We all awoke by 7 AM and had breakfast at Pandan Beach Resort.  After breakfast, the others boarded the van while Clelia and I joined resort owner Gigi Bautista in her car bound for Malumpati Spring, the main source of the Bugang River. I had been here twice before (the second time for Jandy) and the place still looks the same, save for the new zipline facility and wall climbing and rappelling tower of Pandan Adventure Boot Camp.

Bamboo rafting at Malumpati Spring

One of the cleanest inland bodies of water in the country, the Bugang River stretches from Brgys. Guia to Sto. Rosario and ends at Brgy. Zaldivar.  Here, we were to experience a real sense of adventure on the river – trekking, rafting and paddle boating.

The Bugang River

The river, ranked first among the cleanest inland bodies of water in the region for three consecutive years,  has also won 3 awards – the “Dangal Ng Ilog” Award during the 1st National Summit on the State of Philippine Rivers in 2005; the “Hiyas ng Turismo” Award from the Gawad Pangulo sa Kapiligiran on December 6, 2006 (Iloilo City); and the “International Green Apple Environmental Award for Environmental Best Practice, Local Authorities and Ecotourism Category” from the Green Organization (an independent, non-political and non-profit UK ecology group) in the United Kingdom in 2011.

Start of the trek along the river’s edge

The local government of Pandan, in an effort to preserve and protect the Bugang River while promoting it as a tourist attraction, has established the Bugang Community Based Eco-Tourism Organization (BCBTO). They spearheaded the Bugang River Cultural, Nature and Adventure Tour to help visitors foster an appreciation for the beauty of nature and develop better understanding of the locals’ practices through activities like rafting and paddle boating along the Bugang River. In 2006, the International Green Apple Environment Awards for Environmental Best Practice awarded this initiative with the Gold Winner in the Local Authorities and Ecotourism Category.

The bamboo raft

Upon arrival at the spring, some of us, including Jandy, took a dip at the bracingly cold waters of the spring, others went rafting and some went shopping for souvenirs.  The arrival of Mr. Reynaldo Perez, the Malumpati Safety Officer and Operations Manager of the Pandan Adventure Boot Camp, signaled the start of exploration of the head waters of the river which are actually a pair of deep springs, one of which is the major source of the municipality’s water supply.  He assigned to us BCBTO guides Ria Dondon and Jomar Dionela and, together with Ms. Gigi, our tour narrator, we started our hike from the spring, across the bridge and past the Pandan Water District pumping station, into the dense forest.

Laurie crossing a bamboo bridge

The trek, along the river’s edge, was not too difficult, but we did have to ford a stream as well as cross a bamboo bridge. Clelia and Leah also tried riding a bamboo raft moored along the river.

The smaller, still unfathomed spring

The river truly lived up to its reputation as the cleanest river in the country as you can actually see the marine plants, said by marine biologists to be endemic to the river, underneath the clear, turquoise waters.  There were, however, also a number of unsightly bamboo fish traps on the river. The end of the trek brought us, after 45 mins., to the smaller of the 2 springs which has been measured, by British divers, to a depth of nearly a hundred feet (30 m. or more) without finding the bottom. However, swimming wasn’t allowed here.

Crossing a swinging bridge on the return trek

We returned to Malumpati Spring via a different route, passing through small settlements, a marker of the Kyoto Gyosei High School (who did reforestation along the Malumpati Watershed for 10 years) as well as crossing a much longer and swinging bamboo bridge.