The Philippines has some of the most amazing waterfalls in the world, going on a day trip to see some of them is a must.
As I explained earlier (Travel Guide to Cebu), we started our trip to Cebu Island, where you can find numerous waterfalls. Cebu is one of the most popular destinations in the Philippines and there are various routes to get to Cebu. Kawasan Falls are amongst the most popular ones and we feel so grateful we had the luxury to explore them.
How we booked our Kawasan Falls Canyoning Tour
We went back to Cebu from our day trip to Bohol Island by ferry (A day trip to Boho Island). It was already dark when we arrived in Cebu, and after leaving the port we joined a queue to get a taxi. A guy in front of us at the queue asked us if we had any plan for the day after and if we were interested in a day trip to a waterfall. I remember being so tired and just saying: “it depends”. We couldn’t continue our conversation because it was our turn to get into a taxi. I just wrote my phone number (also my WhatsApp number) on his palm and we left. We were not sure whether it was readable or not, but as we got to our hotel we received a text, and we had a chat over a phone call. The travellers inviting us to join them for the tour were a couple just like us that wanted to get to the Kawasan Falls and were trying to find someone to share the cost of the taxi (2500 pesos, around 36 pounds). It sounded fun and we didn’t ask any questions about the tour and activities. We thought we were going for a hike to get to a waterfall (yes, we thought there was only one waterfall). We just sent them our hotel’s address and went to sleep.
The start of our journey to the Kawasan Falls
The day after, we woke up at 6 a.m. and we were ready to go by 6:30 a.m. When they arrived at our hotel we finally introduced ourselves properly, their names were Alon and Or. We started our journey from Cebu to Moalboal. We chatted during our two-hour journey and found out the couple were from Israel and lived in the UK. Once we arrived at Moalboal, we met our guide and we said bye to our taxi driver and got into a van where we met the rest of the group participating in the tour. They were all from Israel, except a girl from Austria and, of course, me from Iran and Bruno from Italy.
After a very short van ride, we stopped to be briefed about the activities and that’s when we found out we could only carry waterproof gear with us and had to leave our bags and clothes in the van for the rest of the tour. Some of the participants had to change their shoes but we had comfortable ones that could easily get dry, so we continued with ours. We also had to wear helmets and lifejackets. We chose our lunch menu from the available options (which we were going to have at the end of the tour) and handed our tour guide 1500 pesos (22 pounds) per person for the tour which included lunch. Our adventure started with a walk down a jungle path as we got to know each other.
Canyoning and cliff jumping
After a 15-minute walk, we arrived at the river and we were all surprised by the turquoise blue water. We were enjoying our time and laughing until one of our guides jumped off a 4-meter cliff and we found out we had to follow suit. It looked a bit scary, but we all jumped down without any problem. This was the beginning of a series of jumps. After the first jump, we gained more confidence as we followed the river downstream with jumps, slides, and rocks to climb. At some point, we could even use a swing to jump into the water. I must say, there are alternative routes to follow if you are too scared of heights or not ready to jump from a cliff. The guides were well trained and were there to help the tourists, we were in safe hands. We continued until we reached the highest cliff, which was a leap of 10 meters. Some were jumping with no hesitation, but others chose to go for the alternative route which included a natural slide. I wanted to experience the jump as it was something I had never done before. I was a little nervous, but not scared. I wanted to do it right and without hard landings. I concentrated on jumping straight into the water and avoid leaning forward or backward. Then... 3, 2, 1, I jumped off the 10-meter cliff for the first time. It was extremely fun and exhilarating.
We continued our trip until we arrived at the last jump, which was next to a waterfall. Most of us were quite tired and chose to walk down the path instead of jumping. We were almost at the end of our tour. We had our lunch and walked backed to the place where we left our belongings. On the way back, we stopped at another beautiful waterfall were tourists were swimming. Once getting our clothes and bags back we said our goodbyes to the rest of the group and took a local bus back to Cebu City.
Once arrived at our hotel we were both very tired but extremely satisfied with our adventure trip. We left our comfort zones and jumped off the cliffs, we met new people and made some friends while having a lot of fun. I would recommend anyone who visits Cebu to go on this tour, just make sure you have suitable shoes and a waterproof camera for taking some photos in this uniquely amazing place.