Chasing Waterfalls in Cebu: Inambakan, Kampael and Bugnawan

Southern Cebu is truly a world-renowned paradise for the fact that its landscape is blessed abundantly with wonders of nature, one of which, the third item on my list, is the trio of Inambakan, Kampael, and Bugnawan Falls. These falls can be found in the town of Ginatilan, the birthplace of the second Filipino saint, San Pedro Calungsod. Apart from the falls, another place where tourists can set their eyes upon in this sleepy town is the Poblacion, home to several heritage sites, and since I'm a fan of old, man-made wonders, I really enjoyed this trip.

Upon reaching the town of Ginatilan, my friend and I alighted to the jump off point (Julie's Bakeshop), where several habal-habal drivers stand by for tourists. We then headed to the town plaza to see the town's man-made wonders and have a late lunch.

This sign greets visitors going to the poblacion.

Julie's Bakeshop in Ginatilan. Photo courtesy of leocasinillo.blogspot.com

The road leading to the town proper.

The monument to San Pedro Calungsod

Some distinguishing features of Ginatilan are its old sea-side boulevard contrasted by a modern light house (parola) adjacent to it and the stone church of St. Gregory the Great, the patron saint of Ginatilan.

The modern lighthouse in Ginatilan's Millenium Plaza helps ships navigate through the rough waters of Tañon Strait with its beacons and alarm systems.

A few meters from the seaside embankment lies the old stone church of St. Gregory the Great Parish which was built on 1829 and features a Baroque architecture, borrowed from late 16^th century Italy. The 186-year-old structure was carefully crafted with cut coral stones and held together by egg-white-concocted-mortar, a strange but popular recipe in masonry during the Spanish era.

The facade of the old stone church

After going around for quite a few minutes, we then hopped in on one of the habal-habal's in the area and drove off to Barangay Calabawan via a steep but well-asphalted mountainside road. This is the easiest way to reach the drop off point.

The drive took about 15 minutes and upon dropping off at Barangay Calabawan, we then trekked for 10 more minutes before reaching the main site of the falls. The trek was a little bit tiresome but then the burden wore off as I set my sight past the beauty of the river leading to the falls.

As we reach the site, we saw a couple of cottages built by locals for tourists visiting the area and we also found it surprising that we were the only visitors that day, hence, we had the luxury of claiming the falls for us, though a little sooner some locals arrived. There is no rental fee for the cottages as the minimal entrance fee of P10.00 collected by the locals is already enough for them to maintain the site.

The first waterfalls to behold is Inambakan and at about 100 feet, it is the tallest among the three.

The majestic Inambakan Falls

The catch basin is 8 feet deep so visitors can actually jump from atop. But it is strongly advised that tourists exercise extra care climbing up the diving spot as the way leading to it is covered with algae and is extremely slippery.

Pose muna tayo

The water dropping from the falls is so powerful that it creates a mist reaching as far as where the cottages are so just standing beside it will soak you wet. I took the chance to take a refreshing dip and enjoy the cold waters of the falls for a short moment before hiking up to the second waterfalls.

Truly a sight to behold

After some time, my friend and I decided to hike to the second falls, Kampael. At just 15 meters Kampael is far shorter compared to Inambakan. The hike to the second falls took about 10 minutes for us (15 minutes if you are photo savvy).

The trail going to the next falls

We didn't take a dip in this falls and just headed to the third level, Bugnawan, where we had more splash. From atop the falls, you can actually see the two other falls and mind you, this view is breathtaking.

We spent more time and took more photos in Bugnawan before leaving for Bato to catch our trip to Oslob for a swim with the whale sharks the next day. I could say this is the best waterfalls experience I had so far and am looking forward for more around the country.

How to get there:

Ginatilan, like all other southwestern municipalities in Cebu, can be accessed via a bus from Cebu City South Bus Terminal, just look for one with the sign Bato via Barili. Travel time from Cebu City to Ginatilan is roughly 3 hours for a fare of P170.00.

If you are coming from Dumaguete, there are fast crafts leaving the neighboring island of Negros for Liloan, Santander and from there, you can take a Ceres bus going to Bato then another bus bound for Cebu City then drop off at Julie's Bakeshop in Ginatilan. Tourists can also opt to have a habal-habal from Liloan take them to Ginatilan.