantasy setting
After checking-in our stuff at Hotel Palwa (very neat place by the way. will post a pic on it later) we had a so-so breakfast at one carinderia at the market and our new Tryke driver we befriended, Willie drove us to Valencia. About 9.4 kilometers west of Dumaguete, and 500 meters above sea level, you could feel the air getting cold as the tryke goes uphill to their town center and market. The whole drive took less than an hour.
Bridge to Casaroro Falls
From there we had to haggle for a habal-habal which could take us to the jump-off point to Mt. Talinis where the jump-off to the falls is also located. Price is a bit steep from 100-150 pesos per person one way, but we were able to lower it down to 100 one way. The habal-habal ride up the mountains is indeed rough, making it more slippery dangerous with the rains. But if you have the luxury of time, I think it’s possible to just hike it up like the other foreigners we saw. Bad enough the driver I got isn’t seem too skilled that at some point I have to push the bike up on a slippery trail. C’mon, don’t I look sick enough there. Anyways, we made it to the jump-off for the falls and we had to go down numerous stair trails.
The trail to Casororo Falls has rich vegetation and scenic streams
I can’t imagine going down this place without the stairs. It must have been hard and slippery. This is another instance where development was an advantage as the drop to the base trail from the jump-off point seems to be around 7-8 meters high. The place is desolate. Though there are huts, there aren’t many people around. One factor I think is how hard people have to go down and climb the stairs which I read somewhere is about 350 steps. After you go down you walk on a cemented path along a dense forest area following the steady stream of cascading waters on your left before you reach the bridge. The place is indeed beautiful and I enjoyed my short walk there until I could see the towering falls from afar.
Relaxing sight of Bamboos in the forest
Casaroro Falls, considered as one of the most photographed waterfalls in Negros Province is hidden deep among crevices of rocks. The place is indeed beautiful. Though the falls is a bit narrow like a fine rope strand, the plunge is heavy and powerful. With enough lighting the place would be a perfect setting for a fantasy movie or series. I think it was worth all the trouble climbing down those stairs (and climbing back again), as well as that exciting habal-habal ride. This is one nature tripping destination in Dumaguete that I would recommend. Not much people at the place, in fact we only passed by 2 groups of people of not more than 4 which makes a nice place to get real close to nature as well. really enjoyed it. And hey I didn’t get sick again climbing those stairs.
Tags: Casaroro Falls, City, Dumaguete, Valencia, Waterfalls
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Thursday, November 8th, 2007 at 8:16 pm 
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November 8th, 2007 at 10:33 pm
wow. ang kulang na lang– fairies! hope you’re feeling better. bawal magkasakit! =P
November 9th, 2007 at 1:02 am
dont let a little thing called flu get in the way of a pretty good “gala”
November 9th, 2007 at 10:25 am
anga galing naman ng pagkakakuha ,iba na talaga ang PRO
November 9th, 2007 at 12:17 pm
bai ferdz, honestly, i felt guilty making you laugh hehehe, it just makes you cough more. then again, i guess the real medicine apart from the fresh air and great views is laughter. btw, hanep your takes. it’s always a learning experience looking at your captures.
btw, ok lang utang uli, hehehe. basta hintayin ko libre mo, hahaha. sa uulitin po!
November 9th, 2007 at 12:27 pm
love that 3rd photo. it’s almost eerie. ano settings niyan..?
November 9th, 2007 at 4:18 pm
i like the bamboo picture, napaka-oriental ng dating, crouching tiger agad ang naisip ko hehe. how did you do the third shot? like the water has some smoke
November 9th, 2007 at 4:22 pm
beautiful waterfall!!!!
November 9th, 2007 at 6:06 pm
sarap po talaga mag habal habal.. just cant imagine pag umuulan? hehe parang nakakatakot ata yun.. ^_^
sya nga po pala nakita ko ang eat danao po na ni feature nyo dito.. nakita ko mga photos nyo sa smile going to bohol. un lang di kami nakapunta sa Danao.
November 9th, 2007 at 7:36 pm
sarap naman sa talon.
sasama nga ako sa inyo at utang din…kung pwede lang ba utang din yung time na gagamitin ko. yun ang wala ako
November 10th, 2007 at 7:23 am
ui, ayos ah… partida may sakit ka pa nyan, eh ang gaganda ng mga shots, lahat paborito ko… siguro pagkatapos kong masakal, sasama na talaga ako sa inyo ni oggie maglagalag…
November 10th, 2007 at 9:50 am
ohmygod….this is paradise! i especially love the bamboo tree shot! reminds me of “crouching tiger, hidden dragon”!
November 10th, 2007 at 10:27 am
Relaxing place indeed. Nature is the best because of the greens.
November 10th, 2007 at 7:01 pm
Excellent photos, excellent narrative, Ferdz. Sana makakasama din ako sa inyo sa mga adventures na yan
November 11th, 2007 at 1:56 am
sayang… we were in dumaguete for a congress. if we had more free time, we’d see this beautiful place. thank you for sharing wonderful pics!
November 11th, 2007 at 6:06 am
Very pretty!Buti na lang may ipapautang yung friend mo,hehe
I hope you’re cough free now ferdz! Ingat na lang
November 11th, 2007 at 4:47 pm
I hope you feel better now.
I will follow your Siquijor travel closely. I may go there for my next Easter holidays.
November 11th, 2007 at 6:31 pm
Ferds, have u noticed the orbs in the 4th and 6th pics? They say these orbs represent spirits or something that’s supernatural.
Anyways, beautiful pics as always.
November 11th, 2007 at 10:00 pm
wow! really a great place to relax …wala bang picture ng habal-habal?
November 12th, 2007 at 9:22 am
feeling ko marami ngang nagkakasakit ngayon. nung pumunta naman akong roxas nawala colds ko pero pagbalik dito sa maynila bumalik din sya. urk…
love the bamboo photo, btw. love it love it! =)
November 12th, 2007 at 9:51 am
wow.. such a lovely place… you always get to places as lovely as this..
November 12th, 2007 at 10:01 am
wow! i don’t know why but this reminds me of nagcarlan, laguna. your third photo — which i like most among your captures — looks so unassuming but it speaks most of the serenity found only in waters rushing through against solid rock, as if perpetually kissing it.
November 12th, 2007 at 12:12 pm
[...] Dumaguete: Casaroro Falls [...]
November 27th, 2007 at 5:43 pm
Really good and really interesting post. I expect (and other readers maybe :)) new useful posts from you!
Good luck and successes in blogging!
March 10th, 2008 at 11:13 pm
It’s been over 5 years since my last trip to Casaroro (my family is from Dumaguete so I’m there kinda often) but it’s good to see it’s still the same.
I love the photos, specially with the cottony flowing falls. Great photography! I’m assuming you brought your tripod down there?