A Journey to the Unknown: Quirino Province

Quirino – the sound of its name does not make any impression. Have you heard of it? Do you know someone who came from this place? Where is it in the Philippine map? What to see in Quirino?

These questions that can’t be answered in an instant ignited my curiosity and made me want to visit the place. I wanted to find out for myself.

The Province in a Glance

Quirino lies in the southeastern portion of Cagayan Valley Region. It is surrounded by the provinces of Isabela, Aurora, and Nueva Vizcaya. It only has 6 municipalities. By looking around, it evidently has a small population. The neighborhoods are small. The houses are of few meters apart from each other. Public transportation is not often seen. There are few vans and tricycles for hire around. The place is surrounded by wide green landscapes of hills and rice and corn fields. Though this place has maintained its rural look and feel, the roads connecting the municipalities are well constructed (must be newly cemented). It makes transportation easy.

Adventure Haven

This place is full of surprises, basically because I did not expect anything and it turned out to be truly fascinating. Its main attractions are trekking to the falls, spelunking/caving, rock climbing, camping, boating, water tubing, cliff diving, and swimming in the river. It has beautiful landscapes for picture taking!

Trekking to Ganano Falls (Nagtugao)

Our first stop was in the town of Diffun. From the town proper, our van transported us to Baguio Village where we started our trek to the falls. It was an estimated 1-hour trek in a semi-open and dry trail (get ready to get tan and thirsty). Our local guide from the tourism office said this trail was shaded by bamboo grass before, but the local tourism office made recent changes to the trail; it became open with a flatter ascent.

Trekking our way to the falls

The work on the trail was half done, so we needed to make a sudden detour. Our guides have been finding a way to the old trail and it was a very steep and scary descent. My mind was not prepared for this kind of trekking. My heart suddenly beat fast. I could not decide if I wanted to continue trekking. I could also sense that the rest of the group had hesitations. But in the end, the hearts hungry for adventure ruled.

We needed a rope to this steep descent

Our trek was extended for another hour of challenging trail. The second part was a series of river crossing. Even during my mountaineering days, stepping on slippery rocks in the river was my weakness. I was thankful that at this moment, I was surrounded by gentlemen. In this set-up, I was a girl that needed to be taken care of.

After an hour of chanting to myself not to slip and fall, we finally reached the hidden gem. Seeing this treasure is a blessing to all of us there. It was beautiful and refreshing. I was tempted to come closer to it, but I wasn’t brave enough to go on further as there were more rocks and the water current was stronger.

Dare to come close and get enchanted

Everyone got tired at this point. A few dared to come closer to the falls. Most of us was satisfied watching it from afar, appreciating its beauty. The risk going there became worth it.

Spelunking in Aglipay Caves

These caves were located at Barangay Villa Ventura in the town of Aglipay. There were several interconnected chambers, but only 4 caves were open for spelunking activities.

We started exploring by going up the concrete stairs. In a short while, we reached the entrance to Cave 1. It was totally dark inside, yet we were not advised to bring our own headlamps. The guide brought his light, while most of us used our mobile phones as flashlights. It was huge inside, estimated to be 500 sqm (according to the local guide). The bats living in it made it creepy. The ground is moist and can be slippery, so walk with utmost care.

It’s creepy inside

After Cave 1, we had a short trek going to Cave 8, which had a very small entrance. This chamber was interconnected with Caves 2 and 3, where it becomes creepier and challenging. There was the duck-walk part, where we needed to walk in a sitting position for a few meters. This was followed by the highlight of this activity – to fit in a very tiny hole. The cave is usually cold inside, but in here it was hot – must be because of these intense actions!

Duck walk

You must fit in the hole, there’s no other way

This might not be the most charming of all caves in the country. But surely, this one has its unique features to watch out for.

Bimmapor Rock Formation in Siitan River

I cannot find a meaning for the word Bimmapor. It simply sounded like “bapor”, which refers to a boat or a ship. This rock formation literally looks like a huge shipwreck. It’s stunning. Its beauty requires utmost respect. At the same time, its size was overwhelming. It made me think about alien invasion, like the ones I saw in movies (Battleship).

Battleship

This natural creation lies in Siitan River, in the town of Nagtipunan. There are several rock formations along the side of this river, where camping and rock climbing activities can be enjoyed by adventurous explorers. The river is calm – a very good occasion to do boat cruising. There are also parts of the river where there are rapids, where water-tubing activity can be experienced by thrill seekers.

On my way to the rapids!

We tried both the river-cruising by boat and by water-tubing. I was scared at first (as always for water activities) because I don’t know how to swim. When I rode the tube, I felt calm being held by the water. Yet I still asked one of the boatmen to assist me through the rapids because I can’t manage to move the tube by myself. When I was lying on the tube, I looked at the sky and the hills around me while listening to the sound of the flowing water created by the rapids. It was a beautiful scenery. It calmed my raging heart. The river took my anxiety away.

Some day, I’m gonna cliff dive! yay!

Join a Guided Tour

If you want to experience this fun encounter with nature, you can actually plan for a DIY (do-it-yourself) itinerary. The province can be reached thru public bus from Manila to Maddela, Quirino thru Florida or Fivestar bus. Upon arrival, inquire at the local tourism office for a tour package. It is recommended because public transportation is rare and tourist spots are estimated to be an hour apart from each other.

Touring around was challenging, so my friend and I opted to join a public tour. A trip to this place is currently being offered by PH First Travel and Tours.

This was the first time that I joined a guided tour. It has its pros and cons, yet the trip remained enjoyable. I met lovely travelers. I had a fun weekend with them.

Traveling with strangers can be fun (photo by Ronald San Miguel)

It sounded crazy, going to an unknown place and traveling with strangers. But the treasure is out there, waiting to be found. Discover the undiscovered and be rewarded by an enchanting experience.

Get out dear! 😉