Philippine Waterfall Adventure - The Pagsanjan Falls

Philippines' traditional open-water boat

While not comparable to Niagara or Iguazu Falls in terms of grandeur, Pagsanjan Falls is worth your penny. What makes the trip unique is the canoe ride up and down the river stream leading to the main waterfall.

The Boat

Unlike the traditional open-water boat in the Philippines, the type used to ferry tourists are narrow-bodied boat locally called "banka" which is equivalent to the “dug-out” canoes in the US (I’m using canoe and boat interchangeably here since the local term “banka” means boat). It’s designed to sit just one person in a row. There are no “wings” on either side to prevent the boat from tipping over and so it’s critical that the passengers are “balance-seated”.

Let me explain how this works since this is one of the things that fascinated me. There are two boatmen in every boat. One is seated at the front end of the boat, and the other at the rear end. The passengers (max of 3) are seated at the center of the canoe. Passengers are encouraged to sit on a small wooden “Japanese type” seat, both legs open and outstretch in front. To help you imagine the sitting position of two adults, the person sitting in front of you sits in the space created by your open thighs. The purpose is obvious – it keeps the balance of the boat and also prevents passengers from being dislodged out of position which may cause the boat to tilt on either side. It also prevents the passengers from being accidentally thrown overboard!

The boat is not powered by a motor. The reason is that the water is some parts of the river is too shallow and are peppered with huge rocks.

The Rocky Journey

The journey starts with a nice scenery reminiscent of the famous Philippine “bayanihan” spirit. Boats that are loaded with passengers and ready to go are anchored at both sides of the river. Then a motorized “lead” boat picks them up one by one by throwing a rope to the front boatman who ties the rope to his boat. The scene gets better as more and more boats are connected by a rope as the boatwagon travels upstream. I was kind of disappointed at first expecting that the one-hour ride upstream will be like this - boring and unadventurous - but my disappointed was short lived.

After fifteen minutes, each boat begins to disengage from the wagon, and the boatmen start the manual work of rowing. There is where the fun and adventure begin. It felt like we’re in a race. Not sure if they did it on purpose to stir excitement among the tourists but it worked. Tourists were chanting marching songs to encourage their boatmen to row faster.

Hundred rows later, we figured why some boatmen want to get ahead – there are choking points in the river where only one boat could pass at one time and the passageway is peppered with huge rocks. Our boatman explained – “boats that carry more than two passengers are heavier plus some of the boatmen are either too young or too old to row and push the heavy boats upstream. The heavy load will prompt them to rest, thus clogging the way for other boats.” Plus you need to maintain the momentum and speed to be able to navigate through the rocks without burning too much energy – energy that you need to get through the 45 minutes of rowing against the current.

We’ve noticed that the rocks are neatly placed along the side of the waterway. Our boatmen explained that during summer, the water get too shallow in certain parts of the river the protruding rocks makes it impossible for the boats to pass through. So the community organized a “bayanihan” project to move the stones and create a passageway on both sides of the river for the incoming and returning boats. Hundreds of residents banded together to realize the project - for free.

Overtime, the boatmen discovered that running on the rocks lining the passage way is more effective than rowing the boat through the narrow waterway. It’s amazing to see them do it with ease and finesse. Our boatman explained that many of them rearrange the rocks strategically to make “running on them” much easier. Also, the water in some parts of the river were too low hence metal rods were strategically placed to act a “rollers” for the boats.

Some tourists recommend visiting the Falls during the rainy season for a more exciting experience - the rapids are more turbulent at this time. This comes with a word of caution though: some Korean, Japanese, and local tourists were stranded between rock boulders for 5 hours due to strong current and turbulent rapids.

As we progress into our journey upstream, the sights get better and better. Lush vegetation and natural rock formations were a treat to behold. Different species of birds, butterflies and dragonflies that we have not seen before could be spotted throughout our journey. Our boatman said that monkeys occasionally appear and throw branches and rocks to the tourist. But we’re not fortunate enough to experience the curious animosity of our distant relatives. In certain parts of the river, the rock walls on both sides are over 100 feet tall. It appears that the water has chiseled a path through the rocks and limestones over hundreds and thousands of years creating the river.

More rowing, pulling and pushing, the breathing of our boatmen got heavier and heavier. In fact, 20 minutes into our journey, our boatmen had to take a quick break to catch their breath. One of them jokingly said that he does not get enough “practice” of doing this since they only get to do this twice a week.

Let me digress a little bit to explore the other side of this tourisms business.

Years ago, before the tourism business flourished, the main source of income by the five or so towns comprising the 150 hectares forest and watershed, was logging. And yes, it was illegal logging. To save the forest, tourism was offered as an alternative source of income for the residents. Few more years of illegal logging and it could have been a point of no return for the forest and the waterfalls.

All the boatmen are wearing a uniform with a number at the back. The number is used to keep track of all the official boatmen authorized by the Cooperative to drive the tourists to the falls. The number is also used to log the number of trips each boatman had each week.

There are about 1,000 registered boatmen. The number of tourist visiting the areas isn’t enough to provide a decent source of livelihood for these folks since every boatman has only two opportunities per week to carry tourist up the river. And from a “practice” standpoint, these men would be better off having at least one route per day so their muscles remain in good shape for the tough journey.

Back to our adventure, ahead of us was boat loaded with three Korean ladies in their late 50’s who were having the time of their lives. They were constantly screaming, twisting, singing, dancing inside the boat. You can see the frustration of their boatmen who have temporarily parked the boat on the side of the river to rest. Their boatmen have been constantly reminding them to sit still and not rock the boat since it is tilting to the other side. Their boatmen look very exhausted and seem to have enough of rowing for the day. The passengers however seem oblivious to the fact that the musclepower needed to row and pull the boat increases exponentially when the boat if out of balance. Hope they give their boatmen good tips!

Our feeling of excitement and adventure dwindles are we move up the river not because of the marvelous scenery nor the journey itself but the sorry state of our boatmen. Rowing, pushing, pulling and at times lifting the boat over the rocks were disturbing especially that we are not allowed to get off the boat when it gets "rocky".

Fifty minutes into our journey and our boatmen were wasted. Breathing much heavier than before. Their mouth are now wide open to allow them to take in more oxygen. We wished we could help row and push the boat but we barely have the skills required to navigate through the snaky passage or run on the rocks as they push the boat. The best thing we could do to help was to sit still at the dead center of the boat.

*Talahib Falls is the first waterfall encountered by boat riders heading to Pagsanjan Falls*

I tried to distract my wife from noticing the sorry state of our boatmen by telling her that we will give them both a good tip later. I also asked her to take a picture of the small waterfall which she did. We were told that at the height of the rainy season, there are as much as 20 falls along the way. But only one of them was visible during summer.

Great adventure so far. We felt like Lois and Clark on an expedition.

There were many boats running on both directions. Tourists on their way back seem extremely satisfied with the trip, giving thumbs up to incoming tourists or showing happy visible smiles on their faces. What caught our eyes however was their drench clothes. Did they fall off the boat or just took a plunged in the river out of joy?

The Waterfalls

We finally reach the main waterfall and lo and behold, another adventure awaits. The scene here was more festive. Tourists on one of the rafts were signing, dancing, teasing each other. A glass of wine or a bottle of beer would turn this festivity into a raucous, I thought. One raft was almost submerged due to overloading and few passengers were apprehensive that it will capsize. Others were overjoyed by the thrill and were screaming and jumping on the raft or into the water and pretend to push the raft as they take their selfies.

The raft brings willing tourists to the waterfall and into a small cave called the Devil’s Cave beneath it. Once inside the cave, you can hear the reverberating echoes created by the falling water. You can feel the thunder-like vibrations pounding your chest.

The tourists were encouraged to jump and experience the water pouring into their heads. The water trickling on the side of the falls already felt like a sack of rice constantly slamming your head. The pressure was too much to bear. Trying to go through the center of the waterfall could be fatal as you will be hammered down and never to be seen again. Honestly, this kind of adventurism isn’t allowed anymore in first world countries like in Niagara falls in the US. Agree that there are some risks involved but to truly enjoy life to its fullest, you need to accept some degree of risks. Otherwise, what a boring life it is.

We didn’t get chance to check the safety record of this tourist treat since we were only expecting to view the waterfall from a distance. We made it out there alive and full of good memories that I think is what really matters.

At this point, we were extremely satisfied and were so glad that we took the trip. We were ready to call it a day and head back, but the highlight of this trip was actually the rapid descent downstream or what is known as "shooting the rapids'". Be prepared for the thrill of a lifetime as the expert boatmen maneuver the boat skillfully through turbulent waters. Rest assured though since every boatman is required to undergo a rigid six-month training in order to acquire a license to guide the tourists on the ride to the falls.

Here's a two-minute video of our upstream bout ride:

Direction and Logistics:
The waterfall is located about 86 km from the main airport – Ninoy Aquino International Airport - about 2 hours of driving. Taking the public transportation could take twice a long and you may need to change rides multiple times.

When you get to the Pagsanjan town, you won't find any visible directions on how to get to the boat terminal. Ask people around and they will direct you. There are no formal parking spaces either but you can park on any empty space you see. The neighborhood is very friendly and accommodating.

The standard rate is about 1,500-1,700 philippine pesos per person (around 30 USD) which includes the round-trip boat ride, entrance fees, and use of life vests. It is expected that you give reasonable tips to the boatmen though for obvious reasons plus the fact the a large majority of the standard rate goes to the preservation of the forest and the watershed.