Canyoneering was one of the most exciting days we’ve had on our travels so far! It’s one of the many activities you can do from Moalboal, Cebu in the Philippines and it is an incredible experience if you get the chance! The activity is in Badian, which is a 30-minute drive from Moalboal. We went with 4G’s Canyoneering and had an amazing day! We paid 1300 PHP ($23.50 USD) per person including pickup and dropoff from our Moalboal accommodation and lunch after the excursion.
This trip is not for the faint of heart or body. I would recommend you eat a good breakfast ahead of time and make sure you’re feeling well health-wise. Our friend was a bit sick that morning and decided to stay back, and it was definitely the right call. It is 3-4 hours of non-stop exertion. You will have the time of your life, but you will also come out of it fully exhausted!
The day started with an 8am hotel pickup in a jeepney – a shared minibus with two rows that face each other. We chatted with the other people on our tour who were from all over the world. Our tour had 13 people, and 4 tour guides.
We arrived in Badian and got situated with lifejackets, water shoes, and a water bottle, and we were able to put everything else into a locker.
We were allowed to bring GoPros, and one person in our group chose to bring his waterproof iPhone (he’s a braver man than me). You could also buy waterproof cellphone pouches at the trailhead if you wanted. You would definitely not want to bring a DSLR camera, as the day is very high impact.
They gave us the choice to either zip-line down the valley or walk. Zip-lining was an extra 600 PHP ($10.80) per person. We chose to walk, and it was about 15-20 minutes of beautiful lush path overlooking the valley, with an ocean view in the distance. We could see the zip-liners on the way down, and it seemed like they were going pretty slow. The girls from our group that chose that option seemed a bit disappointed with it when they rejoined.
We hiked down the final steep path together, and when we saw the water we couldn’t believe our eyes! It was a shock of vibrant blue in a sea of lush greens. We were ushered into the water immediately, and started the adventure!
The day is a series of jumps, river tracing, and floating along the water. If you are really scared of the jumps, there are often alternative ways down, but the guides really help you feel confident and safe, while not letting you sit in your fears for too long. They are skilled and know the trail very well, so they help guide you on where to put your feet, show you where to land, and help you keep your balance in challenging areas.
If you are brave, there are optional cliffs you can jump from along the way. The highest one we were able to do was 8 meters. There was previously a 14-meter one at Kawasan Falls, that is no longer deep enough to safely jump from due to a massive typhoon in 2021 that altered the landscape and rerouted some of the water.
Around one-third of the way down a delicious smell wafted up the canyon toward us. As we approached we realized there was a bbq tent selling chicken and sausage skewers. We were feeling distraught that we hadn’t brought any money along, but they told us we could put our names down and just pay our tour company at the end. We gladly took them up on this and tried one of each. It may have been the physical exertion, but they were some of the tastiest skewers we’ve ever eaten! The skewers were 100 PHP ($1.80 USD) each, and very worth it. They really helped tide us over until our lunch at the end.
We spent the day in awe of the gorgeous nature we were surrounded by. It’s an action-packed day, and very physically demanding, but it’s so adrenaline-pumping that you hardly notice while you’re doing it. There are also portions of the canyoneering adventure where you can leisurely float down the Gatorade blue waters, taking in the unreal scenery. Everyone we saw had huge smiles on their faces. People stopped to watch and cheer as others went off big jumps or encourage those who were afraid.
The last waterfall in the canyon is Kawasan Falls, an impressive, beautiful cascade that our guide led us under. It was so cool to feel the power of the waterfall crash over us, and then to swim directly under it!
There’s also a rope swing that we took turns swinging off into the beautiful blue water!
After our time playing in the water at Kawasan, we took off our helmets, turned our lifejackets into ‘backpacks’, and hiked the remaining 1.5km back to our starting point. After 3+ hours in the water, it was definitely nice to dry off and warm up a little.
We were all quite hungry when we reached the bottom, and thankfully the lunch came out quickly! You really work up an appetite on the way down. After we finished up, we rode the same vehicle back into Moalboal, getting back into town around 2:30-3ish. The day was about 7 hours total including the drive, and we were all ready for an afternoon nap!
We highly recommend this tour to anyone who loves adventure and is in good physical health. It was such a wonderful day being out in nature and experiencing the beauty that the Philippines has to offer.
