Casaroro Falls
Have you ever scrolled through instagram and come across one of those insta-famous travel posts of a waterfall? Well, this beautiful waterfall is similar to that... minus all the people. (which is even better!)
Casaroro Falls is hidden away deep in the valley of the Valencia mountains in Dumaguete, Philippines. The waterfall itself is over 100 ft tall and plunges turquoise water in to the base of the falls. This waterfall is actually quite narrow which makes the roar just as loud as the water hits the bottom.
Our Experience
We woke up at 8 am with the intention of renting a motorbike and chasing waterfalls all day. You would think the motorbike rentals would be everywhere, but to our surprise we actually had to ask a few times for directions on where to rent one. We walked about 15 minutes up Catalina Street and finally came across a shop. We negotiated the price to more of a standard price at 300 pesos. ($6 USD)
Tip: Seeing that you are a foreigner, renters might try to increase the price. Don’t forget to check your average prices before renting. Click here to learn more on how to avoid being overpriced.
We were just about to head out of town when we realized our bellies were rumbling. It was now closer to 9 am and we needed breakfast. The good thing about Dumaguete is there is a dime a dozen bakery shops all throughout town. Be sure to try the ube bread, coconut filled donuts, and more all for only 5 pesos each ($.10 USD)!! We stocked up on a lot of pastries and we were on our way.
If you haven’t already: download Maps.me it’ll save you a lot of time in the Philippines and South East Asia. Use the app to type in Casaroro Falls and it will lead you directly to it. It is no more than a 30 minute drive up the mountain before you arrive at the entrance to Casaroro Falls. You can park your scooter to the side and walk up the steps where there will be a ticket attendant there in a small ticketing hut where you will pay 30 pesos entrance fee ($0.60 USD).
You will start down the hill step after step in to the valley of the mountain. The landscape is stunning with the larger than buildings bamboo trees, palm plants, butterflies, and more! About 150 steps down later, you reach the valley ground and follow the path by the stream. We were walking about an additional 10 minutes and not seeing anyone else so we were questioning our navigational skills. However, just as we were about to turn around thinking we missed our turn we pass the corner of the cliff the falls come in to view. “ Oh shit!” We both mumbled in unison as we were taken by surprise at how massive this waterfall was! (Yes very American of us).
The pictures we saw online just don’t do it justice as you look upon this waterfall. It is over 100 ft tall and falling so gracefully in to a natural pool at the base of it. The best part about it was there was only three other people there so we practically had the waterfall to ourselves. After you take all of your pictures and videos don’t forget to sit on a rock and give your full attention to this waterfall as you’ll fall more in love with the moment.
After about an hour we watched a few people come and go, and we got a recommendation for another waterfall nearby as well. We packed up our things and then dreadfully headed back to those 150 steep stairs back up the mountain side. Man, was I feeling all of those pastries now! Still worth it.
Red Rock Falls
We hopped back on our bike and headed to Red Rock falls passing by a natural hot spring along the way. We passed on this though because by noon it was already so hot out! Driving a little further we came up to the entrance of Red Rock. The parking didn’t cost us anything again so we walked up the small hill and bought our entrance fees. Being that there is a resort wrapped around these Falls so the fee is slightly more expensive at 100 pesos per person. ($2 USD) As you walk in you’ll pass by a nice restaurant on your left where you can refresh yourself from the heat with a tasty halo-halo or a beer. We walked over the bamboo bridge and down the small steps to the falls. You can get in to the pool of water at the base of this waterfall, but keep in mind the name "Red Rock" because the rocks in the water WILL stain your clothes red so be aware of this before you ruin your favorite white shorts haha. We were pretty tired at this point so we found two pool chairs to lounge at by pool. Within minutes we were fast asleep listening to the relaxing sound of the waterfall behind us.
After about 2 hours we woke back up from our deep nap. A few yawns and stretches later we decided it was time to head back home as it was around 4 pm now and getting close to dinner time. We hopped back on our bike and take off back to Dumaguete town. There was only one thing that could have made this day more amazing….so we began our hunt for fried chicken.
Day trip costs for two people: 690 pesos ($13.80 USD) Motorbike 300 pesos ($6 USD) Gas 100 pesos ($2 USD) Bakery goodies 30 pesos ($0.60 USD) Entrance fee to Casaroro 60 pesos ($1.20 USD) Entrance fee to Red Rock 200 pesos ($4 USD)
Find us on Pinterest!
