Holy River of Pandan, Antique (Visayas Exploration)

One of the best attraction of Antique Province is found at the Municipality of Pandan. And this is one of the grandest attraction of the province. Everybody fell in love of its beauty. It turquoise blue water attracts anyone to dive in and feel its fresh, cold natural river water. And this heaven made beauty comes from the named "Malumpati Cold Spring".

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Photo credit by @uwanderer and Alex l Gopro5 l Sony Xperia l Canon DSLR

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Fast Facts

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1. Bugang River is dubbed as "The cleanest River of the Country."

2. Several stone shrines and plaques are visible in the resort. This stones shrines are erected in honor to the Chinese businessmen who extended their helping hands constructing the resort and preserving its natural form.

3. Bugang River is the primary water sources of 20 barangays of municipality of Pandan.

4. Previous time, some portion of the river are still low about a knee level. Local authorities and concern agencies constructed a cemented dam that turned the shallow river into a deeper but they crafted a spillway to safeguard the river flow.

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After hearing those stories from the local folks. We didn’t hesitate to explore Malumpati Cold Spring. We took a van heading to the municipality of Pandan. Then we shift rides into tricycle. It was a challenging turn of event, thanks to the road construction, it was kind of muddy and slippery. And a few turns ahead became rocky and dusty. But all those inconvenience fade away as we enter the heavenly beauty of Malumpati Cold Spring.

We were welcomed by cheerily folks and assisted us to the registration area. The said resort is really spacious capable to cater more or less 400-500 individuals. They have several unique and creative huts with various sizes and forms.
After the registration we took our valuable stuffs and left our bags at the registration area. And pull ourselves to get close to the cobalt blue water and savor its fresh and cold water. The natural river water pool is huge. The resorted is covered with towering trees with sprawling of spacious branches and leaves as if it looks like natural umbrella concealing the pool.
We never wasted our time and we started capturing the natural beauty in front of us. After a short session of photography, we dip ourselves in the heavenly water. Truthfully to its brand name, it is paradise kind of feeling. After several minutes of swimming, we went up and proceed to the next activity of the day. And that my friend is River tubing.
The adventurous nature within us lead us to river tubing. And river tubing is one of the highlight activities in Malumpati cold spring. So, we attended a brief orientation almost about 30 minutes regarding river tubing then lately introduce to our tuber guides.

The staff handed to us our floating vest and inflatable tubes were we will be using it for the river tubing activity. This large inflatable raft are actually interior tire tubes. And this will be our vessel for the whole duration of the activity. And our tuber guide led us to the trail heading to the Bugang river water source. In order to reach the Bugang river water source we need to cross the cemented bridge. Outside the cemented bridge is Pandan Water district. Along the facility lies a passage heading to the Bugang River, so we continued our hiking trip.

After several minutes we finally arrived at the resting area. At the same time registration venue were all visitors are required to log themselves. After a short break we decided to continue our trek. The trail is mossy and slippery a simple indication that the locals are not exploiting the natural habitat of the river. The trek itself was really amazing, as if we are in a different world. We spotted several indigenous crafts and marks along the trail.

The name of the ethnic groups who protected this waters are called Atis a descendants of Aetas who are known as river folks. They are the first who settled in this land. Through the efforts Atis and native Pandan they have preserve its natural beauty up to its present state. The natives of Pandan sworn their oath to the Atis tribe that they will continue protecting the water of Bugang River as per say of our tuber guide.

Bugang River is one of the cleanest river in the country. And one of the safest water in the world. Many scientist have conducted several research in the waters of Bugang River and they found out the water of Bugang River as the highest ph. level or alkaline water.

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Titles and awards to given to Bugang River

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1. Hall of Fame Awardee for the cleanest river in the Philippines.

2. Grand winner of the 2005 Dangal ng Ilog.

3. First runner up of the 2006 Hiyas ng Turismo Nationwide Search.

4. Gold winner of the 2006 International Green Apple Environment.

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After trekking the river bank area we found ourselves crossing a wobbly bamboo bridge. We cross not just one but several shaky bamboo bridge as we continue passing the deeps of Bugang river in forested area. The river water is so clear we could see what’s beneath the river water and its natural habitat. As we continue our journey to the hearts of Bugang River we were hypnotized by its beauty. The gentle river water portray its pristine beauty, it is as pure as crystal. It is really a magic world within the Forest of Bugang River, It is covered with rich of green trees and plants.

The trees and plants play a vital role in this area, for it safeguard the water from the impurities, simply by seeping it with the use of its roots and avoiding tedious siltation by performing as natural barricade or wall. At last our journey has reach its destination. We stop by at a spacious area where we were are oriented about the blue lagoon and the river tubing guidelines and safety precaution measures. The tubers demonstrated to us the proper usage of the tube raft. After the demonstration we are lead to the source of Bugang River the enchanting blue realm.

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The blue lagoon is divided in two parts. One which is where we will be starting at and the second one is a small version of the first lagoon. Tubers guide presented to is the charming and mystical blue lagoon. It is said to be the most dangerous portion of Bugang River. The tuber guide discuss to us that years before a team of professional and skilled divers attempted to explore the blue lagoon and they have reach the deep of 40 meters. And they encountered an uncommonly strong force and deadly undercurrents coming from different coves and pit black caves surrounding the lagoon barrier.

The divers miraculously survive the fatal incident. And until now the Blue lagoon stays uncharted. The deep cobalt blue color comes from the deep sediment that is moved by the underwater currents. Because of the perilous threat of the unforeseen suction, diving and swimming in this part of the lagoon is rigorously forbidden as per mentioned by our tuber guide.

The remaining descendants of the Atis tribe visit the blue lagoon and often collect young roots near said of the lagoon. They used the young roots as their tea. And they firmly believe it has a magical healing possession. After a few minutes of picturing taking we are now ready for the river tubing. It is now time to test our adventurous spirit. The tuber guide assisted us with our respective tube raft. We slowly descended downstream, enjoying the cool and fresh water embrace our body will appreciating the tranquility and calmness surrounding us.

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The river guide pointed to us the several towering Bugang trees residing in the river bank area where the river caught its name. And some of the trees has snakes on it. YEP, SAW A PYTHON and I was like I'm getting out of here. Give me a paddle am gonna race myself to the end point. And the tuber guide laugh at me. My nervousness finally came down as we pass through the pythons den. Little did I notice that Bugang River is rich of its flora and fauna. After the sweet cruise in the fascinating beauty of the forested the gush of the river water started to gone wild and then my smile grown as if it reach my ears lol. We run through several partly rough rapids ride (I got used to wild water rides from river rafting at home in Cagayan de oro city) but fun enough to make me scream. We gone through some deep and shallow portion of the river. It was cool and stimulating ride.

The tubers crafted a rock lanes as if it was a funnel where river water flows, and this made the rapids strong and fast enough to make the ride fun and exciting. The Bugang River is compose of calm and wild water man made rock lanes to deepen several portion of the river and makes sharp rapids to accelerate the river tubing ride.

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As all adventure. Everything has an end. It was really fun. Another adventure trip in my life experience book. Thank you Malumpati Cold Spring and Bugang River for the wonderful experience. After the tubing we continue our swimming, then grab ourselves some local made pizza while enjoying the view and the scenery of Malumpati Cold Spring. We were contented and happy for the one day experience. We took our bag and we rent a tricycle as we off to our next adventure. Next post I’ll be featuring Jawili Falls as the Final part of our Visayas Exploration. So stay tune and see you to our next
adventure.

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Friendly Travel Reminders

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1. Dry Bag - keepsake of all your valuable belongings, electronics and gadgets.

2. Cash - All transaction are made through cash and they don’t have any nearby ATM Machine.

3. Outdoor Apparel - Rash guard is highly recommended for river tubing. Sandal with spikes are highly appreciated at river trekking. The trails are slippery.

4. Medicine - Bring with your personal medicine.

5. Patronize local products. Each product you buy could alleviate the family condition of the community.

6. Socialize with the locals. They are cheerful, kind and friendly.

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Navigational Guide.

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1. If you're coming from Luzon and Mindanao, Book a plane via Caticlan Airport. Take a van or south bound bus via San Jose. Inform the driver or conductor you will disembark at Pandan Terminal. Bus fare range 60Php. Van fare range 80Php. Travel time runs 40-50 minutes.

2. From Pandan Terminal, hire a tricycle to take you at Malumpati Cold Spring. Tricycle price range 150-200Php. Travel time 1 hour.

3. Malumpati Cold Spring entrance fee 50Php.

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Services Offer.

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1. Cottage Rental price range 100Php up to 900Php (varies from cottage sizes)

2. Bamboo rafting - 2000Php Minimum of 4 and maximum of 6. From Malumpati Cold Spring to Downstream

3. Boat rental - 200Php per person from Malumpati Cold Spring to Downstream

4. River Tubing - 350Php per person. from Bugang River to Malumpati Cold Spring.

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Thank you steemians for dropping by. Hope you find this blog helpful. Till Next adventure. Have a wonderful day.

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