Chasing Waterfalls in Southern Cebu

The highlight of my trip to South Cebu was visiting the different waterfalls. (Nope, I didn’t plan this. I was just too scared to go back to the sea for a while because I was stung by a jellyfish.. and it hurts, big time!) Luckily, there are countless waterfalls in Cebu and compared to our other destination, waterfall hopping is cheaper. Below are the list of the falls that I was lucky enough to visit:

The first falls of Kawasan

Kawasan Falls
Location: Barangay Matutinao, Badian
Entrance Fee: Php40.00 per head
Tour Guide: Not Required

After snorkeling at Pescador Island in Moalboal. Rae and I rented a habal-habal to get to Kawasan Falls in Badian for Php400, back and forth. The entrance to Kawasan Falls is located beside the highway and next to Matutinao Church. You need to pay for the entrance fee first, and a tour guide is not required. The habal-habal that we rented cannot enter the trail, so we needed to walk almost 1.5 kilometers to get to the first waterfall of Kawasan. I enjoyed following the blue trail of Kawasan River and the view of one abandoned bridge.

Following the trails

Beneath the abandoned bridge

When we arrived at Kawasan Falls, we decided not to rent tables for Php300.00 since it’s too pricey and we’ll only be staying there for an hour or two. We just left our bags somewhere safe. We rented life vests for Php50.00 each since the water was deep. You may also choose to rent the rafts for Php300.00 to experience the shower massage of the falls.

So blue..

I read on other blogs that you may also visit the second and third waterfalls of Kawasan. Also, you may also try canyoneering/canyoning in Kawasan for Php1200/pax including head gears, life vests and shoes. It can be cheaper if you have more friends with you and could reach down to Php900.00/pax. Canyoneering/Canyoning involves walking, scrambling, climbing, jumping, rappelling, and swimming (source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canyoning).

How to get there?
– From Moalboal, ride a habal-habal to Kawasan Falls or go to the nearest bus stop then ride a Bato via Barili Ceres Bus. Ask the conductor to drop you to the entrance at Kawasan Falls.
– From Cebu City, ride a Bato via Barili Ceres Bus in South Bus Terminal. Tell the conductor to drop you at the entrance of Kawasan Falls.

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Beauty beyond words – Tumalog Falls

Tumalog Falls
Location: Natalio Bacalso Avenue, Oslob
Entrance Fee: Php20.00
Tour Guide: Not Required

Tourists at Oslob usually visit Tumalog Falls after the Whale Shark Interaction. You may rent a habal-habal to get to the entrance of Tumalog Falls. The distance from the entrance to the falls is 600 meters. You may choose to rent a habal-habal or enjoy the scenic view while walking (or rolling, ha-ha!) downhill. Be careful not to trip or others will see you rollin’ since the road was very steep! You will immediately see the falls from afar, it makes me very excited.

The view of Tumalog falls from afar

Tumalog upclose

Tumalog’s beauty is beyond words. I’ve seen lots of photographs of it, but seeing the real deal was phenomenal. The water was cold and clean. We immediately took a dip and explored the place. I’ve also noticed that there are lots of foreigners visiting the place that were dazzled by Tumalog’s beauty. We stayed there for almost two hours playing and swimming around. The water was around 4 feet only.

Also, don’t forget to try the salad ice candy and buko juice at the entrance of Tumalog!

How to get there?
– From Whale Shark Interaction in Oslob, you may ride a habal-habal directly to Tumalog Falls.
– From Cebu City, ride a Bato via Oslob Ceres bus. Tell the conductor to drop you at the crossing of Tumalog Falls. Ride a habal-habal to take you to its entrance.

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Level 5 falls of Aguinid

Aguinid Falls
Location: Barangay Tangbo, Samboan
Entrance Fee: Php20.00
Tour Guide: Required

Aguinid Falls is not like the other falls that I’ve visited before. Aguinid has falls from Level 0 to Level 5 and that’s why tour guides in Aguinid are required. Luckily, we we’re assigned to two of the best tour guides that I met in Cebu, Kuya Andrew and Ate Ruth. They are both hyper and funny, they helped us carry our things and take our pictures.

Level 0

In Level 0, the water is knee-deep, but swimming is not allowed because you might sink into the ground.

Near Level 0 is the Level 1 falls, it was very shallow. The water was fresh and I noticed that the environment was clean. It seems that the place is well-taken care of.

Climbing Level 2

Next is Level 2, the most exciting one. You need to climb on the falls to get to Level 3. At first I was very scared, but I noticed that there are holes to step on and we were guided by Kuya Andrew. He always says that “Importante ang butas!“, if you know what he means *wink wink*.

Level 3 Massage!

In Level 3, we enjoyed the waterfall massage and picture taking!

The rocks looked like a turtle ❤

The water in Level 4 is the deepest one. I think it’s 5 feet deep. This is the only part of the falls where you can jump on the water.

I do not know what level this is, so I’m just gonna put it here. Ha-ha!

Last but not the least, Level 5! Level 5 has the biggest falls and the coldest water in Aguinid. (picture on top!) You may climb up the rocks and enjoy the waterfall back massage. We stayed in Level 5 the longest.

I heard from the guides that after the last falls of Aguinid, there’s still another level where you can reach it by walking one hour from Aguinid’s Level 5 falls. They told me that it’s the main source of drinking water in Barangay Tangbo.

How to get there?
– From Cebu City, ride a Bato via Barili Ceres Bus in South Bus Terminal. Tell the conductor to drop you off at the entrance of Aguinid Falls in Samboan.

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The strong triple drop falls.

Binalayan Hidden Falls
Location: Brgy Bonbon, Samboan
Entrance Fee: Php20.00
Tour Guide: Required

Binalayan Hidden Falls is only one kilometer from Aguinid Falls. The tour guides in Aguinid Falls suggested us to visit it after since it was very near. We were assisted by Irish to the falls itself. We walked for 10-15 minutes with the view of coconut trees before we reached the Level 1 of the Binalayan. Luckily, we were the only ones there because we visited the Hidden Falls on a weekday.

Level 1 of Binalayan

Just a couple steps away was the Level 2 falls, also known as the Triple Drop Falls. In Level 2, we noticed that each drop of the falls is heavy and the water was deep. You can also try to jump off a rock in Level 2! So exciting and scary at the same time. Sadly, you may see that there are lots of vandalism on the rocks. I hope that someday those vandals be removed and prevented to preserve the beauty of the Hidden Falls.

The ‘No Vandalism’ sign didn’t work here

I kept myself busy playing with the swing made up of old tires and ropes while singing “Wrecking Ball”.

How to get there?
– From Cebu City, ride a Bato via Barili Ceres Bus in South Bus Terminal. Tell the conductor to drop you off at the entrance of Binalayan Hidden Falls in Samboan.
– From Aguinid Falls, ride a tricycle to Binalayan Hidden Falls.

Check out more of my Cebu Trip:
– Cebu: Itinerary, Tips and Tricks
– The First Cat Cafe in PH: Cat Cafe Philippines
– Roaming Around Cebu City
– Marine Wonderland of Cebu: Panagsama, Moalboal