Typhoon Chedeng was rumbling towards Aurora the morning we left for Baler. Storm signals were being broadcasted left and right over the radio, still we persisted; this trip had been planned for quite some time now and we were not gonna let any typhoon ruin our getaway.

Hours of zigzagging bus ride up mountains and vales and we were finally at the Maria Aurora Market where we were supposed to meet our friend V, he’s gonna be touring us around his hometown for free!

The sky was cobalt blue and the sun was hot on our skin, the supposed storm that’s gonna landfall at Aurora was nowhere in sight as we finished our lunch and checked off our first objective; cool down at the Caunayan Falls in San Luis.

We quickly swept past rice paddies and turned on a dirt road without changing speed, we rattled on to our destination.

Since it was a Thursday, we were expecting the place to be empty of visitors. Alas, the storm signal prompted the local government to cancel classes, clear skies notwithstanding, and everyone seemed to have dashed to the nearest waterfalls ahead of us.
After paying the Php10.00 entrance fee, everyone scrambled towards the waterfalls.  We dipped down and it was chilly as was to be expected, but it was not freezing like at most falls.

Besides the water rushing down from the small falls, the catch basin is also being fed by a stream that traverses it, making it a bit of a challenge to swim due to the modest current. The basin is quite shallow, I guess since the falls is really not that large.
Surrounding the swimming area are huts available for rent (Php100.00). These were already filled with families and gangs; picnic baskets and cooking wares in tow; we had to resort to leaving our things on a niche near a tree and just kept our eyes on it.
The area is actually quite interesting for landscape enthusiasts; lots of greens, huge boulders and rushing waters. The problem is negotiating the stream and rocks, which I’m really not good at.

I satisfied myself on taking photos from the bank, lest I risk dropping my camera on the stream.  But those adventurous enough can probably find better spots than what I got.
Caunayan actually is not as impressive as the other waterfalls I’ve visited previously, but it doesn’t mean I enjoyed its waters less; in fact, I actually enjoyed it more since I was with friends. My underwater camera was chilled like a fish under ice after we were finished with the falls.

San Luis’ hidden waterfalls may not win any awards in terms of grandness but it does the job quite well in bringing together friends and families to cool down on hot summer days; or in our case a hot supposedly stormy day.

    Caunayan Falls
    Barangay L. Pimentel
    San Luis, Aurora
    (0908) 578-2739 | (0930) 649-7000