Canyoneering | Kawasan Falls – Philippines
When researching things to do in the Philippines, Canyoneering on Cebu Island quickly shot to the top of the list. The idea of jumping off large cliffs into the most incredible blue water you have ever seen was an adventure we had to have.
Kawasan Falls is located around 40 minutes out of a town called Moalboal on Cebu Island. When we arrived in Moalboal i jumped online and searched for a canyoneering company with great ratings and came across Kawasan Canyoneering. They picked us up from our hotel in Moalboal and took us to the falls.
After a safety briefing we walked along a muddy trail for around 20 minutes before we saw any water. All kitted up with our shoes, life vests and helmets we were ready to have some fun.
After climbing down a steep, muddy staircase we arrived at the river. There were a few other tourists around but because we were there early there wasn’t much a of a wait. We jumped in the water and off we went. Christine managed to slip off the very first drop, luckily it was only like a metre high.
Our guide told us that we would be building up to the higher jumps, starting at 2 metres and working our way to 12-13 metres depending on how much water there was at the time. The canyoneering experience was more than just cliff jumping though. We slid down natural water slides, climbed over makeshift bamboo bridges and flung ourselves into a lagoon from a giant rope swing.
After about 10 minutes from the start we were at an 8 metre cliff with a few other tourists around. We climbed up the rock face and told everyone down below to clear the way. After stepping out onto the ledge i could see that if i was going to do a backflip i would need to propel myself far enough backwards to clear the rocks. The camera was rolling so i turned around, threw up a shaka and sent it.
Christine jumped straight after me and we couldn’t stop smiling… Canyoneering is unreal!
There was a bit of distance between jumps so we told our guide that we weren’t interested in taking heaps of photos and just wanted to keep jumping. We picked up our pace and overtook tons of other tourists along the way. Very soon we arrived at the 10 metre cliff which was a concrete platform that had been built for jumping.
Feeling pumped, we scaled up to the top where there were a couple of other guys standing there hesitating about jumping. They let us go first, so once again i walked out to the edge, turned around and hit another backflip. I’d say at the time that was the highest flip id ever done and as soon as Christine had jumped i had to climb up and do it a second time.
After the jump, the current took us about 15m down stream where we came across a giant slide. Had a few goes on the slide which was heaps of fun, then it was back to walking for a bit. Even though we just wanted to be jumping non stop, walking along the rocks by the river in a canyon was an adventure in itself. We had been hiking for a little while until we came across a giant rope swing. The water in this small lagoon was the most crazy aqua blue i had ever seen. We had a play on the rope swing for a bit and it was time to head to the last jump.
When booking our Canyoneering adventure i decided i had to hit a backflip off the largest cliff at Kawasan Falls
As we got closer to the edge we were blown away! It was such an unreal location. This beautiful waterfall surrounded by lush jungle and amazing blue water. There were heaps of people down the bottom, sitting at the side of the water just eating lunch and watching everyone jump.
This time there was no concrete platform, just a small rocky ledge to jump from. I turned around, balanced my toes on the edge of the rocks and remember hesitating for a second. My heart was racing so i took a deep breathe and just launched myself backwards. I hit the water feet first and resurfaced with a massive smile. The rush was incredible and was everything i had looked forward to for months.
Christine was standing at the top of the cliff by herself with all of us looking up at her. We counted her down from 3 and without hesitation she committed and we were both buzzing!
The entire canyoneering adventure was nothing like we had ever experienced before. Jumping off cliffs into the most beautiful aqua blue water while surrounded by jungle with the sun shining through the tress above is something we will never forget!
If you ever find yourself in Moalboal we highly recommend doing the canyoneering tour and using the guys at Kawasan Canyoneering
