Camarines sur: Mt. Isarog National Park, Nabuntulan falls

A left turn going up from the Mt. Isarog National Park will get you into another falls, the Nabuntulan waterfall which are the source of Malabsay falls

And, as expected, the stream here is extremely cool. There’s also a lot of small pool here where you can just sit and relax. This one is a little bit smaller compared to the falls below it though.

It’s another great place for travel and landscape photographers. Although one must be very careful of his gear because the rocks here are very slippery. One wrong move could spell disaster for your equipments.

Another thing is the trail on the way here. It’s rather rougher and riskier than the trail to Malabsay falls. To tell the truth, I was actually having second thoughts going thru here. I was biting my lips in every step that I took here. But, my eagerness to photograph and experience the beauty of the falls prevails anyway.

We didn’t have any other company here, and I can see why. Unlike in the first falls (Malabsay falls) which is a little bit crowded, although this one has smaller pools. We actually felt like we own this huge falls.

The smashing sounds of the water falling endlessly makes it very refreshing to our mind and body, and you’ll really feel very close to nature in here.

One thing I’ve notice though was that, it looks like this Mt. Isarog National Park is already a forgotten place, because I personally didn’t saw anyone who’s maintaining the place, and the facilities that we saw were already abandoned.

There’s still so much beauty in this place that I wish will not let to die.

Read more ...

Camarines Sur: Mt. Isarog National Park, Malabsay falls

Imagine a cold drink that’s almost freezing… Now imagine swimming on it… Sounds cool right? I mean cold. Hehe. That’s the Malabsay falls for you. To further explain how cold it is. We bought a local brandy to drink there, and since it’s still warm, we dip the bottle into the water. And, after 10 minutes it’s cold enough to drink. Is that falls cold or what!?

From Naga City, know as the heart of bicol. Mt. Isarog National Park is about an hour drive, and an about 15minute hike.

But, that 15minute is no pushover. The trail from the gate of the park is not very friendly. You have to walk in a meter wide man made trail, some of which were partly destroyed already due to natural doings like earthquakes and storms. The trail is so slim and rough that sometimes you’ll feel like you’re walking in a cliff.

And you have to get through different obstacles to get there, like this picture below, where we have to get through under a fallen tree. There’s also a place were we have to jump a little to get down, and make sure that we wont tripped or it’s game over for us.


Finally, we saw the falls. But, we still have to get down there. We have to trek a drop off where the flooring can only accommodate one person. It gets a bit harder especially when you’re holding your camera and tripod.

But, all those hard trekking paid off big time when we got there. The falls is huge. It’s about 50 feet high I guess. And, like what I’ve said, its water is freaking cold.

At the side of the falls, there are steps where you can jump at the top to the crater.

They said that the crater is more than 6feet deep.
There are also small size pools between the huge rocks around the falls, where the water can massage your back, that if you can endure the coldness of the liquid flowing in there, like the man on the top photo.

He was like shivering for 15minutes after he got out of the water, and my stomach almost cramped up laughing. He can’t even light a cigarette and drink a glass of brandy because his hands were shaking like crazy. Haha.
 

Read more ...