PAMPANGA | Candaba Swamp Travel Tips

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Bikers Pedaling Along the Candaba Bird Sanctuary

Since everything we did in Candaba led to misadventure, I am gladly posting a few tips for other travelers who plan to visit the Candaba Wetlands in the hope that they never experience the same troubles we did.

 

RESEARCH


This is the first rule of a successful travel and I admit I didn’t do much research before embarking on the trip and relied only on a few blog posts regarding the place and its accommodations.

 

TRANSPORTATION


There are a quite a few buses that you can board to Candaba, the most popular ones being the Baliwag Bus lines and the Arayat Express in Monumento.

Since we plan to drop by SM Pampanga before heading to the swamp, we boarded a Victory Liner bus bound for Olongapo (PHP87.00) and alighted at the expressway exit near SM. From there we took a jeep (PHP27.00) that heads straight to the town of Candaba.

There are tricycles at the town plaza that will transport visitors to the wetlands.

The bus fares from Manila to Candaba are pretty standard in their rates (PHP80.00 give or take) but the tricycles fares to the farmlands vary considerably. Be sure to haggle to at least PHP100.00 per tricycle, as that seems to be the base fee, to the fields. If you plan to rent the tricycle all the way to the Candaba Bird Sanctuary (which I don’t recommend as vehicles are quite noisy and disrupts the birds in the area), prepare at least PHP140.00 per tricycle.

Godrays at the Candaba Farmlands

 

ACCOMMODATION


There are apparently two Pelayo Resthouses, one on the wetlands and another in town at the Mayor’s compound.

If you plan on staying on the wetlands, please make sure that you specify it when contacting the tourism office in Candaba. Else, they would assume that you’d want to stay at the Mayor’s compound.

For an overnight at the wetlands, bring your own sleeping materials; cots, blankets, pillows, etc., and be ready to sleep on the floor. There is also no electricity in the resthouse, but I heard they have a generator which you can rent for the night. Call ahead just to be sure (see contact numbers below).

If you are however staying at the Mayor’s compound, no need to bring anything. The resthouse has quite a few luxurious looking rooms (PHP1,200.00 per room which can accommodate two) at the ground floor and bunkbeds on the second floor (PHP600.00). We had the whole place to ourselves during our stay but I’m not sure how this would work if two groups decide to rent the resthouse at the same time since it is in reality, a regular guest house with only one access door.

The house has a kitchen but no equipment (only a water heater) and utensils (you can ask for plates and utensils from the main house though). Hot and cold drinking water is available via a mineral water station and is free of charge. You can refill your own water bottles for hiking to save on cost.

Trees Along the Trail to Dona Simang

 

APPAREL


Be sure to wear comfortable hiking shoes or sandals as there’s a lot of walking at Candaba. Tricycles generally drop visitors at the dirt road leading to Dona Simang (which is where the Sanctuary is) and it’s a good 40 minutes of walking from there (3km according to Ferd Decena’s account).

Wear comfortable clothes, arm warmers and hats (or umbrellas if you must). There are hardly any shades from the sun while hiking, so better protect your skin.

 

FOOD


There are a lot of places to eat in town but these are mostly carinderia eateries, no fastfood and posh restaurants here. Prices are quite affordable, around PHP50.00 per meal.

Be sure to bring adequate food and water before heading to the field, there are no stores there for miles around.

One of the Birds We Spotted at Candaba

 

PHOTOGRAPHY


If you have no telephoto lenses, better buy or borrow one before going to Candaba if you don’t want to get frustrated and disappointed in taking photographs. The birds are far from the trail and even my 20x Canon Superzoom point and shoot camera was having a hard time getting close up shots of the birds. A 300mm lens is the minimum if you want to get some good photos of the birds.

Egrets at the Candaba Bird Sanctuary

 

BIRD WATCHING


The birds in Candaba do not fly the whole day. Visitors only have two windows of opportunity to watch them blot the skies of the lowlands; very early in the morning and late in the afternoon while feeding. So make sure you schedule your visits on those times.

The Candaba Wetlands is also not a park nor a playground, this is a bird sanctuary. Be respectful of the place, do not litter and do not make too much noise to disturb the migratory birds.

The best months to visit the Candaba Swamp are between November to April.

Fee for a guided bird-watching tour is PHP150.00 per head.

Egrets Unafraid of Farmers Tilling the Land in Candaba

 

RIVER TOUR


Aside from bird-watching, there’s also a river tour which we we’re unable to try out. It’s about an hour long according to one of the operators we spoke with. Tours start from early mornings up to early afternoons.

Fees are on a per boat basis, so better optimize the maximum load which is up to five passengers to keep expenses low.

The River along Candaba, Pampanga

 

CONTACT NUMBERS


You may call the Mayor’s Action Center to arrange your accommodations, boat tour and guided bird tours:
0999-4143266 [Anna] | 0939-7802077 [Cherry] | 0915-9195413 [Mila]

I texted all three numbers, but the only one that replied was Mila. Although we had some miscommunication as to where we were gonna stay, she’s quite prompt and reliable.

 

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15 comments

  1. hay naku. kakainggit mga shots mo. napagusapan ka namin ni lakbaydiva.com kagabi while meeting lloyd lostboy of PTB. bitter mode kasi ang ganda ng pics mo. nakakalula! sana gumawa ka nang photography workshop sa cebu! paturo! ^_^

    btw, i like the lighting nung trees na may road. para akong nagteleport dun wen looking at it. also the magsasaka. you are a good jab! =)

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  2. tama siya! nkk-inggit tlga ang pix mu! :) Do you have workshops here in Manila? :)

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  3. great tipid! thanks for sharing...

    and again, for the nth time... great shots!

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  4. workshop! workshop!

    love the last pic. and the second to the last pic. saka yung tress with birds birds all over.

    ay lahat na. hehe.

    goodjob nga!

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  5. what can i say? perfect shots talaga!
    the series of posts of the place are great features for candaba...
    and this is one advantage of blogging, it really promotes tourism in the country... travel blog man yan o hindi... basta pag nagkwento na ang isang blogger sa napuntahan nya, yun un eh, hehe! :D <3 this bog! ^_^

    World of Vhincci

    Anyway, thank you for being friendly... :)

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  6. one of the great spots in luzon which a lot of people miss out. i love candaba.

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  7. saw some photos of these in other blogs, and the place looks the same. serene as ever!

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  8. Christian! can't tell you how happy I am to read this post. Planning to see Candaba din in the future,thanks for sharing! asteeg yung watermarks mu! :)

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  9. Doi
    Haha di pa ko nakakapunta ng Cebu eh, host mo ba ko dun? Haha joke lang =P
    Salamat nachi-chismis pala ako sa Cebu ehehe

    Tina
    Thanks! I really don't know how to give workshops eh ehehe

    Pinoy Adventurista
    No problem =)

    AuiManila, Vhincci Subia
    Ehehe Salamat!

    Dong Ho
    Will surely be back there next birding season, and more hopefully be a bit wiser than my first visit =)

    Chyng
    Serene nga Chyng, pero mainit! Kelangan ng hat and arm warmers =P

    Gael
    No problem! Hopefully makatulong sa ibang gustong pumunta jan =)

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  10. Hi, your tips were very helpful and the photos are great. Is a guided tour required or can visitors tour the sanctuary by themselves? Is it also possible to take in the whole sanctuary in one day? Thanks.

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  11. Anonymous
    Guides are required, the area can be toured in a few hours time

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  12. Thank you for this. pinakita ko sa lola ko to and she's very happy. dito kasi sya pinanganak and nagdalaga. thank you so much =)

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  13. Anonymous
    Nice to hear my post means something to your Lola :)

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  14. The last photos was so amazing, I can say that there are so many things to do Pampanga, I want to add this Pampanga food trip. Thanks for sharing

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Josephine! Pampanga is indeed a culinary haven. :)

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