CAMBUHAGAY FALLS: Natural Attraction in Siquijor Philippines

Siquijor Tour Series:  Sixth Stop, Day 2 Chasing Waterfalls

Siqujior in the Philippines is home to amazing natural wonders; no wonder Lonely Planet recommends this island in the Visayas Region to adventurers including backpackers who plan to visit the country. Visiting Isla del Fuego means you have to brace yourself and be ready to make a choice especially if you are planning a day trip or an overnight trip only. Lucky you if you are spending 3D/2N or longer for you’ll have more time to explore the entirety of the island and experience its unique character.

Our group only stayed overnight in Siquijor, it’s too little time to do both the Coastal Day Tour and the Mountain Town Day Tour or check out out-of-the-way hidden attractions. We have to make the best of our holiday in the island of fire and we truly did despite the limited time.

We have an awesome Siquijor travel and vacation! 

If you are wondering what the top Siquijor attractions are, it includes mysterious caves, white sand beaches and crystal clear blue waters, refreshing waterfalls, cold springs, mangrove forests and more we have not yet discovered. I am pretty sure there would be many attractions that appeals to those who are seeking off the beaten path adventures and places.

Please don’t rain on our vacation

After a short exploration of the Lazi Convent, we got back on our hired tricycle and we continued with our tour of Siquijor Island. Next stop on our itinerary was a visit to Cambuhagay Falls.

Prior to coming, I was crossing my fingers and hoping that we will be blessed with good weather.  I was a bit worried because rainy season was upon us and if it rained on the day of our visit or the day before could mean disappointment for everyone. We have this image in our mind of Cambuhagay Falls to be beautifully blue; rain would turn the waters from turquoise to brownish. We don’t want rain. Nope, nope, nope, murky brownish water is not a good thing for short stay visitors like us.

But would you know luck was on our side! Thanks Mr. Sun for shining so bright that day. 🙂 What greeted us far exceeded our expectations of this famous Siquijor tourist spot. Did we have fun? You bet!

Beautiful Cambuhagay Waterfalls!

By the road tourist spot

I am always amazed when a wonderful natural attraction is walking distance from a paved road especially when it comes to water falls! Chasing waterfalls are notorious for long treks and facing difficult maneuvers to reach the cascading waters. But this is not the case with Siquijor’s Cambuhagay Falls. Save from the stairs with 132 to 135 stone steps that you have to take to get to the bottom of the ravine, the falls is really *very* close to the main road.  But lol I maybe the most unfit person you’ll come across, I have to take rest stops going down and climbing up those stone steps hehe.

Heyyy when using the stair be careful since the stair does not have a guardrail. Might be slippery especially when its raining.

When you reach the bottom — WOW! What a breathtaking, amazing view!!! Waterfalls surrounded by lush vegetation. The Philippines is really so bless with wonderful natural attractions!

The Three Levels Waterfalls of Cambuhagay

Cambuhagay Falls is a 3 tiered one. 🙂 Visitors can explore not just one but three levels! The fresh clean water will flow down to a single stream. The water source probably come from the natural springs up in the mountains and watershed surrounding the area then continues downstream until it flows out to Lazi Bay.

Flowing downstream…

When we reached the first waterfall, there was a group of teens having the time of their lives. Probably their barkadahan were out for a quick getaway and for a picnic. Good thing they did not stay in the middle area of the top falls. If they did, there would be people in the pic I took of the first tier. Hehehe.

Top Level of Cambuhagay Waterfalls

By the way, the best time to visit Cambuhagay is a weekday; weekends would probably be too crowded to enjoy the falls fully. So yes plan your vacation to Siquijor on a weekday. Alrighty? 🙂

The second level is shallow, no wonder the foreign family we chanced upon in the centuries-old Balete Tree chose that spot because they have three kids and the little ones can play in the water safely near the big rocks. But of course, little kids should always be under adult observation.

Middle Tier of Cambuhagay Falls

What’s cool about the middle falls is this jutting rock. See Titus happy under the water spray 🙂

You can also lie down on the shallow area and let the water flows by you while observing the lush surrounding. Now, that’s what I call a tropical vacation!

The third level or the bottom tier is our group’s favorite because of the blueness of its water. It’s also the widest and biggest of all 3 tiers of Cambuhagay Falls. Unfortunately, the turquoise blue waters of this pool also means that it is really deep especially the closer you get under the waterfalls. I did not even attempt to come under the falls and experience its massive water. I did venture until the area where I can still touch solid ground haha but I was braved because I had the two guys on guard and ready to pull me should I go under water. LOL. Most of the time, I stayed near the rocks where the water was shallow. For the life of me I don’t know how to swim yet our house is close to the best beaches in Mactan Island. Gahhhhh.

Bottom Falls of Cambuhagay

A Cambuhagay Must Do Activities

An added enticement in visiting this falls in Siquijor is the chance to swing by the waterfalls like you are Tarzan’s apprentice holding on to a vine for dear life. Swing far and wide and then plunge into the inviting cool waters. Astigin!

Some travelers would go as far as say that swinging by the vine and jumping in the Cambuhay waterfalls are a MUST DO activities especially for first time tourist. Not for me, not for my case, you know the reason. Lol.

Another popular activity in Cambuhagay is jumping off the waterfalls. Get that adrenaline rush! 

Jump into the waterfalls!

Titus, Nicko and Kenneth had a fun time jumping from the protruding rock. My siblings tried the vine too where Kenneth had a more comical vine swinging experience haha. Just imagine Nicko and Titus where in the middle of the water ready to catch her. It took more than 10 minutes of prodding and cajoling until she had enough courage and finally took the plunge.

Weeee she was on the air clutching the vine but darn she did not let go. Haha. She held on to the vine and it kept her swinging like a pendulum over the pool haha. She was laughing and screaming and so were we. In unison, we shouted for her to let go. Let go! Let go NOW! She did not. When the vine swung her back near the rock, I had a minor scare she won’t step safely back on the rock. Whew! Thank goodness she did or there will be some explaining to do when we get home and she comes home again with a ‘souvenir’ like she did when we climbed Cebu’s highest peak last summer. I wish I had taken a video of her that time vine swinging in Cambuhagay Falls instead of pictures which turned out to be blurry. Bummer. Oh well, it’s okay we have the funny memory hehehe.

NOTES and TIPS:

There is no entrance fee to this Siquijor attraction.

Payment for your vehicle (car or tricycle) parking is P20, motorcycles P10.

There are tinderas and peddlers selling cold beverages like coke, mineral waters, Gatorade etc as well as snack items in the parking area.

Do not leave your valuables in the vehicles unless you have one person who’ll guard your things. This tip comes from the barangay tanod who guarded the place and who collected the parking fee.

Can’t get enough of Siquijor Philippines adventure posibilities? Check out the destination before our Cambuhagay stop: Beautiful Lazi Town or onward to our next stop: Sta Maria Church with St Rita of Casia.