Exploring the largest cave in the Philippines (Langun-Gobingob Cave, Calbiga Samar)

The 'GIANT Chandeliers' and the LITTLE Pinay Explorer 😄

Do you have what it takes to conquer the largest cave in the Philippines? If you’re curious or interested to try this kind of adventure, then you are at the right page! 

It was just this year that I knew the biggest cave in the Philippines is just an hour away from where I am based (Tacloban City) and of course as the little pinay explorer, I couldn’t really miss this out! Good thing I was able to come across Sir Joni’s fb page and Trexplore The Adventure website. Honestly, I was not expecting that it would be that extreme but thanks to the complete set of caving gears included in the package, we were able to overcome the whole adventure safely without wounds or bruises. 

Let me sum up the whole adventure into 5 stages (based on my own experience and memory):

1. Trek from the road of Brgy. Panayuran to the entrance of Gobingob cave. 

This is just the first stage but I was already catching my breath when I arrived at the viewing deck of Gobingob Cave (30 minutes later). It was the best spot to look at the massive mouth of the cave. From here, it took another 30 minutes to arrive at the cave entrance where Sir Joni briefed us about the history, safety guidelines and itinerary, before starting the cave tour.

At the viewing deck

Cave class with the Cave Masterrr

 2. Traverse from the Gobingob Cave entrance to the ‘football field’ (one hour). 

In this stage, we had to climb up a mountain of boulders and hike through some slippery pathways while enjoying the beautiful scenery of different stalagmites (rock formations rising from the floor), and stalactites (those hanging from the ceiling). We passed by the ‘stage’, the ‘diamonds’ and the pool, before finally settling down in the football field to have our lunch at 12noon.

The 'chocolate'

Lunch time! Thanks to Sir Joni's wife for preparing this delicious meal.

Doing my mini concert at the 'stage'!

  3. ‘Football field’ to Langun Cave. 

We then continued our journey with more and more challenges along the way. More slippery pathways and a steep ascending hill going to the upper Gobingob chamber. At the top, we had to wear a harness to safely descend down a 30 meter vertical drop, to get to Langun Cave.

One wrong move and you could fall 30 meters high (that's like a 9-storey building), hence the harness.

4. Langun Main Chamber to exit (mouth of Langun Cave). 

Even if we were nearing the end of the cave adventure, it still wasn't easy. My biggest challenge here was the muddy parts of the trail because it was like a vacuum sucking my shoes. We arrived at the exit at around 2:40PM.

I'm like at the bottom of the sea with these coral-like rock formations

Kung Fu pose in between these 2 mighty stalagmites

muddy pathway

our exit - the entrance of Langun Cave

5. Langun Cave mouth (exit) to Mapaso Spring. 

Just when I thought I overcame the hardest part already, the tour guide told me the next phase is more difficult. I'm like 'whaaaat'? I'm 'shookt' haha. After 30 minutes of resting, the show must go on. It was a 3-hour trek in the forest going back to civilization. The hardest part was when we had to ascend an almost vertical slope of the mountain. I did a lot of pauses because I felt like my legs would give up on me. I was the slowest among our group (the other guests were into rock and mountain climbing) but the tour guides assured me that I was doing a good job (haha thanks mga koya). At 6PM, we finally arrived in Mapaso Spring where we washed ourselves before heading back to Ruchel Tinola Eatery to have our dinner.

3 hours trek in the forest

At Mapaso Spring.

Dinner time!

Overall, I felt like I was a character on a computer game. The difficulty level keeps increasing with every stage! But same with games, there's a feeling of satisfaction in every accomplished mission, especially after finishing all the levels. It was indeed a rewarding and beneficial experience - being able to exercise with beautiful sceneries along the way. Now I'm proud to say, I have blissfully conquered the biggest cave in the Philippines!  

 

Reminders:

1.       It’s very important to use a good pair of trekking shoes. One of my shoes didn’t make it until the end. I had to use the footwear from one of the Kuyas.

2.       Wear leggings or any garment/s that can cover your whole body. You will really need it because you’ll be trekking in a forest for hours.

3.       Going to the cave and back to the main road is a difficult trek. It could be really exhausting especially for those who have a sedentary lifestyle (like me).  So I suggest you do some exercises a few weeks before your scheduled tour, to gain stamina.

4.       Bring sunblock to protect your skin from the heat of the sun on your way going to the entrance of the cave.

5.       Know the basics of rock climbing. It was too late for me to realize I was using the wrong technique and used too much leg muscles.

6.       If you have a medical condition, seek advice from your doctor first. Take note it’s an 8-hour physically draining trek.

7.       In all stages, extra caution is needed. Safety first before selfie.

More photos

 (credits to Sir Joni Bonifacio - documentation was part of the package inclusions)

Stalactites overload

Shy pa akong magpa-picture jan 😁 Shot taken using Huawei P10 phone

 

Unfortunately, my shoe wasn't able to conquer the biggest cave in the Phillipines lol my face tho

Just look how tiny we are

'The mysteries of the underworld'

Picture2 with the famous Cave Masterrrrr

Hurray! We are so full of energy.

With these lovely people from Manila. Mary, Faye and Anjo, if you guys are reading this, thanks for your coolness! Hope to see u again soon :)

Before heading back home, picture muna with Cave Master Joni Bonifacio, Kuya Virgilio and Kuya Lando. Thanks mga koyaaa 😆

If you want to try this, you may contact the following or check their site:

TREXPLORE THE ADVENTURES
CAVE MASTER: JONI A. BONIFACIO
ABESAMIS STORE ALLEN AVE. CATBALOGAN CITY,SAMAR PHILIPPINES

TEL: 055-2512301 / 5438550
CELL: (SMART) +639192943865 / (GLOBE) +639276750062

EMAIL: info@trexplore.ph, samar@trexplore.ph, trexploresamar@gmail.com, cavinginsamar@yahoo.com

WEBSITE: www.trexplore.ph, www.trexplore.blogspot.com, www.trexplore.webs.com, www.trexplore.weebly.com

 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Do you like my blog?
Follow me!
FB - https://www.facebook.com/littlepinayexplorer/
Instagram - @littlepinayexplorer
Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/littlepinayexplorer