While riding the a van-for-hire to Puerto Princesa Underground River, we Travel Tripsters spotted Estrella Falls as one of the destination.
According to our driver Raymond (0929 721-5781), his charge is 1,300 for the trip. As we were out of money from all our trike rentals, I googled for a way to commute. While having dinner that day, we decided we'll go for it. So the next day, we woke up early to ride a tricycle to San Jose Terminal (80 php).
The locals are very helpful in pointing us toward the Lexus Van Terminal where we rode the "Narra Aborlan" Route. We waited around an hour before the van was full but we didn't mind. The Shuttle Fair is 150 php/person one way.
The travel time to Narra was shorter than we expected. It was an hour and a half. Once we were there, we asked around where to hire a tricycle to Estrella Falls.
We couldn't find a trike immediately so we had time to observe their standardized Shuttle Fair Guide.
I forgot to take note of manong who volunteered to take us to Estrella Falls and back for 250 php.
There was nothing to see along the way. I remembered it was bumpy.
Then, we arrived at the parking lot of Estrella Falls were tourist vans parked. We paid the 20 php/person entrance fee here. We were surprised to see that they offered trekking tours. (I couldn't find any information online.) They were two kinds of trekking tours available. One was for a day tour. The other one is a 3 days and 2 nights tour where you will be able to see all 64 falls. The latter would require camping gears such as tents and cooking utensils so we opted for the day tour. Unfortunately, all the guides have already been hired out so we had no choice but to take a stroll and watch the falls instead. I hope to come back for this trek someday. The administrator also told us about visiting two islands in the area called Rassa and luxury Arena Island. Rassa Island are for bird watching while Arena Island is a turtle sanctuary. He says the latter is a typical destination for honeymooners.
According to this the falls are within the virgin forest.
So we excitedly proceeded...
We went up the stair which had continuing stairs to the Hillside Cottages which seem to be old, unmaintained and unused.
Instead, we followed the sound of the crowd towards another cottage area which was right next to the swimming area.
There is also a grilling area....
and clean restrooms.
Now, let's go to the twin falls.
You can't go too near as the flow is quite strong.
I don't know how fellow Travel Tripster Kurt sneaked out his tripod without me knowing but he was enthusiastic in taking this photo. He was so happy and thrilled to finally view a waterfall since he researched a technique to make the water look so soft and silky like that.
And, we took our time dipping our feet into the cool water and took photos. Unfortunately, we couldn't swim because we didn't have spare clothes.
We just watched as these Korean boys enjoyed themselves. There's an adult swimming area and a kid's swimming area as indicated by the signs.
According to the sign, there are monkey's there too. After three hours, we decided to head back to Narra Terminal and ride the Lexus Van back to San Jose Terminal.
Being waterfalls enthusiasts, Estrella Falls is one of the best destinations we Travel Tripsters had in Palawan. We're hoping to join the trek next time. I can't believe they don't promote something as amazing as that aggressively online.
*all photos credited to Travel Tripster Kurt |
According to our driver Raymond (0929 721-5781), his charge is 1,300 for the trip. As we were out of money from all our trike rentals, I googled for a way to commute. While having dinner that day, we decided we'll go for it. So the next day, we woke up early to ride a tricycle to San Jose Terminal (80 php).
The locals are very helpful in pointing us toward the Lexus Van Terminal where we rode the "Narra Aborlan" Route. We waited around an hour before the van was full but we didn't mind. The Shuttle Fair is 150 php/person one way.
The travel time to Narra was shorter than we expected. It was an hour and a half. Once we were there, we asked around where to hire a tricycle to Estrella Falls.
We couldn't find a trike immediately so we had time to observe their standardized Shuttle Fair Guide.
I forgot to take note of manong who volunteered to take us to Estrella Falls and back for 250 php.
There was nothing to see along the way. I remembered it was bumpy.
Then, we arrived at the parking lot of Estrella Falls were tourist vans parked. We paid the 20 php/person entrance fee here. We were surprised to see that they offered trekking tours. (I couldn't find any information online.) They were two kinds of trekking tours available. One was for a day tour. The other one is a 3 days and 2 nights tour where you will be able to see all 64 falls. The latter would require camping gears such as tents and cooking utensils so we opted for the day tour. Unfortunately, all the guides have already been hired out so we had no choice but to take a stroll and watch the falls instead. I hope to come back for this trek someday. The administrator also told us about visiting two islands in the area called Rassa and luxury Arena Island. Rassa Island are for bird watching while Arena Island is a turtle sanctuary. He says the latter is a typical destination for honeymooners.
According to this the falls are within the virgin forest.
So we excitedly proceeded...
Instead, we followed the sound of the crowd towards another cottage area which was right next to the swimming area.
There is also a grilling area....
and clean restrooms.
Now, let's go to the twin falls.
You can't go too near as the flow is quite strong.
I don't know how fellow Travel Tripster Kurt sneaked out his tripod without me knowing but he was enthusiastic in taking this photo. He was so happy and thrilled to finally view a waterfall since he researched a technique to make the water look so soft and silky like that.
And, we took our time dipping our feet into the cool water and took photos. Unfortunately, we couldn't swim because we didn't have spare clothes.
We just watched as these Korean boys enjoyed themselves. There's an adult swimming area and a kid's swimming area as indicated by the signs.
According to the sign, there are monkey's there too. After three hours, we decided to head back to Narra Terminal and ride the Lexus Van back to San Jose Terminal.
Being waterfalls enthusiasts, Estrella Falls is one of the best destinations we Travel Tripsters had in Palawan. We're hoping to join the trek next time. I can't believe they don't promote something as amazing as that aggressively online.
Estrella Falls Narra Palawan Philippines | ||
Address | Narra Palawan Philippines | |
Budget Per Person | 25-1,000 php | Estrella Falls Narra Palawan Map |
Payment Options | Cash |
|
Operating Hours | Monday to Sunday: (even holidays) 8:00 am-5 pm |
|
Reservation Required | No (Encouraged for trekking tours) | |
Contact |