Estrella Falls Narra Palawan Philippines

While riding the a van-for-hire to Puerto Princesa Underground River, we Travel Tripsters spotted Estrella Falls as one of the destination.

*all photos credited to Travel Tripster Kurt

According to our driver Raymond (0929 721-5781), his charge is 1,300 for the trip.  As we were out of money from all our trike rentals, I googled for a way to commute.  While having dinner that day, we decided we'll go for it.  So the next day, we woke up early to ride a tricycle to San Jose Terminal (80 php). 

The locals are very helpful in pointing us toward the Lexus Van Terminal where we rode the "Narra Aborlan" Route.  We waited around an hour before the van was full but we didn't mind.  The Shuttle Fair is 150 php/person one way.

The travel time to Narra was shorter than we expected.  It was an hour and a half.  Once we were there, we asked around where to hire a tricycle to Estrella Falls.

We couldn't find a trike immediately so we had time to observe their standardized Shuttle Fair Guide.

I forgot to take note of manong who volunteered to take us to Estrella Falls and back for 250 php.

There was nothing to see along the way.  I remembered it was bumpy. 

Then, we arrived at the parking lot of Estrella Falls were tourist vans parked.  We paid the 20 php/person entrance fee here.  We were surprised to see that they offered trekking tours.  (I couldn't find any information online.)   They were two kinds of trekking tours available.  One was for a day tour.  The other one is a 3 days and 2 nights tour where you will be able to see all 64 falls.  The latter would require camping gears such as tents and cooking utensils so we opted for the day tour.  Unfortunately, all the guides have already been hired out so we had no choice but to take a stroll and watch the falls instead.  I hope to come back for this trek someday. The administrator also told us about visiting two islands in the area called Rassa and luxury Arena Island.  Rassa Island are for bird watching while Arena Island is a turtle sanctuary.  He says the latter is a typical destination for honeymooners.

According to this the falls are within the virgin forest.

So we excitedly proceeded...

We went up the stair which had  continuing stairs to the Hillside Cottages which seem to be old, unmaintained and unused. 

Instead, we followed the sound of the crowd towards another cottage area which was right next to the swimming area.

There is also a grilling area....

and clean restrooms.

Now, let's go to the twin falls.

You can't go too near as the flow is quite strong.

I don't know how fellow Travel Tripster Kurt sneaked out his tripod without me knowing but he was enthusiastic in taking this photo.  He was so happy and thrilled to finally view a waterfall since he researched a technique to make the water look so soft and silky like that.

And, we took our time dipping our feet into the cool water and took photos.  Unfortunately, we couldn't swim because we didn't have spare clothes.

We just watched as these Korean boys enjoyed themselves.  There's an adult swimming area and a kid's swimming area as indicated by the signs.

According to the sign, there are monkey's there too.  After three hours, we decided to head back to Narra Terminal and ride the Lexus Van back to San Jose Terminal.

Being waterfalls enthusiasts, Estrella Falls is one of the best destinations we  Travel Tripsters had in Palawan.  We're hoping to join the trek next time.  I can't believe they don't promote something as amazing as that aggressively online.

Estrella Falls Narra Palawan Philippines
Address	Narra Palawan Philippines
Budget Per Person	25-1,000 php	Estrella Falls Narra Palawan Map
Payment Options	Cash
Operating Hours	Monday to Sunday: (even holidays) 8:00 am-5 pm
Reservation Required	No (Encouraged for trekking tours)
Contact

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Tuddingan Falls: Waterfalls in Naguilian La Union

I've been wanting to visit a real waterfalls so we decide to commute to Naguilan La Union just to see Tuddingan Falls.  I've never seen a real waterfalls up close before.  The closest I've seen is the artificial waterfalls at Villa Escudero in Laguna more than a decade ago.  

Our tricycle dropped us off at a small bridge where we had a clear view of a bit worn out sign "Welcome Tuddingan Falls".  We were wondering if it was still open for viewing.  But, there was no one in the area to ask.  So despite being a bit doubtful, we went along the trail.  Soon, we came across a local who confirmed that we were on the right track.  He was so quick though that we never saw him again.

The trail had cemented steps and metal bars for safety.  There were also random animals like goats and hens along the way.  

We've been walking for 20 minutes under the scorching heat of the sun with no clues whether we were near or far from the water falls.  Then, we heard a weak water and spotted some water flowing through the rocks.

We went along further and found this semi-stagnant water.  The water is flowing but not much.  Since there's a side track with bars, we were assuming that the flow of water would be strong and a bit dangerous.

After passing through the trail  Well, it was unlike what we've seen from the photos because the flow is not that powerful.  We visit during late April.  Is it because it's summer time that's why its like this?  We also noticed that there were irrigation tubes sourcing the water from the waterfalls.  

Overall, we Travel Tripsters were a bit disappointed that we didn't see much from the Tuddingan Falls.  But, it was a pretty good trek and it was the falls had a high rocky formation for viewing.  Perhaps, you have some tips on when we should visit again to witness it in full force like the pictures we see on the net.  We'd really appreciate that.

Tuddingan Falls		Tuddingan Falls Map
Price Per Person	FREE
Payment Options
Business Hours
Reservation Required	No
Contact
Other
Address
Barangay Tuddingan, Naguilian, La Union, Philippines
Transportation to Attraction
Bus with Tricycle
Commute Guide
From San Fernando La Union: Ride Bus to Naguilan (50 php) then take tricycle to Tuddingan Falls (30-50 php)

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