Ironwulf.net: En Route – The Philippines, Travel, Photography Blog

Just hearing about a valley with 18 waterfalls, 10 hanging bridges, intersected by a flow of crystal clear waters from a river already gave me a sense of fascination about the place. Adams, at the northern edge of Ilocos Norte, mid forehead of Northern Luzon, is one of the destinations I was really looking forward to during the Lakbay Norte 2 tour. No somber weather could stop us from coming as we prepared ourselves for the rain by waterproofing out gears and donning raincoats. From Kapuluan Vista Resort, we took a 15minute coach ride to Panchan Junction, just past a bridge where the Bolo (Bolu) River flows and a dump truck was waiting for us to take us to Adams.

It’s really a challenge to go to places not really on everyone’s radar. Atimonan isn’t really a tourist hot spot. It has a few known sights like the Pinagbanderahan, Quezon Memorial Park and its Zigzag road known as Bitukang Manok. Aside from that, it is mainly a transit town often passed by. I did some further research and found some sites of interest like the Bantakay Falls, since I always like to incorporate nature elements in my trips. Good thing I got a hold the number of Atimonan’s tourism officer, Cecile and were able to ask directions on the phone.

The towering second falls of Lake Sebu, Hikong Bente teases with is raging waters cutting through the mountain vegetation clearly seen from afar as we went down the second zipline. We took a rocky habal-habal ride up to first falls Hikon Alu to get our gears and sprint back to Hikong Bente jump-off. Even from afar, we started taking pictures of Hikong Bente.

My head kept hitting the steel bar frames of the tricycle whenever we pass by large pieces of stone or when we encounter the humps along the road. I already had my back bent just to sit at the back seat of the motorcycle behind the driver. It was rough road all throughout just after Lio Airport in El Nido. We were heading north of Palawan from El Nido to see some inland attractions at barangay Pasadeña.

It’s one thing to look at the Batad Rice Terraces from afar, but it’s another seeing it up close and on a different angle. After setting down our things at Simon’s Inn, we rested a few minutes to prepare our trek to Tappia Waterfalls (or Tappiyah Waterfalls). The trek to Tappia Falls is at least an hour as I remember. We didn’t hire a guide and just relied on my memory on where to go. I remember going on two routes then. Let’s just see if I recall them right.

Often battered and in the front-line of incoming storms, Catanduanes has often been out of the radar of most travelers in the Philippines. But this island province, unbeknown to many, holds a lot of natural wonders and activities that would keep adventure travelers occupied. Staying there for 4 days and 3 nights led us to discover wonderful beaches, nice waterfalls and old churches. Here’s a handy summary of the trip.

The morning exploration down south of Catanduanes in Igang and Lictin, made us real hungry when mid-day came. Out tricycle drove us back. Jun, our driver decided to drive along the coastal road so we could see the sights and communities on those part. It took almost an hour for us to reach Virac Town proper and stopped by One Two Sawa Eatery for lunch.