Solo Backpacking — Baler, Aurora

Baler is a second class municipality in Aurora Province, about 6 hours away from Manila can offer you scenic and relaxing beauty of nature.

There are a lot of things to do in Baler and its nearby municipalities. You can go surfing, waterfalls chasing, trekking, beach bumming and many more.

So I started my Baler adventure by booking a ticket going to Baler with Joy Bus, a deluxe bus service by Genesis. For only Php 700, you’ll experience a comfy 4+ hour travel to baler with complimentary snacks. My scheduled trip was at 1:30 AM and I arrived in Baler at around 5:30 AM. If you are going to choose the ordinary bus service going to Baler, that would cost you only Php 450.00 but the travel time is much longer (6+ hours). So if you want a short travel time, go with Joy Bus. But if you want to travel on a budget, go with the ordinary bus service.

Upon arriving to Baler, I immediately looked for breakfast. There are a lot of stores and restaurants near the bus terminal so you won’t have any trouble looking for food to eat. The market is also nearby if you are planning to buy your own food to cook.

After eating breakfast, I walked my way to Sabang Beach, it was a 20-minute walk from the terminal. You can also ride a tricycle going to the beach for around Php 20.00. I want to explore more around baler so I chose to walk ahahah!

I explored the stretch of the beach and found out that there are so many resorts being built. That’s is why you’ll notice that there are a lot of cements along the way. There are also a lot of scattered rubbish along the sea side that is because Aurora was hit by typhoon last December 2015, but the residents are already cleaning up the surroundings and will be ready for the next few months.

At 9AM, I planned to return back to the terminal to look for vans or trike which can bring me to Dipaculao, a municipality near Baler. And then there’s this trike driver who asked me if there are already many people along the beach, and then I said there are few. So from there, I asked him how to get to Ditumabo Falls and asked him if he can tour me around Baler. Luckily, he offered me a budgetarian trip for Php 650.00 for a tour in Baler. This guy is so awesome and friendly!

We kicked off our tour and went to Ditumabo Falls or Mother falls as our first stop. It is a 1+ hour trike trip from Baler, and it is located in San Luis, Aurora. Upon arriving the jump off point of Ditumabo Falls, we registered and paid the Php 30.00 DENR fee per person. It is a legit fee collection because they have an official receipt from the Municipal Office. It is a 20-minute trek from JOP to the Falls and it is an easy trail.

Ditumabo Falls or the Mother Falls stands around 140+ feet and has chill cold water flowing from the mountains of Sierra Madre. A lot of tourist enjoys swimming at this falls because of its relaxing feel and can destress your mind and body. Cliché as it may sound, but it can really make you feel relaxed.

Our next stop is the Caunayan Falls, a place where only few trike tours can offer because of the rocky road which can pop the tires of your ride hahaha! Luckily, Kuya Wendell, the trike tour guide, still brought me to this cute waterfalls! I say cute because it is just a mini waterfall at aroung 15+ feet, but still worth visiting. Its cold water can also relax your body and there are also few tourists around. There is a n entrance fee of Php 20.00, but because of the charismatic charm of Kuya Wendell, I managed to enter the resort for free! The surrounding place of Caunayan Falls has also been struck by the typhoon last December so you can see fallen electric post and boulders around the area.

Next stop, Ermita Hills which is just 20 minutes away from the main streets of Baler. From here you can view the panoramic beauty of the Sabang Beach and the side of the Philippine Sea. I think there’s also an entrance fee here, but we entered for free!

There’s a beach resort around Baler where you can relax and chill around with less tourists and more picturesque view. This is the Diquisit Beach, claimed to be the most beautiful beach around Baler. Just a 30-minute tricycle ride from Baler. And as a bonus, there’s a clean and beautiful falls just few minutes across the street and I called it the Diquisit Falls!

After dipping my body to the cold water of the Diquisit Falls, we headed straight to Dicasalarin Cove. This beach resort is a private property of the Angara’s. Our tricycle can proceed to the area because of the steep road going the beach, so we chose to hike for around 40 minutes up to the entrance gate, and another 30 minutes down to the resort. Hiking up to the gate is not a joke, we took several fives until we reach the gate where Kuya Wendell arranged the pass for the Dicasalarin Cove.

Dicasalarin Cove has been the hightlight of my day trip here in Baler. It is I think the most beautiful part of the municipality that I’ve visited. The Php 300.00 entrance fee is worth it because of the blue ocean water and scenic view on top of the light house. You must see it for yourself to appreciate the real beauty of this place.

On our way back to Diquisit where we parked our tricycle, we hired 2 habal-habals for Php 75.00 each because we can’t hike back hahaha!

And that concludes my day trip to Baler.

So, how to get to Baler:

• From Cubao, ride a bus going to Baler. In my case that would be the Joy Bus of Genesis Transport. That costs me Php 700.00 for a deluxe bus service. You can also choose to ride the normal bus for Php 450.00 and enjoy the 6-hour land travel.

Touring around Baler:

• There are tricycle drivers who offer tours around Baler. Which includes: Ditumabo Falls, Baler Museum, Doña Aurora Aragon Quezon House, Baler Church and Plaza, Ermita Hill, Fish Port, Lukso-lukso Islet, Añao Islet, Diquisit Falls and Old Balete Tree. Only few tricycle operators offer a tour to Dicasalarin Cove because it is a far desitination than usual and trikes are not allowed to enter the place. So, one should hike in order to reach the place. Lucky me, Kuya Wendell is so accommodating, he accompanies me all throughout the trip!

My expenses for my Baler Day Trip

• Joy Bus (MNL-Baler): Php 700
• Genesis Bus (Baler-MNL): Php 450.00
• Trike Tour: Php 650.00 + 100 (consideration for Dicasalarin Cove Tour)
• Habal-Habal: Php 75.00 x 2 = Php 150.00 (I paid for Kuya Wendell’s habal-habal)
• Entrance Fee Ditumabo Falls: Php 30.00
• Parking Fee Ditumabo Falls: Php 10.00

Miscellaneous:

• Footlong Hotdog: Php 40.00
• Mountain Dew: Php 25.00
• Aroz Caldo: Php 25.00
• Water: Php 20.00 x 4 = Php 80.00
• Pancit (Dicasalarin Cove) = Php 175.00 (Good for 3 persons)
• Coke: Php 13.00

Total Expenses: Php 2,448.00

PS: I entered Dicasalarin Cove for free so I saved Php 300.00 for the gate pass! I am recommending Kuya Wendell to be your Tricycle Tour Guide because I know that he will not take advantage of you and he will help you enjoy your tour and you can also help him though availing his service. He can accommodate 3 passengers for a tour, but he can also ask his friend for the same rate he gave to me.

You can contact Kuya Wendell by sending him a message and let him know that I recommended him to you guys. His contact number is (+63) 909 928 3851
So, Baler is a nice get away not only for surfing but also for beach bumming and waterfall chasing and soul searching.

Next Stop! Upper town in Aurora! Wooohoo!!