Nueva Vizcaya Eco Park & Senora Falls rolled into one

The day after we visited Capisaan Cave, I was at a lost on what we could do, where we can go. I initially wanted to do more spelunking in Heaven Cave connecting to Sabrina Cave. It wasn't the body ache (true only for the lampa me) that stopped us but the car going through the same arduous journey to Bgy. Capisaan again. So we looked for other things to do. 

According to Marcos, the cave used to  because the governor who previously supported the caves as the primary tourist destination of the province. Sadly, the current governor is supporting a local zoo instead. And so Fred was keen on checking that "zoo" while I was thinking of the eco-park I saw online. Apparently they're one and the same: Paraiso Tribu Vizcayano. 

We started our day late since there was no need to look for abuos or ant eggs anymore. At 10am, we drove through Solano and Bagabag to reach Diadi, Nueva Vizcaya by 10.45am seeing this sign just along the highway to the right.

We only had to register and pay P50/person for the entrance fee. There's almost no one around. We drove on rocky roads, nothing compared to the one going to Bgy. Capisaan of course. We were greeted by turkeys roaming around. Oh, I miss eating turkey! Okay, I must've been hungry. 

It didn't seem to be such a big place mostly because they kept the trees intact. There was a lake where you can paddle boats (P100/hour/4pax) and fish (P50/3hours). There were cottages you can stay in for reasonable prices. I wish we could just set up camp (P25/area of 3mx3m) and enjoy the tranquility of the place. Since we didn't bring any equipment, all we could do is just stare at the calmness and try to absorb it.

Entering the "zoo" is still free since the animals haven't arrived yet but next time it'll be another P50/person. For now, we explored it for free though we only saw some bald and plumed ostriches and birds.

We also checked the "cottages". I'm not sure how much it'd cost to live here since the flyer wasn't clear. It looked quite elegant and clean since it's still new. We checked out the non-air-conditioned rooms and the air-conditioned ones. Tourists can stay here but that is if they're just here to visit the place itself. Otherwise, the location is not near any other tourist spots. We noticed that lots of locals do visit though.

 

Fred won't be contented until we've seen every area of the park and so we travelled one road we weren't sure where it lead. We just drove and drove until we reached the peak. Wow! It was quite a view. I would hazard a guess that it's the highest peak in the province. 

After taking some pictures, we headed onward until we reached a small group of houses. A resident informed us that we were heading towards another part of Nueva Vizcaya already. At this point, we turned back to the eco-park. 

It was early afternoon and we weren't sure where to go again. Fred remembered the sign in Solano pointing the other way from towards the caves which read "Senora Falls". We followed that arrow and found ourselves in minor rocky roads. We got lost at some point since there was a small wooden bridge that said "Private Property, No trespassing" but that's what we were supposed to do after all. Going in, we saw a small beautifully modern inn called "Senora Victoria Hotel". We saw that they offered nice accomodations for only P500/person inclusive of breakfast and free exploration of the falls which would cost an outsider P50.00.  If interested, feel free to contact Edena de Guia at 0917-5836122. She's the accommodating receptionist that answered all our queries and showed us the rooms.

We headed on to the falls itself. It was a God-made beauty made more enjoyable by man. Stone stairs were built towards the falls with rocks where kids can safely cross as well sit on while they dip their feet and legs. 

The water is clear but chips wrapper now and then float with the flow down to the stream. It's tragic that the locals feel free to just throw in some of their trash. 

Unfortunately, we didn't get to stay long due to rain pouring down after a while. I wish to have came here earlier since they said this falls is actually made up of 7 major falls. The top of which is called the Mother Falls. It would only take 1.5 hours to trek to the top. We were told that it's quite big and beautiful with the view of the following falls below. Well, maybe next time? 

And this concludes our short stay in Nueva Vizcaya. I hope that more people explore this beautiful province. :)