KABIGAN FALLS : the next tourist magnet of ilocos norte

This was our last major stop for the 2nd day of our Ilocos Norte Tour.  I never thought Pagudpod could be associated with waterfalls but this emerging attraction could be the next tourist magnet for the area.

 KABIGAN FALLS in Pagudpud Ilocos Norte is something to look out for.

The hike from the registration area takes 30-45 minutes on mostly flat surface. The first 10 minutes of which is in the open as you have to go through an area of rice fields. It is advisable therefore to go here in the morning before lunch or in the afternoon before the park closes at 5pm when the sun is not too high in the horizon. Although if a little tan is non of your concern, anytime would be okay to visit.

Once you register, you will be assigned a guide. It's required to have one guide for every 4 people.Guide fee is only 100 pesos so you need not to worry about that.

the water down stream is an indication of how clean the water source is..

Once past the rice fields, trees will be adorning the way so expect it to be a breezy walk until the waterfalls. Just in case you want to feel the place more, you can stop and appreciate the surrounding while perhaps seeping buco juice. There are many stores along the way where you can stop for a quick refreshment.

We did so on our way back as we were too excited to see the waterfalls. The stalls even have kakanin (rice cake) which delighted me. The bitso-bitso is one of my favorites and I finished 5 sticks while Teresa was busy drinking fresh buco juice (straight from the fruit) and divulging into its meat.. hahaha

 

 
Teresa enjoying her fresh buco...



Teresa seeping the last drop of her buco juice

Deep into the woods, one would go through streams like that of the picture below. In most cases though, there are improvised wooden brides you can take if you want minimal immersion in the water. This itself is the water from Kabigan Falls and when you look closely into it, the water is really clean. When you see it flowing down stream, you might already get tempted to take a dip.

As I said, the hike is very easy because you don't have to climb any mountain, that's because. KABIGAN Fall's drop is facing the trail on the foot of the mountain.

It's actually a double Falls, aside from the main drop on the upper part, there is a small falls just below it. SO make sure to tell your guide about it just in case he forgets. Our guide that day was not talkative. I remember Teresa talking him throughout the trek but he seem to lack confidence. When I asked certain facts about the falls, he was not aware of it.

Don't expect too much I guess, just enjoy the trek as it is really a trek to nature. The trail is very clean and you can hardly see houses along the way which I like the most.

Going back to the waterfalls itself. It was summer when we visited so the water is already thin. Didn't give me the impression though that its going dry. It's just that I am assuming that it would be stronger during rainy season.

It took us a few minutes to get different angles of the falls. It was already 4pm when we got there and were still fresh swimming from Blue Lagoon so we decided not to swim anymore. One more thing, we decided that after this major stop, we will be taking the bus back to Laoag and eventually to Manila as I have work the next day.

Teresa posing in front of a BIG tree near Kabigan Falls

On our way back, we noticed that more tourists were heading to the falls and with them were the assigned guides. Makes me happy seeing more people trekking KABIGAN FALLS as it helps promote tourism in this part of Pagudpod as most people prefer to stay in the western side where the beaches are.

Sure, I saw many tourists during our trek back and forth but I think that's still a small number compared to the volume of people visiting the entire Pagudpud area.

With its natural beauty, the crystal clear water, the easy walk, the clean sorrounding, there is no doubt that KABIGAN FALLS will be the next tourist magnet of Ilocos Norte.

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