Dumaguete: 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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.