Kawa Falls x AO Farm x Lumadnong Pool | Exploring New Hiking Trails in Cebu City

in Amazing Nature5 months ago (edited)

Another day, another hiking trail to explore. It's great to be back on the trail, and it has been months since my last hike. Luckily, the schedule permits, and I was able to join yet another one of DHT's Hike for a Cause.

White Collage Travel Blog Facebook Post.png

I have already introduced DHT Cebu (Day Hike Therapist) in my previous hiking blogs; they are a small group of nature enthusiasts with big dreams and goals. My last hike with them was still from the first quarter of the year, and during that time, they were able to fund a fence for Kalangyawon Elementary School which is located in a remote village in Carcar Cebu as the beneficiary for their Hike for a Cause.

This time, they continued the Adopt-a-School program project they already have going on with Kalangyawon. The next project is to build their canteen, and their estimated fund needed is around 140k+ excluding the feeding program that they are planning to conduct on the culmination day. So far, they are already down to 90k from all the hiking invites from this season and from generous donations too. Their schedule for the culmination event will be this upcoming Dec 10; for sure, the teachers and the community would be more than excited to welcome this group back to their village.

367425361_224818310552103_6762639138167162093_n.jpgSome of the DHT Cebu folks during the Brigada Eskwela in Kalangyawon Elementary School (Photo taken from DHT FB Group)

Now that you know who DHT is and what their advocacy is -

Let's talk about the trail

This is actually an interesting trail because it's a new one that they had introduced to joiners and we were the pioneer group. Previously, I was able to join the Kawa Falls to Pamutan Grassland trail, but this time they combined 3 particular spots to visit. The first stop is Kawa Falls in Brgy Toong, then off to AO Farms, which is just a few kms near the first location, and lastly, the exit will be at the Lumad Lantawan Pool in Antuwanga, Quiot Pardo.

363644597_721801176523959_4003608414026705664_n.jpg Kawa Falls located in Brgy. Toong, Cebu City

IMG_20231125_100234.jpgGroup picture at Kawa Falls.
We were quite a big group with a total of 16 joiners plus the guides.

Our day started as early as 7 am when we met up at Jollibee in Punta Princesa. Lucky for me, I'm just a few meters away from the meetup place, so there was no hassle whatsoever. I finished my night shift at 5 am, took a quick power nap, and went straight to Jollibee. (I don't recommend going on hikes without enough sleep or after duty. Don't be like me).

We rode a habal-habal going straight to Toong Brgy hall, which will be the jump point for the start of the hike.

We arrived at Kawa Falls and stayed there for almost an hour and a half, I think. The water was clear in the falls, and it was a perfect opportunity to swim, but I didn't because, aside from having no sleep from the night before, I also have no extra clothes with me.


That cool and refreshing water from the falls really helped combat the scorching heat of the sun from the hike.

We left Kawa and started hiking to AO Farms; we had our lunch break there. It was a very beautiful, well-maintained camping ground. They have abundant flower gardens, a fountain, and all other stuff. I would really love to go back here to do an overnight camping. The place was super big, and their campsite was just wow. They also have treehouses and a mini obstacle course too. I didn't even know this place existed before. Good thing now I know that there is a camping site just near where we live. Can't wait to go back.

403989976_7074115372652321_911786845846206322_n.jpg

IMG_20231125_122616.jpg

387649622_774520637647027_6169448150289416513_n.jpg

Would you just look at that relaxing view all the while having our lunch break. It was really relaxing and all this for only a 60 pesos entrance fee. We even had a discount since we were a big group and the care taker only charge us 50 pesos per head. They even have hammocks, swings, viewdeck, and even a mini zipline too. What a treat indeed!

Group photo at AO Farm's Camping site

387327576_907112234104793_496545428431437758_n.jpg "Strangers are friends you haven't met yet", Say hello to my new found friends on the trail.

After resting for a few hours, we took yet another route going to our final destination, the Lantawan Pool; we didn't go exactly with the original plan to go back trail; we had some trail runners who scouted the area in AO and found a shortcut leading all the way to Quiot, Pardo. I particularly loved this trail here. It was like a walk into the wilderness; the trails are not that maintained, so there were tall grasses and plants everywhere. I think this was the route where I find the most number of butterflies.

Totally love it despite the scorching heat of the sun. We were also followed by 3 dogs on our route; they are from AO Farm, and they followed us all the way to Lantawan. There was this one dog who looks like a hyena with her fur colors; they were super friendly creatures.

When we arrived at Lantawan, my hiking shoes gave up; it has been too long in the box, so it figures why the sole went a little off. Luckily, our guides came prepared and have duct tape with them; they covered my shoes, and it was efficient to hold on until I get home. What a turn around of an event it was.


Lumad Lantawan Pool is located in Antuwanga, Quiot Pardo and is maintained by the locals of Tribu Alimaong.

This lowley pool is overlooking SM Seaside and the beautiful CCLEX Bridge. Just imagine the view here at night with all those city lights.

IMG_20231125_154018.jpg

After resting in Lantawan and some took a dip in the swimming pool, we take yet another 2 km trek downhill going back to Nazareth in Buhisan. This was for me the technical part of the trail; it was all downhill from Lantawan, and the small rocks make it easy for someone to slide, and we had a few who got minor scratches here and there, a few slides too. I almost slid myself; luckily, I was able to hold on to one of the plants on the side, and my shoes still have grip on it despite being covered with duct tape all over.

We arrived at Nazareth past 4 in the afternoon. I was one of the first to arrive; I rode a habal-habal going back to Punta and did not wait for the rest of the team because I can already feel my eyes and body are calling for the bed; it was already past 24 hrs that I was awake. I arrived home almost 5 pm. Took a quick break, freshen up, and off to sleep I went.

It was actually just a short hike of about 10-12 km all in all, but it took us almost 9 hrs to finish the trail since we had a few stopovers, and some of the joiners even took the time to dip and jump into the falls. It was an easy to moderate hike, very ideal for beginners too.

The trail is mostly open, and the weather that day was extremely hot; I thought for a second it would be a cloudy kind of day, so I was too comfortable to wear sleeveless with no hats on and got sunburns afterwards lol, but it was okay. Honestly, I missed being out in the sun, so going a little tan was all part of the plan.

WhatsApp Image 2023-11-26 at 8.11.47 AM.jpeg

Now Let's talk about the rates and prices

Here's the breakdown:

DHT Registration Fee : ₱250.00
Habal-Habal Ride Punta Princesa to Brgy. Toong - ₱50.00/head, max of 2 persons per motorbike. ₱100.00 if solo. 4
AO Farm Entrance Fee - ₱60.00
Lantawon Pool Entrance Fee - ₱20.00
if you would like to take a swim - ₱50.00
Habal-Habal Ride Buhisan to Punta Princesa - ₱20.00

Total: ₱550.00

For only that much, I was able to spend a productive day at the trail and at the same time donate for a good cause.


I'm just so happy that there are groups like DHT Cebu that exist. Being able to help others while doing the things you love - I think these guys are living the life.

I'm just so proud and rooting for every project that DHT does; my only wish is that they will be able to continue to touch more lives and create long-lasting impacts to different communities to whom they are able to extend their aid.

In addition, all the official members/founders of DHT are mere volunteers. 100% of the registration fee all goes to the choosen beneficiary. They even share and publish the statement of contribution and expenses in their FB page.

356856858_195112213522713_4711754463877381587_n.jpg A timeline of their projects since 2018 (Photo from their FB group)

But of course, all these won't be possible without the joiners too and everybody who is helping in the background.

So if you're looking for a new hobby or maybe into hiking already, I highly recommend you keep in touch with DHT; they are a fun bunch of people, and even if you are a solo joiner, for sure, you won't feel aloof and will definitely have a great time.

You won't only get to experience adventure, but you will also have the opportunity to help others through your registration fee. Check out their FB page for any upcoming events, and if you would also like to donate to their cause, you can just shoot them a message.

Indeed, everyone of us can make a difference, no matter how big or small; we just need to start somewhere.

dividerhph.png

Ma. Morena is a nature enthusiast, an optimist and outgoing person who loves turning her adventure and thoughts into writing.

Liked what you read? show some love by sharing your comments and upvote the content. Feel free to re-blogged the post and help spread positivity by paying it forward.

dividerhph.png

Sort:  

Looks like a good hike for a good cause. It’s great to see stories like these where people do what they enjoy doing and help others in the process.
Thank you for this!

Thank you! Glad you liked it. 💚

Hiya, @livinguktaiwan here, just swinging by to let you know that this post made it into our Honorable Mentions in Travel Digest #2071.

Your post has been manually curated by the @pinmapple team. If you like what we're doing, please drop by to check out all the rest of today's great posts and consider supporting other authors like yourself and us so we can keep the project going!

Become part of our travel community:

Thank you @livinguktaiwan and @pinmapple for noticing the blog and for all the support. Stay amazing guys! ❤️

We appreciate your work and your publication has been hand selected by the geography curation team on behalf of the Amazing Nature Community. Keep up the good work!

Wow, Thank you so much! Truly appreciate the support. Cheers to more amazing nature blogs! ❤️

 5 months ago  

Hello dear friend @yzamazing good morning
What a beautiful 9-hour walk through this charming place full of pure nature, and how great that some people take advantage of the waterfalls to take a refreshing swim.
Beautiful photographs, I appreciate that you shared this beautiful experience with us

Thank you, indeed it is always an amazing experience to reconnect with nature. ❤️ Hope you have a great start of the week.

This post has been manually curated by @steemflow from Indiaunited community. Join us on our Discord Server.

Do you know that you can earn a passive income by delegating to @indiaunited. We share more than 100 % of the curation rewards with the delegators in the form of IUC tokens. HP delegators and IUC token holders also get upto 20% additional vote weight.

Here are some handy links for delegations: 100HP, 250HP, 500HP, 1000HP.

image.png

100% of the rewards from this comment goes to the curator for their manual curation efforts. Please encourage the curator @steemflow by upvoting this comment and support the community by voting the posts made by @indiaunited.

Thank you for the support. 🤍

Maganda yung advocacy nung group. I hope that they will be able to reach the goal of 100k the soonest.

We arrived at Kawa Falls and stayed there for almost an hour and a half, I think. The water was clear in the falls, and it was a perfect opportunity to swim, but I didn't because, aside from having no sleep from the night before, I also have no extra clothes with me.

Ito talaga yun eh - parang after EOS akyat haha.

The place looks serene parin - may touch nang city kahit na malayo parin ang view. Definitely a must place to go para makapag unwind from all the busy stuff in life.

Sleep is life, but Bukid is Lifer 😅

Maganda yung advocacy nung group. I hope that they will be able to reach the goal of 100k the soonest.

I hope so too. 🙏 Yes, so far sa lahat ng communities na nakikita ko dito sa Cebu bilib talaga ako sa kanila at napaka organize din. May mga registration forms and even pre-orientations kada hike.

All the hardworks pays off, you have that beautiful view of cebu city. Is that the longest bridge in ph? Correct me if I'm wrong😅

All the hardworks pays off, you have that beautiful view of cebu city.

Exactly, as they say “The best views come after the hardest climb” and yes, that is CCLEX, The longest bridge in PH.

Fun fact, the former longest bridge in PH was San Juanico Bridge connecting Samar & Leyte which was only 2.1km long while CCLEX measures up to 8.9kms long connecting Cebu City & Cordova.

Ohh I see.. I wish I could see that bridge some day..it was so beautiful and I am sure it was more beautiful in person.

Congratulations, your post has been added to Pinmapple! 🎉🥳🍍

Did you know you have your own profile map?
And every post has their own map too!

Want to have your post on the map too?

  • Go to Pinmapple
  • Click the get code button
  • Click on the map where your post should be (zoom in if needed)
  • Copy and paste the generated code in your post (Hive only)
  • Congrats, your post is now on the map!

Congratulations @yzamazing! You have completed the following achievement on the Hive blockchain And have been rewarded with New badge(s)

You distributed more than 19000 upvotes.
Your next target is to reach 20000 upvotes.

You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word STOP

To support your work, I also upvoted your post!

Check out our last posts:

Hive Power Up Day - December 1st 2023