Hi all! I’m so excited to write about this day trip because it has been one of my most favorite travel adventures yet!
Candijay is one of the most underrated gems in Bohol that you absolutely cannot miss and I highly suggest you add this magnificent area to your itinerary if you are making a trip to Bohol anytime soon. If you’ve been keeping up with my Bohol series, you’ll see that the last few posts have been all about Anda and making a strong case for why you should spend most of your time on the east coast of this island. While Anda is lovely and the perfect homebase, I urge you to take advantage of your surroundings and venture around this side of the island. A scooter would be the best mode of transportation to really immerse yourself in the entire experience and have free reign of where you want to go. I wish we had more time to see this side of the island as well as northern parts of the island, but I am so happy that we were able to fit in a daytrip to the Candijay area because it was well worth the 1 hour scooter ride in the pouring rain! Yup, that’s right, LITERALLY POURING!
We set off very early that morning and the rain started as sprinkles…and progressed into a downpour the entire ride there. Joe and I were soaked but the rain was warm and although it wasn’t an ideal situation it made for great (and hilarious!) memories. We even got to make use of one of those little covered hut seating areas that you’ll see a lot along the road, except this one was in a jungle-y area that was less frequented so we didn’t even have to share with anyone! Which is great because we had to bring our scooter underneath it as well. Anyways, I won’t bore you with all of the random little stories along the way unless you show interest in the comments then I may possibly make an edit to this post but for now I really want to showcase the glorious attractions you can visit in this area. I will say that if you do scooter to this area and it starts raining to be very careful as many of these back roads and the roads through the villages are unpaved, rough, muddy, slippery, and very bumpy. There are a lot of uphills and downhills accompanied with these awful road conditions which made it very difficult and a little sketchy. We also did not have the right bike for these kind of road conditions but we pushed on anyways. We only managed to have the scooter slip out from under us once and we saved it before it hit the ground, so I would call that a win! I’m sure the villagers had a hoot watching us maneuver some of these roads in the rain. You could tell that many of them were not used to seeing foreigners by the looks we got (not mean, just very curious) and children running up to us to say hello. We also went down a very rough road to get to the Canawa Cold Spring and it was HELL. In theory it would’ve been faster had the road been finished, but it wasn’t and it was muddy/slippery, bumpy, downhill most of the way, with random road materials in the mud, and overall not the safest route at all. I held on for dear life and was pretty scared I have to admit…but we made it. Anyways, I’m getting ahead of myself. Continue on below for the 3 amazing natural wonders we got to see in Candijay!
1.) Cadapdapan Rice Terraces
There are quite a few rice terraces in Bohol, but in my research it seemed to be a general consensus that the Cadapdapan Rice Terraces are the most beautiful of them all. They are located in Barangay Cadapdapan and are quite easy to find. If my memory is correct, I believe we typed in either Cadapdapan Rice Terraces or Can-Umantad Falls into Google Maps GPS and had no trouble finding it at all. Can-Umantad Falls is right by the rice terraces so typing in either location will get you there. When we got to Barangay Cadapdapan we had to pay a little toll at this makeshift gate. I’m sorry I can’t remember the price as it caught me off guard because I didn’t see that in my research at all, but it was very cheap. Just a fair warning to carry some small change with you during your trip. Many of the places have entry fees I just wasn’t aware it would cost to enter a village! Once you get past the gate the terraces are not to far off, but again the muddy slippery roads continue. The Cadapadapan Rice Terraces are definitely worth a visit and a lovely sight to see! You scooter down a pathway with terraces bordering each side of the road as far as you can see. The green is so lush and striking even on a rainy cloudy day. I wish it was sunny and clear on the day we went as the photos would’ve turned out even more amazing but it’s the experience that matters most and I am so happy that we got to enjoy such a beautiful view together! Here are some photos below, I didn’t get very many unfortunately but I think you get the point 😉
Some of these pictures are edited/enhanced but I always do my best to add photos with no editing/filters as well;
No editing done to this one. I like people to see things as close as they are to reality as well as aesthetically pleasing shots.
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2.) Can-Umantad Falls
There are many beautiful waterfalls on the island of Bohol but the Can-Umantad Falls is the tallest waterfall on the island! It is approximately 60 feet tall and the water has a gorgeous luminescent greenish tint to it. To get to the entrance of the falls there is a dirt pathway through the rice terraces that you can either walk or ride a scooter through. The entrance fee for us was 50php (20php for each person and 10php for motorcycle parking). There is a little open air cafe in this entrance area and to the right you will see the stairs leading down to the falls. There are many steps to get down to the falls and it is very steep. I would strongly recommend you take your time so as to not slip and hurt yourself on the way down. As I mentioned before, we went on a rainy day so the steps were extra slippery which was a little scary and of course it was quite a leg burner climbing back up. The rain had stopped for a bit during our time there but everything was still wet and it was very muggy which made the trek even worse, but I have definitely done tougher treks so it really wasn’t to bad in my opinion. It may be tougher for elderly or children but still definitely doable depending on your condition. Not far from the entrance to the path of the falls are large swimming pools that are much deeper than the pool at the falls and perfect for swimming and jumping in. They have some seating here so you can enjoy a nice dip at these pools. We passed on swimming at the falls because we were headed to the Canawa Cold Spring next and didn’t want to be soaking wet going back up the steps and on the scooter but if we could go back I would definitely take a dip in the deeper pools. The pool at the falls is okay for swimming as well but as I said before, it is much more shallow and a bit rocky. There are little covered seating huts by the falls as well. I was amazed at how tall the waterfall is and it is such a peaceful place. We arrived at the falls around 11 and there were only a couple of locals there and they were all hanging out in the huts. We got the falls to ourselves for about 30 minutes before we decided to make our way back. At that point more groups were starting to show up but we still managed to beat any potential crowds on the way up which I was thankful for since the steps are steep, slippery, and narrow. Here are some pictures of the incredible Can-Umantad Falls below:
Some of these pictures are edited/enhanced but I always do my best to add photos with no editing/filters as well;
No editing done to this one. I like people to see things as close as they are to reality as well as aesthetically pleasing shots.
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Lower pools
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3.) Canawa Cold Spring
Finally, we get to my favorite place of all…the Canawa Cold Spring located in Barangay Canawa. As soon as I heard about this spot I immediately added it to my “I HAVE TO SEE IT!” list while in Bohol and it did not disappoint. In fact it exceeded my expectations! The Canawa Cold Spring is a swimming hole with the most vibrant and stunning bright blue water. I’m telling you the color of this spring was absolutely out of this world. I was amazed at how pretty it was and that helped take away some of the fears I had. What fears did I have you may be asking? Well the Canawa Cold Spring has a bit of mystery to it as locals say that the depth of the spring is unknown! Nobody has ever reached the bottom of the spring and nobody knows where the source of the water comes from. Both of these facts made me a bit wary as I thought of weird aquatic creatures attacking me from below or contracting some sort of skin-eating bacteria but I let go of my fears and jumped in! I do wonder where the water comes from though…I would love to know what gives it that intriguingly beautiful color of blue. What’s really cool about this place is not many tourists know about it so you will either get the spring to yourself or with a bunch of locals which I’m sure makes for an awesome time. Also as I said before the road to get there is not the easiest to maneuver so I’m sure that helps deter major traffic. It truly is an unspoiled gem. The complex of the spring is really cool. They have turned it into a pool-like complex with seating and music coming from speakers and you can tell that this place is probably popping on the weekends with local teenagers, children, and families. On the day we went it had been raining so we had the whole place to ourselves! It was amazing and an experience I did not take for granted! What was even more awesome was that it was raining on the ride there but as soon as we got there the rain stopped for a bit, long enough for a 45 minute swim! I guess mother nature wanted us to have a good time after all. There is an environmental fee to get in, 10php per person if my memory is correct and well worth it! If you type in Canawa Cold Spring to Google Maps it should pop up. Locals will be able to help you out as well. If you are still having troubles locating it on a map and getting clear directions, feel free to post in the comments or message me and I will try to give you a detailed description of what I can remember of our route there. Here are some pictures of this amazing spring below:
Some of these pictures are edited/enhanced but I always do my best to add photos with no editing/filters as well;
No editing done to this one. I like people to see things as close as they are to reality as well as aesthetically pleasing shots.
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No editing/filters. That blue is still amazing right?!
I hope you enjoyed this post and all of the photos! The area of Candijay was truly a magical place with so much to see and do. We barely scratched the surface of Bohol and I would go back in a heartbeat. Do yourself a favor and go off the beaten path. See more of Bohol!! Bohol is not just Chocolate Hills and Tarsiers (though they are pretty awesome too)! This island certainly has it all and I encourage you to make the most of your trip and do NOT miss out on some of these unique and stunning natural wonders!
Until next time,
Kelsie