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Sohoton Caves and Natural Bridge Park | Basey, Samar

Samar Island Natural Park is gorgeous on the surface, underneath the earth & high above it. But within its 450,000-hectare protected landscape, 840 hectares attract the most visitors — Sohoton Caves and Natural Bridge Park in Basey, Samar.

Sohoton caves

Sohoton Caves and Natural Bridge Park is a maze of natural adventures. It features caves, rivers, limestone karts formations, waterfalls, lush forest as well as a natural stone bridge.ย  And as wonderful as what meets the eye, itโ€™s also teeming with exotic wildlife.

sohoton caves

Sohoton Caves and Natural Bridge Park: Go Large in Adventure

However huge this natural park is, thereโ€™s always an adventure or a chill-out place here for every kind of tourist. You can take it like a Sunday stroll or push your mettle.

Here are the top 5 activities that make any trip here fun & exciting.

Relax at Sohoton Visitor Center & Eco-Lodge

sohoton caves

sohoton caves

All adventures in Sohoton begin at the Sohoton Visitor Center & Eco-Lodge. This is where guests are received for registration & orientation. But it also serves as a restaurant that plates up Waray favorites. It sells handcrafted souvenirs too made by local weavers & the indigenous Mamanwa people.

Cruise on Kadak-an River

sohoton caves

In what is Samarโ€™s most scenic waterway, local boatmen take you on a smooth cruise along Kadak-an River lined by lush greens on the banks. Imagine the chirping birds, the stillness of the water & gentle murmurs of the ripples. All these prelude to a grand destination ahead.

sohoton caves

Kadak-an, also known as The Golden River is more than just a body of water. It is actually an important part of the flow of Samarโ€™s civilization. From pre-historic time until today, it bears witness to the story of every Basaynon.

Go Deep Under Panhulugan Cave

sohoton caves

Lucky for us, Panhulugan Cave is an easy one & allows unfettered explorations. It has huge cathedral-like caverns punctuated by amazing speleothems. And like other caves, it also has a โ€œstalacpipe organโ€ that creates music when tapped.

sohoton caves

Science-backed history has it that Panhulugan Cave & the areas around it showed evidences of habitation as far as Stone Age. It also served as a burial site of the indigenous people & later on became a shelter during the Spanish-American war.

Paddle Down or Raddle Up

samar

If you think you had the best river cruise at the beginning of the tour, hold on โ€˜til you make it to this part of Kadak-an.

Give your muscles some workout by paddling a kayak upstream. The view of massive rock walls, age-old trees & roots breaking out from million-year old rocks surely pay off the sweat. Itโ€™s so NatGeo-feel, promise.

basey Samar

You can also clamber up the woods & get lost among the thick vines. Or better yet, wallow on the shallow pools & give yourself some rock scrub exfoliation.

Stand Small but Feel Big

sohoton natural bridge

The Natural Stone Bridge is the Show-Me part of Sohoton Caves. And truly, it doesnโ€™t disappoint. Itโ€™s massive underneath as itโ€™s seen from afar. Add the dramatics of light & what you get is a spectacular showpiece of nature.

sohoton natural bridge

Its rock walls are unimaginably huge that standing under or beside it makes anyone look like a pebble. The verdant frame of trees & the placid river that hems it under surely create that perfect castaway scene.

sohoton samar

In my other story, I mentioned how Samar is the perfect example of big adventures for those claiming to be big. Clearly, Sohoton Caves & Natural Bridge Park is a huge addition to it all. Remember, this is just 840 hectares of the 450,000 uncontestable largest terrestrial protected area.

-oOo-

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This trip was made in partnership with the
Philippines Tourism Promotions Board

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