Hulugan falls

I promised myself two years ago that I will not hike/trek again, that my trip to Palos will be my last. But promises are all made to be broken, most especially when it is for nature's gems. Hence, last Saturday, 23rd January, I, together with 11 other former colleagues, embarked on a journey that is surely unforgettable.


It all started as a weekend daytour at Las Casas in Bataan. But because a daytour would cost us a luxury, we have to change plans. All the next options would include trekking and chasing waterfalls. I did some googling and all options look really pretty, but we only have to choose one. In the end, I chose Hulugan Falls, which is situated in Luisiana, Laguna, the last town in Laguna before entering Quezon.

There were actually three falls in the place: Hulugan, which is the main attraction, Aliw, and Talay. (Our guide told us that Aliw and Talay are two different falls.) Our guide was insisting to visit Talay or Aliw, it was a good offer as seldom any guides do so, (from the blogs I read, Aliw is not part of their territory so guides seldom offer to go there) but we refused as we only have limited time and we have to commute back home.

Anyway, there are two trails going down the falls, one is easy but long which allows tourists to pass by on top of the falls, second is the short but difficult trail which where our guide led us.

Lo and behold! The trail going down.

The long, wide, straight path going down is currently under construction for the convenience of the tourists. Upon reaching the start of the trail, I wasn't prepared. I have prepared myself for long, uphill walks, but not something like this: steep, almost like a cliff's edge. Who would've thought you would actually survive going down there? None of the blogs I read noted how difficult the difficult trail is, nor took a photo of the trail to properly set expectations. We asked our guide whether we could take the easy trail, but she rejected the idea, saying that it would take us longer and there were no trees in the easy trail, trekking at noontime, we would've died under the scorching heat.

So, we had no choice. We took the difficult trail.

Trekking down

Trekking down felt dangerous. Luckily it didn't rain that week, or else the trail would be really muddy and slippery. Since it was about noontime when we trekked down, some people were already going back up, and we have to stop at some point to let them pass. (But that's fine, really. It gives us time to rest and photo ops). Almost halfway the trail you could already hear the waters running. A few feet more and you would see the falls.

Sneak peek

Upon reaching our destination, I was surprised to see quite a lot of people. I wasn't expecting that the place will be exclusive to us, but I wasn't expecting that it will be that crowded either, considering the way down.

What a crowd!

The influx of people made it almost impossible to take a photo without anyone on the background, unless you climb up those rocks by the waterfalls.

我那麼胖了！

Since it was noontime, we had our lunch in the area. Our guide led us to a cave-like structure, where we not only had lunch but it's where we left our stuff. I learnt my lesson last time, so I only brought a sandwich. But my friends are kind enough to bring sfork (spoon+fork in one) and share their meal with me. Hahaha!

The cave-like structure. It's all natural, fyi.

The rest of the time was spent swimming!

Clockwise: me (in blue), ate may, reyn, krizzia

Reyn too excited to explore

Going back, I thought the trail would be easier. Hell no! I was literally crawling my way up, but because of the steep inclination, it seemed like I am rock climbing.

Of course, one shouldn't miss the local delicasies when you get there. I tried their pancit habhab for the first time and it was nice! I also tried their bibingka which comes in a cute native, woven basket.

All in all, it was a great experience. Yes my body was dead tired that I slept the whole trip going back. My legs sore so much that I find it hard to sit down and walk. But all the pain is nothing with all the fun and thrill.

Other expenses:
15 - pansit habhab
15 - softdrinks
100 - bibingka, sold in threes

More pics!

小布！Of course I wouldn't forget you, although this is the best pic you had.

With the gang. I can't remember when this was taken, but most probably before trekking down.

© ella

Rainbows, rainbows everywhere. Where's the pot of gold?