PANGASINAN | A Refreshing Dip at Bolinao Falls 1

Monday, March 18, 2013

Cool Cascades at Pangasinan's Bolinao Falls

A waterfall is something I wasn’t expecting when we visited Bolinao. Most falls can be found on mountainous areas where waters are expected to cascade down into streams and rivers. Bolinao is hardly like that, the surrounding areas are mostly flat and are generally composed of farmlands.

It was surprising then that Bolinao has not one, but two three waterfalls in its vicinity. The first one we visited was eponymously named after the town.

Hiking to Pangasinan's Bolinao FallsBolinao Falls 1 is at least twenty kilometers away from the town proper and takes at least twenty minutes to reach. The road en route to the falls is unpaved and quite rocky. We were lucky, our host Puerto del Sol Bolinao, provided us with a van to visit the place. If you’re gonna visit it DIY, you’ll have to hire a tricycle in Poblacion and negotiate with the fare.

The Old Stone Steps at Pangasinan's Bolinao FallsThe falls can be accessed through a very short walk from a clearing which functions as a parking area. The hike, if you can call it that, wouldn’t last five minutes. Passing through an old stone stairs, we descended towards the gurgling sound of Bolinao Falls.

Swimming at Pangasinan's Bolinao FallsThe blue green water of the falls’ basin presented a very nice opportunity for us to wash the dust still clinging to our skin from the overnight bus ride we had few hours back. After a quick group hug, everyone took off their clothes and jumped into the natural pool.

Blue Green Waters at Pangasinan's Bolinao FallsThe water is shallow around the perimeter but gets deep quickly as you start to wander towards its center. I heard you can actually jump from the top of the twenty-foot falls, it was just unfortunate that there were no jumpers when we went there. Since the water runoff is pretty moderate, there are hardly any current. Bolinao Falls’ basin is quite huge, spanning around twenty meters at its widest.

At Pangasinan's Bolinao FallsFor camera geeks, it was a bit of a challenge to shoot the waterfalls as the dual cascade were cast in shadows, making me wish I had a GND filter on hand. Finding a suitable foreground was also tricky; the good ones where across the water runoff. But crossing the stream would have me wading in deep uneven waters.

After only a few frames, I gave up on getting a good angle and simply laid down my camera. It was my turn to have a swim at Bolinao Falls!

 


Bolinao Location Map

Bolinao Falls 1 
Address: Brgy. Samang Norte, Bolinao Trail,
              Bolinao, Pangasinan
Entrance Fee: PHP50.00 per head
Life Vest Rental Fee: PHP50.00
Parking Fee: PHP20.00
Cottage Rental:
GPS Coordinates: 16.305901,119.860137

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20 comments

  1. that sure is a great place for cooling down, nice shots.. :)

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  2. This doesnt look like one of the 2 that I've visited..
    I know that there is 3 falls, open to public..
    Who knows, it could be more, knowing the topography of Bolinao.
    It wouldnt be surprising

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    Replies
    1. Tara Falls siguro yung nabisita mo Francis, yun naman ang di namin napuntahan

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  3. Hay! kelan kaya ako magkakaron ng ganyang water shots, I am hopeful! :)
    Natatagalan ka ba mag-timing nang walang tao sa paligid? Para makuha mo lang tlaga yung scenery?

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    Replies
    1. Haha usually wala ako pake kung may tao sa paligid, as long as nakakadagdag sya sa composition, pero pag pangit ang dating, pinapa-pose ko haha :P

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  4. Ang galing mo tumi-ming halos wala ako lagi nakikita mga tao sa falls shots. Ayoko kase ng may tao pag falls.

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    Replies
    1. Okay din pag may tao minsan, may sense of scale yung waterfalls :)

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  5. During our visit we just wasted our time to go in Bolinao Falls. The locals said the Bolinao Falls 1 is closed to public and not that attractive from previous years. There are several mosses (lumot) on waters and if you still want to take a glance on falls 1 you have to take a risk so we decide not go there.

    Falls 2 is crowded though we just can say "pwede na".. Some mosses on the shallow parts that makes the rock slippery.
    We take a picture on it and it is true "maganda sa picture".
    Entrance is 20 pesos/person.. So if you have a group of 10+ advisable to get a cottage of 130 pesos and the entrance will be free of charge.
    Parking is 20 pesos, we paid the parking fee even we didn't got wet..

    The road is very rough. Not advisable to smaller vehicles like cars. Hopfully the local government pave a road to this spot.

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    Replies
    1. Aww that's too bad, I was able to enjoy both falls naman during our visit :)

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  6. The place looks amazing! We'll be visiting it this Saturday. I hope we won't be disappointed. Thank you for this article!

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    Replies
    1. Hi, sorry for the late reply. How was your trip to the Bolinao Falls?

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  7. Were planning to go there at patar beach to falls 1-3 this APril, if we rent a cottage/tent how much po??

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    Replies
    1. Cottages are around PHP200, if I remember correctly

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  8. Replies
    1. Hi Ching, no rooms and cottages here when we went

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  9. Any updated Entrance fees and Cottage fees, thanks, Contact number either,, salamat po ng marami!

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    Replies
    1. Hi, updated the entrance fees and parking fees. I heard there are now cottages in the area, but I'm not sure how much the fee is for their rentals.

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  10. The jump on bolinao falls 1 is quite a challenging with 2 small falls on top and a final jump amazing

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