Igorotang Explorer: DIY Calinawan Cave, Tanay, Rizal

We started off late for our planned tour. From Sampaloc Inn, we rode a jeepney going to down town Tanay where we bought water and looked for a tricycle to bring us to Calinawan Cave and Daranak Falls. Most of the tricycle drivers would offer to bring tourists to Daranak Falls for Php50.00 per head per way. So it’s up to the visitor to haggle. At first, the tricycle driver was hesitant to bring us to Calinawan cave since the road was very rough and he was worried about his tires. So we offered to give him Php300.00 to bring us to Calinawan Cave and Daranak Falls for 300.00. This means that we’ll have the trike for ourselves for the whole trip so that we won’t have problems looking for a trike going back to the town – that was a good bargain, I think :-)

Our dedicated service

So off we go. On the way, we noticed that the path we took was the same path going to Sampaloc. But we turned left when we saw the sign “Daranak Falls”. When we came to an intersection, we turned right since we were heading first to Calinawan Cave. Calinawan Cave is located in Barangay Tandang, Kutyo, Tanay, Rizal, Philippines. The distance from the intersection to the cave was approximately 2 kilometers of rough road. We understood why the driver was initially not willing to bring us there.

Rough roads begun

Rough road uphill

Upon arrival to the cave, we were greeted by Joey, the granddaughter of the owner. She then briefed us of the protocols inside the cave and said that entrance fee is Php20.00 per head and tip to the tour guide is dependent on the tourist. We asked our driver to join us but he said he’ll just wait at the trike. While inside the cave, but still near the entrance, we saw him coming down and said that he never entered the place so this was a good chance for him to see the cave for himself – good decision.

Cave entrance

The tour guides explained that Calinawan Cave got its name from the word Tagalog word “linaw” which means clear. It is said that during the 15th to 18th centuries, opposing parties used to convene inside the cave to settle disputes, thus, the name Calinawan.

Inside the cave, we saw different formations that were awesome. However, since this cave was used for shooting a lot of movies and teleseryes, some of the formations were ruined – glitters were on the rocks, some of the natural glitters from the rocks disappeared, etc.

Natural glitters from the rock formation with some artificial glitters

According to our tour guides, this cave also served as a shelter and a hideaway from the Japanese during World War II. It was also in this cave where Japanese soldiers surrendered to the Liberation Forces. Inside, we saw what the Japanese could have used as their rooms.

We also went through some narrow passages and low-beamed rocks. ^_^

Narraw passages

Since we were a handful, we were also shown to the backdoor – another exit leading to a cliff. As we were on our way to the exit, the tour guides informed us that a group of people had been illegally using the cave for mining. They were initially permitted to enter the cave since they said that they will shoot an international movie inside the cave, but then, they have been doing something else. Sadly, this was discovered after they left – a month after they entered the cave.

Hopefully, all visitors, especially those that would shoot inside the cave, would have self-discipline and not touch the formation to prevent the rocks from “dying”. Here are more of the pictures of the formations: