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Saturday, July 14, 2012

A Day at the Majestic Abuan River

Looks pretty ordinary from where we parked our van, but as we move closer, it's majestic beauty left as in awe!That's how Abuan River captivated us during our visit last month.


We took off from Baligatan in Ilagan and reached Villa Imelda in more or less than15 minutes. The travel was smooth as there were very few vehicles on the road, which makes the road trip faster and safer. The Abuan bridge served as our entry point. Upon arrival, we were greeted by the Agtas who, according to people we met used to live at the riverbanks but were relocated due to the danger posed by the river when it swells. We saw a lot of "bangkas" sitting at the riverbanks and most of them looks old and non-functional. Since we were all first-time visitors of the area, we were curious to ride the bangka. We were told that Abuan River looks beautiful from upstream so we have to walk east from where we parked our van. We split our group into two. One group decided to ride the bangka going against the current of the river (although most parts are calm) and my group decided to walk. We commissioned the Agtas to pilot the boats, who were ages 9-11 (we paid them 200 pesos for the job).
The other group had fun riding the boat. As for our group, we have to climb rocks at the foot of the mountain. It was a bit scary but over all we enjoyed the challenge.


We wondered why Abuan River was not promoted as a tourist destination. It was a paradise! The water is clean, cold, and deep. You can see fishes in the water and the chirping of birds is music to the ear. The rocks are amazingly huge. The sheer and towering cliffs and mountains are breathe taking. Some parts of the river is perfect for water rafting. The photos we took speaks for themselves. (although I just read an article about Abuan River and it was promoted by the local tourism last year. You can read the article here and another article here. Sadly, I think the rafting or kayaking mentioned in these articles were no longer offered in Abuan) 

We left Abuan river with so much great memories that we will never forget. It was a trip that we wish we would have done a long time ago. We recommend that you visit Abuan River when you have time.



 Photos by : Demi Anduyan








  

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