Ride to Hulugan Falls, Talay and Hidden Falls via Laguna Loop

Hidden Falls is one of Three amazing waterfalls you will encounter on a stopover at Luisiana Laguna via Laguna Loop

Sunday, August 5, started out my journey riding with bmw adventure bikes via a batchmate gs owner but decided to do my own thing (huawei phone photography) since midway to their supposed breakfast stop in Quezon, I reckoned it to be another boring chit chat and shoot anyway of just expensive bikes and I anathemized being behind (was instructed to stay at the bottom of the pack, understood this, I really don't mind being behind in any ride, but this was too slow for me after around 70km of tailgating) so just headed out straight to Pagsanjan to catch me some falls.

obviously, I didn't belong from the start, just tried it out for a bit :)

Right after breakaway, I found myself in Cavinti since Pagsanjan falls by the way is now under the jurisdiction of the Cavinti LGU, which is now rebadged as Cavinti Falls. As kids we always encounter Pagsanjan falls through various academe literature (remember pre internet days). Getting there, I saw the pics posted of Pagsanjan/Cavinti Falls fronting the LGU office and decided this wasn't epic looking enough for a boat ride and some trekking, so asked what the biggest falls Laguna had to offer and the LGU officer kindly shared if you want the highest and the widest, it would definitely be Hulugan Falls, and off I went.

First Stop Pagsanjan for quick breakfast and headed out to Cavinti, only to find myself in Luisiana Laguna to catch me the biggest waterfall Laguna had to offer

Getting to Luisiana from Cavinti was a short 15 km ride. Upon entering, there was a couple of guides waiting by the entrance. I didn't know what to expect, and what followed was 1. Pay LGU P30 2. Park bike at designated parking for a reasonable P10  3. Pay one way fee of trike to the mouth of Hulugan falls from the parking area and  4. There are no fixed guide fees but Padi, my guide for the day mentioned they were usually paid P500, without hesitation, I shared lets go... then the briefing...

May sakit ka ba sa puso? bababa tayo ng 80 degrees, sa pacing niyo sir isang oras tayo

All I wanted from this trip is a quick shoot of waterfalls and head back home. It turned out I would be working harder than I thought. The briefing was quite serious, it was easy to digest but Padi my guide made it clear it was quite difficult (and yes it was no walk in the park for sure). There were three falls in the area where it starts from the middle with a trail through a man made dam to Talay Falls which was a 30 minute hike. The fall was quite challenging, while nearby, you had to climb 80 degree upwards through rocks and muddy trails to get to Hidden Falls (Must do)  and heading down to Hulugan falls (Main event) was another 30 minutes. I wasn't what you'd call a super fit person so added 20 minutes each way to Talay and Hulugan Falls. 

Highest and Widest in Luzon, Welcome to Hulugan Falls

Since I got to Luisiana late already, I initially planned just to take images of the highest and widest waterfall in Luzon and after 40 minutes trekking 80 degree drop offs (Padi the guide wasn't kidding), was rewarded with awesomeness. Had a bonus model named Satcha who was kind enough to pose for me in return for some pics. Worked both ways for sure

Peering inside out from a cavern left side of Hulugan Falls you see loads of little people, can you count how many you see?

I prefer to ride solo since I take my time taking images, I actually spent over two hours in this area before deciding to go to the other two falls which was another 40 minute trek with Padi

Stop Look and Listen at Luzon's Highest and Widest Waterfall

After a 30 minute trek, trudged upwards again through 80 degree inclines on a very slippery muddy trail, we hit the second waterfall, Talay which was nothing special. It was an in between fall destination between Hidden Falls which was highest among the falls and where the water flowed through Talay then a final drop at Hulugan falls.

Talay Falls, a mini fall around 50 feet in height, can skip but was on the way to Hidden Falls

My final fall to visit was a 5 minute climb to Hidden falls. It's not quite as massive as Hulugan Falls but it was beautiful. The water just magically spread everywhere and it was lovely to look at. 

Simply beautiful, Hidden Falls is a must do. That's Padi, my personal guide posing for scale

After around three hours shooting, my phone battery dropped to 20%. Used too much by wazing my way through Laguna and left my USB C cable (Must buy a second one just stashed in my bike, you cant find USB C cables in the provinces). After the shots, rain started pouring and found myself drenched all the way to Manila... took the Pagsanjan- Famy Infanta- Marilaque route back home since there's no toll fee and is way closer to our place plus wanted a bit of twisty night fun, completing officially my first Laguna Loop. 

I plan to get back soon, there are several more beautiful waterfalls in Laguna and I'll try to finish exploring them all by motorbike soon.

my version of Laguna Loop :)

Costs to Hulugan, Talay and Hidden Falls via Laguna Loop

Park Fee P30 to be paid at Luisiana LGU (within area)

Guide Fee P500- i left another P500 tip since Padi was a great great guide, do ask for him, highly recommended

Trike to entrance- P45 x 2

Parking- P10

Toll Fee Slex- P214

Versys Fuel- (650cc) One full tank P550 at P51/1 liter