Aglipay Caves
Thirty Eight Mapped Chambers Of Which A Handful Are Opened, In The Least Visited Province Of The Cagayan Valley · Aglipay, Quirino
THE AGLIPAY CAVES ARE A COMPLEX OF THIRTY-EIGHT MAPPED CHAMBERS IN THE HILLS OF QUIRINO, OF WHICH A HANDFUL ARE OPENED TO VISITORS AND THE REST ARE NOT. What is open is a sequence of connected rooms with stalactites and flowstone, entered with a guide and a lamp, involving crouching, wet rock and some genuinely narrow passages. THERE IS AN ADJOINING CAMPSITE AND PICNIC GROUND, which is what most Filipino visitors come for. QUIRINO IS THE LEAST-VISITED PROVINCE IN THE CAGAYAN VALLEY AND ONE OF THE LEAST-VISITED IN LUZON - it was carved out of Nueva Vizcaya in the 1970s, sits between the Sierra Madre and the Caraballo mountains, and has essentially no tourism. THE OTHER SITE IS GOVERNOR'S RAPIDS on the Cagayan River, where the water runs between limestone walls and the local boats take visitors up. It is a genuinely quiet corner of a crowded island. Bring footwear you can soak; you will be wet from the knees down at the very least.
Villa Santiago, Aglipay, Quirino, Aglipay, Quirino, Philippines
AGLIPAY IS IN QUIRINO, roughly EIGHT TO NINE HOURS FROM MANILA on the Cagayan Valley road, with CABARROGUIS the provincial capital and SANTIAGO CITY in Isabela the nearest town of size. THE CAVES KEEP DAYTIME HOURS WITH AN ENTRANCE FEE; GUIDES ARE REQUIRED AND CARRY THE LAMPS, because the chambers are unlit. ONLY A FEW OF THE THIRTY-EIGHT CHAMBERS ARE OPEN and the rest are closed. EXPECT CROUCHING, WET ROCK AND NARROW PASSAGES - this is not a walk-through show cave despite the name. THE CAMPSITE AND PICNIC GROUND adjoining are open the same hours and are what fills the place at weekends. GOVERNOR'S RAPIDS is a separate trip with local boats. CAVES FLOOD AFTER HEAVY RAIN. Bring footwear you can soak.