Ironwulf En Route
Coming from Baybay, Leyte, our route was all the way down to Southern Leyte. Looking at the map, both provinces combined looks like hips and dangling legs. We visited a few dive resorts for our travel agency companions to inspect. The day ended checking in at Kuting Reef and Resort Spa. The beautiful seaside resort with plenty of towering coconut trees at the garden and a pool became the venue for the fam tour welcome dinner. The next day, it was a jump-off to our adventure.
Eastern Visayas is one region I wish to explore more in my next travels. There’s a lot in the area I haven’t been to yet and I know Eastern Visayas got some stunning natural attractions from caves, waterfalls and geological formations. That’s why I was excited to join #SailEast, a familiarization tour of Eastern Visayas, particularly Leyte, Southern Leyte and Samar. We hit the ground running and headed to one of our first stops, Lintaon Peak and its 16,000 Blossoms in Baybay, Leyte.
It’s not since Iligan when I got excited at the prospect seeing and enjoying a number of waterfalls in one area. Tablas in Romblon also have a good set of waterfalls on the island but most of them low type ones. The province of Biliran in Eastern Visayas however have at least 30 waterfalls on its mountainous island. Only at least ten of those have names and unlike Tablas, the island of Biliran have tall and powerful waterfalls that’s truly majestic. Others cascade beautifully. I have to Biliran three times for the past six months and I haven’t explored all of them yet. Here are the ones I have visited and ranked based on my favorites. These are also the ones I would recommend if you plan to chase waterfalls in Biliran.
Leviticus 20:24 in the Bible refers to a promise land called Canaan where milk and honey flows. In Biliran province, Eastern Visayas, a six-hectare uphill organic farm named Canaan Hill Farms and Honey Garden hopes to recreate this promise land on Earth. Found at the southeast side of Biliran Island, we paid a visit to this promising attraction that promotes wellness by going back to natural way of farming and simplicity of life.
Sometimes, nature’s beauty just have to speak for itself. In an island of 30 waterfalls, Biliran Tinago Falls is just one of the nature beauties in the small island that’s hard to conceal for so long. Tucked in the forest of Caibiran, near the heart of the island, the falls (Tinago in Tagalog means hidden), no longer hidden, is probably the most popular falls in the province. The inner Naval-Caibiran road is well paved, passing through a series of low rice terraces towards the jump-off known as the Tinago Falls Eco Tourism Park. It’s accessibility makes it a local favorite for both tourist and island natives.
I took the front seat of the ‘torpedo’ boat. That’s what they call this long wooden motorized canoes without outriggers in Samar. Like the faluwas in Batanes, these boats are designed to navigate wild waters whereas if they have outriggers, it would easily snap from the force of the rapids. Judging by the boats, I could expect an exciting ride over at Ulot River. The Ulot River Torpedo Extreme Boat Adventure is one of the main attraction in Samar which is also a part of the Ulot Watershed Ecotourism Loop attractions of numerous waterfalls, caves, springs and an eagle sanctuary.
