The Quaint Traveler: Trekking Tangadan Falls, San Gabriel, La Union

Trekking Tangadan Falls, San Gabriel, La Union

Traveling with adventure seekers, I didn't have to research and plan an itinerary this trip. So this is one of the places I went to but had little idea on what to expect. All I knew was that there is a 50-ft-waterfall where my friends where excited to jump from.

Anther day in the summer of 2016. Here's to another clean, fun moment with ze best weekend crew!

We left the hotel (Sebay) at 8:00 in the morning, went to the public hall/town proper to meet our guide and hired two tricycles for the group to take us to our starting point, which took up about 10-15 minutes ride.

There are two route choices for the trek:

1. Thru Sitio Bulala the harder road - bring your 4x4 jeepneys or heavy duty vehicles and prepare for the zigzag road high up the mountains. If you do try this road, be sure to arrive here on the early hours of the afternoon at least if you can't make it in the morning. Plus, I discourage you to try this road if it's raining. There are no barriers on the other side of the road.

2. Thru Brgy. Bucao - The flat, safer way. If you have a van, you can leave them at the public lot at Brgy. Bucao, accross the street, you can hire tricycles and tell them your intention to see Tangadan Falls. Ask them to drop you off at Brgy. Duplas, the starting point of the trek.
This was our choice after we backed out from yesterday (late) afternoon's decision. This time, we corrected our mistakes without blame and carried on with the fun.

The start was promising...promisingly hot! haha! But nothing can stop this adventure so...here we go again. Let's trek to Tangadan. Trek on!

When you see a trail this beautiful, you can't help but admire everything that you see. These stuff we only see in movies...

Even the seemingly narrow passageways are inspiring.

Here are some tips on the What to's of the Trek: what to bring and what to wear:
- Since it's just less than four hours trekking time (back and forth), wear comfy clothes. We wore rashguards doubling as swimming attire and sun protection as well
- Sturdy footwear. Bring extra sandals just in case you brought regular slip ons. My friend bought another set on site as his footwear gave up on him
- Umbrella and/or towel to double us as sun shade and to keep you dry after swimming. It will also cool you down if it's a little wet during the trek
- Sunscreen to protect your skin from the sun.
- Camera to document your trip. You can use the latest and trendiest gadgets but what matters is the quality of the shot after all. No need for powerbank since it's only for a few hours. It isn't advisable for you to go texting the whole time or you'll surely trip/injure yourself along the way. Take extra caution.
- WATER - stay hydrated! Though there are beverages and snacks sold at several tourist stops along the whole stretch of the trek, bringing your own water may help you save more bucks for you to alot them to buy other stuff like souvenirs or just save them.

Side tripping our way to the main falls, we saw this beauty. Super cool site where two cliffs are to be found. The lower cliff is about 10ft. while the higher one was about 20ft. high.

Of course, the rabbits wouldn't pass up this chance. We love adrenaline rush!

Wasn't feeling jumpy that day, though I loved the trek. Maybe because my mind was saying no to jumping 50 foot before we even started the whole trip. LOLs! Fortunately, I was able to document these wonderful scenes for you guys.

This is from my friend's camera...nice view down there

My view from little store as I was drinking a cold beverage I just bought...So there I was, overlooking them crazy jumpers!

Fx's pre-jump shot...them brave souls!

After numerous jumps in about an hour, we carried on and trekked towards Tangadan.

And then you come across more of these beautiful and awesome sights...priceless!

My cinematography could do better. This is such a good spot to shoot models or movies.

Just a little more...we're getting there :)

Alas! End of the trek! While waiting for the others, we took a rest and sat beside the kubos. Though there are several kubos (with dining tables) for rent, all were already occupied. The group we sat beside with were nice enough to let us occupy the outer seat for us to leave our bags while enjoying the place. Thank you po!

Tangadan, it's nice to see you! Timecheck 11:00am, that's about two hours of trekking and cliff jumping combined altogether.

Only professional jumpers are allowed to jump though. It would be okay if the rock surface is flat. Here, one would have to take a few steps back to gather strength, run towards the end so that when you jump, you won't hit the rocks and injure yourself at the middle of the jump.

Edan bought us ice candy! We were still holding them as we had our group photo.

Tangadan Crew (from left): Edan, Fx, Me, Shine, Dennis, Gab, Denise, Patty & Mark

Wacky photos are a must! lols

So are random photos.

Some of us rented life vests (me included) at P50 per person. If you guys can't swim or aren't good swimmers, it's always best to keep extra safety precaution for a happy, hazzle flee trip.