Smart Backpacker: callao caves

If I have to choose between spelunking and caving, I would definitely choose spelunking or caving! Through the years of my spelunking experience, I have seen and experience various caves in the Philippines. Worthy of mention is the Sohoton cave of Bucas Grande Island.

And here are my top 10 caves in the Philippines that I have visited.

1. Puerto Princesa Underground River, Palawan (It is my number one since its both an underground river and a cave. In fact, it is second longest navigable underground river in world. It has 24 km. long cave, which contains an 8.2-kilometer-long underground river.)

2. Calbiga Cave, Western Samar (The largest cave system in the Philippines, reputed to be the second largest in Asia and the world's third largest karst formation, is 7 km. long with an area of 900 square km.)

3. Odloman Cave, Mabinay, Negros Oriental (At 8,870 meters, went on record as the second longest cave system in the Philippines.)

Related link - http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2012/12/exploring-negros-oriental-and-negros.html

4. Sumaguing and Lumiang Caves, Sagada, Mountain Province (Sumaguing Cave has the largest chamber connecting all the 60 caves of the town. It is also known as the Big Cave.)

5. Callao Caves, Penablanca, Cagayan (It is a cave with seven chambers located on the Province of Cagayan)

Related link - http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2013/02/callao-caves.html

6. Sohoton Cave, Basey, Samar (The Sohoton cave is a cathedral-like dome with an entrance of a parabolic)

7. Aglipay Caves, Quirino (It consists of over 37 interlinked underground chambers, of which only 8 chambers have been explored.)

8. Capisaan Cave, Nueva Vizcaya (The 4.2-kilometer long Capisaan Cave is considered as the fifth longest cave system in the Philippines.)

from ww.pinoyphotography.org

9. Mabinay Caves, Negros Oriental (It has huge caverns, where stalactites and stalagmites abound.)

Related link - http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2012/12/exploring-negros-oriental-and-negros.html
10. Hinagdanan Cave, Bohol (It is a naturally lighted cavern with a deep lagoon and many large stalactites and stalagmites.)

Cagayan Valley is composed of five provinces: Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, and Quirino. And I have toured all the said provinces. Batanes is number one spot in the region.

Most of the region lies in a large valley in northeastern Luzon, between the Cordilleras and the Sierra mountain ranges.

from www.myspace.com

Cagayan Valley is the second largest region of the Philippines in terms of land area.

Among the numerous tourist spots in Cagayan, there are three spots that I like most.

First is the Cagayan river which is the longest river in the Philippines.

From cagayanvalley

Second, is the Palaui Island in the northwestern part in the municipality of Santa Ana, Cagayan province.

And the third, is the Callao Caves..

from www.flickerriver.com

December 22, 2011

Christmas was fast approaching and I am off to Cagayan to see the famous Callao Caves.

From the plane, I was able to see the aerial view of the longest river in the Philippines, Rio De Grande Cagayan.

It was an early flight and it was cloudy that day.

Past an hour, the Cebu Pacific flight landed in Tuguegarao.

I hurriedly went to the city and went to the public market of Tuguegarao and I was able to hire a tricycle ride to Penablanca, Cagayan. I opted using the tricycle because there was no available jeepney ride that day.

Penablanca, Cagayan is the cave capital of the Philippines. In Peñablanca alone, there are 300 caves, most of them unexplored.

I cannot recall exactly how much I paid the tricycle that day but I am certain that it did not exceed P500.00. It was also my ride back to the city.

Travel time to the jump-off point is almost an hour.

The connecting bridge was destroyed by the last typhoon and the tricycle itself had to board a barge in order to reach the other side. A river runs through the locality.