The other day, on the way home from two days of chasing waterfalls, I found myself on familiar roads, and not just because it happens to be in Kapangan, my father’s hometown. There was the Amburayan Bridge where I rappelled off of some years back; the roadside store-cum-coffee stop where we leisurely waited for time to pass… and then I was reminded about my most recent visit to the area, and how I haven’t made a post about it. Yet.
So, yes, this is a bit of a throwback post when I tagged along on one of the immersion activities of the Mr. and Ms. Benguet committee and candidates last November.
By the way, this is definitely not my first time to the places I will discuss in this post. I blogged about it when I joined the Christmas Ed Kapangan here, and here.
The activities began with a brief visit to Suvani’s Avong, a privately-owned traditional home in Barangay Datakan. Avong is the local term for “house”, and that’s what this place basically is: a well-preserved traditional home.
I did not do much exploration of the place when we went there because it was drizzling a bit, but if you want to know more, read about it in my previous blog post about it right here.
And then the group proceeded to the Kapangan Municipal Hall for brunch and a brief welcome program led by the town mayor himself, Mayor Manny Fermin.
The real highlight of this day, however, for me and most of the other people in the group, is the visit to the Longog Cave.
Again, this is not my first visit to the Cave, because I have had the pleasure to explore it during the Christmas ed Kapangan event I joined years before. (Read about it here.)
But you know how there are things we wouldn’t mind repeating? This is one of them.
Longog Cave is one of the several caves in the town of Kapangan, and it is located in Barangay Balakbak, at the foot of the imposing Mt. Dakiwagan.
As mentioned before, the word “longog” loosely translates to “hole” or “hollow”. Which is quite fitting for this cave.
From the highway, it takes about 15 minutes of hiking on a trail that consists of packed dirt, muddy patches, rocky footpaths and some steep parts to clamber up on before you’d arrive at the entrance of Longog Cave. All the while, Mt. Dakiwagan is looming over you.
If you are a large group – which we were, at the time – then you’d have to take turns, because Longog Cave has narrow passageways that it could accommodate only a few people at once. I think the ideal number would be max of 20 per group, and the other group cannot go in until the previous group has returned.
There is a hanging bridge that you’d have to pass through in order to get to the mouth of the cave.
As you can see, the entrance is narrow.
Also, unless you have fit-for-spelunking shoes, then expect your footwear to get wet. Some of us opted to go barefoot (me included) instead.
As in most places, entrance to the cave is not allowed without a guide from the local government, which is common sense, methinks.
Also, having your own light would be ideal. But the guides also carry lamps.
The memorable parts of this cave would involve the crawling that you must do in order to enter deeper. As in get down on your front and crawl on your stomach type of crawling. Then watching your head when you come out on the other side.
Expect rock formations here. And expect to encounter damp areas and walking on wet ground and even slipping on wet rocks. Because that’s how it is as you go deeper into the cave.
Also, expect to have some bumps here and there. That’s normal. It’s actually part of the package. *sass*
I think compared to the first time I visited, the guides know do a better job at introducing the cave to guests. Like they have more content to share, and they are better at banter. Which is a huge plus, in my opinion, to the “entertainment value” of the place.
Claustrophobic people and those who have an aversion to getting dirty are definitely not the right people to come to this place. You’ve been warned.
Longog Cave is 14 kilometers long, and it is said to have several entrances, but the one we entered through was the only one allowed to the public, and the entire 14 kilometers is not open to spelunkers as well. Perhaps in the future, who knows?
The “dead end” of the cave is a small and narrow room with a high ceiling and a pool that is waist-deep (for tall people, hokay. I tried going down and it went up to my chest. The first time. But this time the water was higher, so I didn’t even dare go in.)
Plus, the water was hella cold. So, there.
We spent about five minutes in that “pool room”, then went back the way we came. Yes, the entrance route is the same route you’d take to exit.
Depending on your pace, you can go in and out of Longog Cave in under 30 minutes. But if there are more of you, it might take longer as you’d have to wait for the others to go through the holes and such. (But that’s the fun part, if you ask me. The going through the holes, I mean, not the waiting.)
Oh, and my Ma-dear made me proud on this one, because she was such a trooper to go in with the rest of us. Go, Ma-dear!
Kapangan still has a number of caves I’d like to explore: the Bulalakao/Bolinsak Cave, Bolingaongao Cave, and the Balabag Mummy Cave. Also, I heard there are some waterfalls in the area, so that’s worth looking into as well.
Hopefully, the local government of Kapangan would include those in their Christmas ed Kapangan itineraries, then I would definitely join again! Last year, I heard the itinerary included a hike up Mt. Dakiwagan, but that time something came up so I wasn’t able to go <insert weeping here>.
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