Discovering Moalboal Philippines Natural Gems
- Karlee
- Jun 10, 2018
- 4 min read
Updated: Dec 13, 2019
Moal Boal, Philippines
It’s a quaint little beach town that is starting to become a popular backpacker and scuba diving destination. We checked into our little guest house after a short two-hour bus ride from Oslob pier. The area is small but don’t be fooled by its single developed street full of dive shops and restaurants! There is a lot more to Moalboal that should be explored beyond the one main street. There is a lot of accommodation along panagsama beach and white beach. If you plan to be more adventurous and scuba dive a lot and not just a white sand beach bum I would plan to stay near panagsama beach! White beach is good for snorkeling, swimming and relaxing as well. Both beaches are great for sunsets though!
We found a rad dive shop our first day, Sea Quest Divers, and decided to do all our scuba diving with them. The owner of the shop was awesome, and they let us pick most of our dive locations…which is pretty cool! We spent a couple days scuba diving all around Moalboal, and the islands surrounding it. My favorite dive site was Pescador island, the reefs and walls of the island were so amazing. It is a popular spot for snorkeling as well, so if you aren’t into diving you can snorkel there instead. We enjoyed scuba diving at Pescador island so much, we ended up diving their again a few days later! This time we did the opposite way around the island, so we have now dived the entire island which was pretty cool! The entire island is very diverse with a lot of underwater species. Another great spot to see beautiful corals, lots of sardines, large groups of snappers, and the best part is all the turtles is Talisay bay! I am one big sea turtle lover, so it is amazing every time I am lucky enough to get to swim or scuba dive with them! We only saw a few but it depends on the time of our dive and the time of day.
Near Moalboal is one of the most famous and recognized waterfalls in the Philippines. People travel from all over to visit this beautiful gem and for good reason! Kawasan Falls is a three-layer cascade falls. You can choose to visit this waterfall yourself or hire a guide to take you canyoneering. Of course, Sawyer and I love a good adventure, so we decided to find the spectacular waterfall ourselves and explore and cliff jump without a guide. It was pretty easy to find and only 30 minutes away from Moalboal. We went by motorbike and the only thing you must be careful about is the people yelling at you to stop on the side of the road. They do that to get your attention, so you stop and then they try to sell you stuff and sell you a guide! Don’t fall for the shenanigans and keep driving till you hit a dead end and must park at the actual entrance. The fee is mild, and the hike up is only about 20-25 minutes. The waterfall is so spectacular and picture perfect. We hiked up to the upper levels of the falls and jumped off the cliffs and rope swing. You could easily spend a whole day here exploring the diffrent levels of falls and swimming, which is what we did. Around Moalboal there is plenty of other waterfalls to explore. One of our favorite we found was Mantayupan Falls. It was easy to find and a mellow hike up to the falls. It has gorgeous blue water and jumping rock and huge swim hole. The falls is one of the tallest in Cebu and was so fun to explore and swim around in! Not to mention it is great for photos and just taking in the views of the huge canyon.
Another great adventure we had was going to Osemna Peak. Osmena is one of the tallest peaks in Cebu, Philippines. The journey from Moalboal by motor bike is about 2 hours. The small highway you travel up to get to the peak is beautiful. The peak has great 360-degree views and an awesome one overlooking the bay! There is lots of yummy Filipino food along the way you can stop for a rest to enjoy. The hike up is mild but make sure to check the weather because if a storm is rolling in, the drive can be a bit dangerous.
We spent many days under the water in Moalboal whether it was for scuba diving or snorkeling. We did end up finding a great snorkeling spot near Talisay beach. If you swim out far enough you will be over a colorful reef. Most likely you will see turtles, and lots and lots of fishes! If your heading to Cebu island, don’t miss hanging out in Moalboal! It can be deceiving because of the mild development around the area but it is packed with so much to explore and lots of gems to see!
For more Philippine adventures check out ----> Island Hopping to Bohol, Philippines
Photography by: http://www.sawyermahoney.com/landscape_travel
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