Spelunking in the Cavinti Caves Complex

“Go where the road takes us.”

What to do on a non-working holiday squeezed in the middle of a working week? Waste no holiday! Go on a roadtrip adventure, explore, and do spelunking in the Cavinti Underground River and Caves Complex in Cavinti, Laguna. :)

As we were looking and planning for a different kind of summer trip (Kapurpurawan stone formations in Ilocos, Pico de Loro climb, Tanay caving, Mt. Pinatubo hike were some initial ideas), this place got featured on late night news on TV. As my friends watched, I was the one searching the net for more information about it but there were not much results that came up. I only relied on their Facebook page: Cavinti Underground River and Caves Complex (with little info yet that at that time).

How to go to Cavinti Caves Complex

• Before we went to Cavinti, I made an advanced booking through email at lgucavinti@gmail.com. Priority will be for those who book in advance.

• NO PERMIT, NO ENTRY policy. As of April 3, 2013, The LGU-Cavinti Tourism Office imposes NO PERMIT, NO ENTRY policy. This is to prevent unauthorized entry and regulate the rush of visitors with regards to the caves carrying capacity. Update: Effective April 16, 2013, LGU-Cavinti is limiting visitors (Non-Cavintinians)to 50 tourists per day to avoid overcrowding inside the caves and within its vicinity. All reservations are only allowed to have 10 persons per group per permit.

• Where to get a VISITORS ENTRY PERMIT. All weekday visitors (Monday-Friday, 8AM-5PM) are required to register in person at the Tourism Office located inside the Municipal Building of Cavinti. All weekend / holiday visitors are required to register at Bumbungan Ecopark, Brgy. Tibatib, Cavinti, Laguna. Valid ID is required for verification. 

• Below is a Map going to Cavinti Underground River and Caves Complex.

• After securing your Visitors Entry Permit in the Cavinti Municipal Bldg (on weekdays) or Bumbungan Ecopark (on weekends and holidays). 

• Go to the Entry point to Cavinti Caves. You can hire a jeepney for 2500 or 100/pax roundtrip. If you’re bringing your own vehicle, it is recommended to bringa  4-wheel drive or big-engine vehicle because you will pass through the dirt road going to the Caves Complex for approx. 18 kilometers. Our Honda City a.k.a. Amanda was able to make it and it took us an hour to get to the Caves from the entry point.

• Expect to trek for about 2kms to the campsite entrance to the Caves.

• Surrender your permit to the personnel assigned at the Caves Entrance, sign again for registration, and you will be assigned a tour guide who will brief you before entering the caves.

Exploring and Caving!

Here are some travel photos to tell you more about our caves exploration. :)

The dirt road to the Caves. We had no idea it was this hard to go there.

A short trek to the entrance. Resting in one of the “telephone wires” of nature.

Clear waters in the entrance.

A bamboo raft and a tour guide took us to the mouth of the cave.

Pitch dark inside if you turn of the flash lights. Oh, don’t forget to bring one with enough batteries!

Bring the right foot gear as well. Honestly, I was expecting that the caves would be something like the Puerto Princesa Underground River, so I had the wrong shoes. :P

Rock formations!

The cave explorers!

Stalactites and stalagmites

The Giant Pawikan

Hmmm… Nature’s scandal?!

The Fountain of Youth. You can drink from this.

A glimmer of light.

At the end of the day, here’s where we celebrated our victory!

It was another day to unleash the adventurers in us. It’s always a great experience to confront the unknown as we went out there to find our paths, went through the dirt road, go deep down the caverns, and navigate the dark spaces of the caves complex. I definitely recommend — or dare you — to put this on your summer destination list. ;)