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Welcome back to the trip report series! I hope you’re all excited because I can guarantee that this one will be the shortest one so far (ok I can’t completely guarantee that but I have a hunch that it will be!)

As usual, before we start, don’t forget to subscribe to my Youtube channel @ Stephen Flores Travel, like me on Facebook at Passport Perspective, and follow me on Instagram / Twitter / Tiktok @StephenJFlores. And now let’s get on with the report!

Introduction

Before even researching Cebu for my trip, I had already heard about the canyoneering adventure you could do there. It was on the top of my bucket list ever since I saw Lost Leblanc declare it one of the top 10 things to do in Southeast Asia (you can find his video where he mentions it here). I knew it entailed a lot of jumping and swimming as you go from one end of a river to another. But other than that, I was going into it completely blind. This was the one activity I was most excited for among everything I had planned for this trip. So much so that I woke up before my alarm out of pure excitement, even though I was exhausted from the day before. 

I quickly fixed my things and changed to get ready for the day. The van then promptly picked me up at 5am and we headed for the town of Badian, where the canyoneering experience is located. We stopped by a Jollibee on the way there where I spent Php 100 ($1.7) on breakfast. The ride was uneventful and I saw all the same sights I saw the day before.

Getting the Goods

We then arrived at the parking lot of a church in what seemed to be a residential area. I was confused at first because we were so close to the sea when we should have been more inland. But apparently this is where the tour operator’s headquarters was. I entered the canyoneering HQ and was then given my gear for the adventure: a helmet and a life-vest. These were mandatory as we would be sliding and jumping off of rocks which meant there was a chance I could injure myself. I brought my own aqua shoes to the adventure but just in case you forgot or didn’t bring yours, they have some on hand that you can borrow at no extra cost (at least as of the time of this writing).

I was told to only bring my glasses, my GoPro, my GoPro’s extra batteries, and some money. At the time I had no idea why he told me to bring money, but it’ll all make sense later on. I left my wallet and phone in the car, which I felt safe doing given that my driver would be looking out for it until I returned. I then signed a waiver and met my guide: Arnel. I just want to give him a shout out because he helped me out so much during this whole adventure and was the number one reason why I came back in one piece.

The Journey of a Thousand Miles…or not

After getting my gear I then boarded the van again and, with Arnel, we were brought to the jump-off point. It was there that I signed my name again on a ledger and was told that there were two options to get to the start of the canyoneering trail: walk to it, which would take about 40 minutes, or traverse that distance via zipline. The zipline, however, cost Php 1000 ($16.96) which doesn’t sound like a lot of money but that amount is worth a LOT in the Philippines.

So, with that price in mind, I decided to walk to the beginning of the trail to get my heart pumping and to save money, and I did not regret my choice. It actually only took 20-25 minutes and the time flew by because all around me were amazing views of the Cebu mountain-scape. It looked absolutely gorgeous and it was exciting getting to walk and hear the rushing water get closer and closer.

After walking on top of this mountain for about 15 minutes, the trail started to descend. Down and down it went and I could hear the sound of people screaming, which is how I knew we were getting close. I probably walked down a hundred steps before I got to the bottom…

Jump! Swim! Trek! Hike! Canyoneering!

…and saw the bluest water I’ve ever seen in my entire life. It legit looked like someone got light blue dye and colored the water to look like the sky. It was crazy seeing that, but when I got there, I started to get scared that the water was going to be freezing. I don’t do too well with cold water and I was dreading dipping my feet into it…

…but it was fine! The water was cold, but not freezing. It felt almost like a calming bath. Before I could go inside, though, Arnel told me to wait for him. He then approached a man who was sitting by the river, who I hadn’t noticed as I was walking down, and got an empty plastic Coca-Cola bottle with some string attached to it. He then walked up to me and handed it to me. I had no idea why he gave it to me until he told me to tie it around my camera. The empty bottle would make my GoPro float so, in case my camera strap snapped, it wouldn’t sink to the bottom of the river. I found that to be incredibly ingenious. So I tied it around my camera strap and down into the water I went.

First Jump and Slide

The first jump was actually right at the starting point, less than 30 seconds away from where I dipped my body into the water. Arnel told me to jump away from the rock I was on because if I didn’t, I could accidentally hurt myself. This freaked me out a bit, but I just took a deep breath, held my nose shut, and jumped in the water.

And let me tell you, it was EXHILARATING! Jumping from that cliff, which was about 10-12 feet in height, and down into the refreshing water was enough to get me hooked. I came up from the water with a huge smile on my face. I then let the current drift me down the river for a bit. I was just clinging onto my life vest and letting it keep me afloat as I sailed down the river. Arnel then told me to head towards the bank of the river so I did and got out of the water and started following him down the river. It had been five minutes since we started and I was already so locked into this adventure and couldn’t wait for the rest of it.

And let me tell you, it did not disappoint.

After that initial jump we soldiered on, encountering obstacle after obstacle, where I jumped, slid, swam, and floated my way down the river.

I really can’t put into words just how amazing this whole thing was. About 1/4 of the way through the trail, the canyon opens up in front of and above you, giving you an amazing view of these stone walls just rising up beside you and this dense jungle that sort of hangs on the sides of the river. It’s a sight that took my breath away and made the experience (and the money and time invested in coming here) worth it. I still remember it so vividly. It was like I was star-struck cause I couldn’t speak when I saw it all unfold before my eyes. I wish I could do this again with fresh eyes and see those views for the first time again.

Throughout the trail, I saw other people in front of and behind me and believe me when I say we all had that same look of amazement on our faces. This whole canyoneering adventure was really something special and, in my opinion, should be made known to more tourists because once the world finds out about this, everyone’s going to want to do it. I know that’s big praise and I may be exaggerating a little, but it really was just that memorable.

The first half was more climbing over rocks and jumping into water and wading in the sometimes shallow, sometimes deep water. Then, about halfway through, I could see smoke rising from somewhere. Imagine my surprise when we turned a corner and found…

Mid-Adventure Commercial Break

…a bunch of stalls serving food. Yes, in the middle of this river, with 50 foot rock walls on either side, somehow these people were able to bring food down here to sell. So this is why Arnel told me to bring money, and let’s just say I was shocked seeing these stalls here in the middle of nowhere. I wondered how they even got the food down here in the first place, and that’s when I noticed a ladder behind the stalls that went all the way up the side of the rock wall. But it was a small, seemingly flimsy wooden ladder so it’s still a mystery to me how they brought everything down, but I was grateful for them nonetheless.

I bought some water and a hotdog smeared with ketchup (I don’t really eat ketchup but I was starving and couldn’t resist). I forgot how much I paid for it, but I wasn’t about to haggle as these people made all the effort to come down to the river just to provide us with food and drinks and a place to rest. So after a little food break, we were on our way again.

And Now Back to Regular Programming

Created with RNI Films app. Preset ‘Agfa Optima 200 v.2’

The second half of the canyoneering excursion was not as extreme as the last one. It had one particularly BIG jump that was 30 feet high but I chickened out and didn’t do that. Other than that there were maybe only 1-2 jumps, but the cool thing about this part was that there were two areas where you could swing from a rope and splash down into the river, which was pretty fun.

What it lacked in thrills, it made up for in beautiful scenery. This was where we saw three amazing waterfalls. One was man made and cascaded down to form this picturesque scene, only broken by the out-of-place cement tower off to the side of it. The next was this tall waterfall that flowed from the top of the canyon walls. It was thin and didn’t have a lot of water falling from it, but it was still beautiful.

Then finally, we saw the biggest and most striking waterfall of them all: Kawasan Falls. It was a beautiful sight seeing this turquoise blue water falling down into this blue basin. Despite its beauty, it also left me feeling a little sad, because off to the left of Kawasan Falls was the ruins of a once thriving complex that used to house and cater to tourists who came to enjoy the falls. It was destroyed by the same typhoon that wrecked the snorkeling site I went to yesterday. Now, unless they do the canyoneering experience, tourists aren’t allowed in Kawasan falls until they are able to rebuild all the infrastructure that was destroyed. This is another reason why I recommend you visit Cebu: your tourist dollar will go a long way to helping these places recover.

Created with RNI Films app. Preset ‘Agfa Optima 200 Warm’

After seeing Kawasan Falls, we walked along the river until we reached the tour operator’s headquarters. My driver was waiting for me in the church parking lot. Upon arriving, I changed into dry clothes and was served a really tasty Filipino lunch (which was included in the fees for this). I then tipped Arnel Php 500 ($8.48), got into the car, and started the long journey back to my hotel, which was uneventful. I tipped my driver Php250 ($4.24) when we got to the hotel and as soon as I got to the room I collapsed on the bed.

Post Cayoneering Food Markets and Torrential Rain

I couldn’t rest for that long, though, as soon it was time for dinner. I wanted to try this food market place called Sugbo Mercado and knew it was a little ways away so I freshened up and immediately booked a Grab to take me there for Php 157 ($2.66). I was picked up and arrived at this very modern-looking area that was across a mall. I didn’t really know what to expect of this place when I saw the lights that formed the words “Sugbo Mercado” in the distance. But, when I got to the market, it was so overwhelming in the best possible way. All around me were about 50-60 stalls, all serving different kinds of food. From egg tarts to pizza to sisig, this place had seemingly everything under one roof (or under one sky, as there was no roof here).

I ordered some sisig (because, as you know, I’m a sisig connoisseur) and bought an egg tart. Soon after, and very unexpectedly, rain started to POUR. Everyone ducked for the tents in the center of the market while I, on the other hand, made a run for it so I could reach the Grab pickup / drop off point. I needed to get there because I was going to the airport to pick up my rental car which I scheduled for 7pm that night.

There and Back Again

I called a Grab and it arrived in about 5 minutes and it cost me Php 446 ($7.56), which was a lot but it was the standard airport transportation fee. After arriving, I went to the arrival hall of the domestic terminal of the airport. I found the Alamo booth and was told to wait for the driver. After about 15 minutes he showed up and transported me to their office which was about 3 minutes away from the airport.

When I got there, I filled up some paperwork and waited for the car to arrive. When it did, it was inspected by the man at the office who noted down all of its bumps and scratches so that I, later on, wouldn’t be blamed for them. I then took the car and drove back to my hotel. It was a good thing there was an open space to park and so I parked out front and went up to my room. I then went to bed and so ended the penultimate (and best) day of the trip thus far.

I have to say, Cebu was outdoing itself with each day I was there. I wish I could relive this trip, but travel waits for no one so onto the next adventure we go!

While this series is coming to an end, I’m excited to announce that another series is on the way! That’s right, a whole new batch of trip reports is coming very VERY soon! Keep checking back here or subscribe to me on Youtube or follow me on Instagram or Tiktok for updates! I hope you’re as excited as I am, but we have one more Cebu trip report to get through! So, let’s do it!

Want to experience this trip report on video? Click here to view my vlog for this day!

Links to the other installments of this trip report series:

Cebu Trip Report ’22 Part 1: I Almost Got Scammed

Cebu Trip Report ’22 Part 2: Melting Through Historic Cebu

Cebu Trip Report ’22 Part 3: Swimming with Sea Turtles

Cebu Trip Report ’22 Part 4: Cliff-Jumping and Canyoneering

Cebu Trip Report ’22 Part 5: Temples, Flowers, and a Great View!