Baler - The best surfing destination and a historical place in the Philippines

Does a wave of exhilaration run through your nerves when you hear the word 'surfing'? Also a nature lover and an enthusiast of history?

This time, I am going to elaborate my experience during my recent visit to Baler in the Philippines.

Baler is the place which fits perfectly into the above criteria of surfing, nature lover and history. Known as the best surfing destination in the Philippines, it is the capital of the Aurora province and a 6 hour bus journey from Manila. 

Our relocation to the Philippines has been a year and it becomes obvious for exploring the new country by some planned visits to its adjoining provinces/towns. Puerto Galera, being our first trip in November 2019, it happened to be a prolonged gap of three months. In order to bridge the gap, Baler entered our travel list in February 2020.

(Undergo a virtual tour of one of the eye-catching bays across the globe, Puerto Galera at the following link 
https://randoughts18.blogspot.com/2020/01/puerto-galera-tropical-beach.html).

This time, the plan was random. Research was minimal on the resorts, fares and food. It was solely based on word-of-mouth reference.

Our place of accommodation was at 'North Sea Shore Camp' booked via www.agoda.com at the rate of PHP 2000/night. Other booking websites are -

1. www.booking.com

2. www.traveloka.com

Bus reservation (Cubao city terminal to Baler)-

Online bus reservation is a bit tricky here in Manila wherein you make the payment and wait for 24 hrs for getting the confirmation. Among the few online bus booking sites, www.iwantseats.com is the reliable one for getting confirmed seats. We had received the confirmation email the next day of our booking and got to know that the tickets were to be collected from the ticket booths at the bus terminal. 

Deluxe and executive AC buses with comfort rooms are available from 11:00 PM onward till 05:30 AM ranging PHP 650 - PHP 730.

Day of Journey -

The bus was scheduled at 5:30 AM from Joy Bus Terminal in Cubao, hence we had to leave from Makati at around 4:30 AM to be on time. Most of the passengers were half asleep so instead of waiting for the bus to start the engine, they dozed off in no time. 

In case, you forget to carry some food stuffs to munch on, not to worry, you will find small outlets at your fingertips.

Cubao bus terminal

The journey to Baler started sharp at 05:30 AM and the giant gathered speed in 10 minutes.Staying awake, I had a wish to see the darkness vanish with the rise of the glowing sun. Hazy images of the street-side shops passed by like a flash leaving behind a thought in me,

'Our days are evanescent like a flash of lightning, like a shooting star
Life is short and time is precious
Get a life and let live.'

As time elapsed, sunlight played Peekaboo amidst the dense greenery on the boundaries of the road. It urged me to welcome the Mighty Sun, the beginning of a new day. 

A Halt for refreshments-

Almost after 3 hrs of journey, the bus stopped at Poy's Grill for the purpose of refreshment. The place was clean and had a variety of food to snack on along with beverage. In addition to the food we had with us, our good moods were sponsored by two cups of coffee at the spot.

The restaurant at the halting spot

We re-boarded the bus after 30 minutes and the journey continued through the lush green fields.

A rendezvous of blue sky and velvety green fields

Now, my eyelids became heavy pushing me to shut them for some time. It was another 3 hours to Baler, so without a thought, I went off to sleep waking up at the final destination, Baler bus terminal at 12 noon.

As we did not get our return tickets booked online, we got to know from the ticket counter that seats were available only in the bus scheduled to leave at 10 AM the next day on a first-come-first-serve basis.We were left with no option other than deciding to finish the sightseeing on that day itself.

Tricycles are the best mode of local transport in Baler. They charged us PHP 25/pax from the bus terminal to North Shore Surf Camp.

North Shore Surf Camp-

The exterior of the resort

The resort was located facing the sea and had a swimming pool, outdoor eatery and bar. As  it was already 12.30 PM, we headed straight for the lunch at Masilig eatery which offered a variety to choose from.

Masilig eatery- The menu

Masilig eatery

Our lunch comprised Sinlabang (grilled chicken) served with rice, salted egg and salad along with smiling omelette. The food was prepared fresh right in front of our eyes after the orders were placed and they tasted well. Even though the dishes did not impress our taste buds, both the quality and quantity were worth appreciating. Without wasting time, we hired a tricycle at the resort and left in no time to cherish the rest of the attractions.

List of sightseeing spots-

The moment we boarded the tricycle, we got to see the list of tourist spots displayed in front of the seat. As it was already late, the choice of the spots was left in the hands of both the driver and time. The negotiable charge for the tour was PHP 500.

Time being a constraint, the list of places visited by us were-

1. Mother falls

2. Balete Park - Milennium tree

3. Hanging Bridge

4. Aurora House and Quezon Park

5. The Baler Church

Mother waterfalls (also known as Ditumabo Falls)

Mother falls- The Entrance 

The entry fee is PHP 30/pax and a guide is needed (@ PHP 200) to take you to the super-massive waterfall. You can also see souvenir shops at the entrance. It is a mere 30 mins walk from the entrance on rocky terrain, bamboo bridges and 4-5 stream crossovers.

The Mother Falls

The 30 minute walk on the slippery rocks opened to the gigantic waterfall popularly known as Mother falls among the locals. An icon of the Aurora province, it towered at an height of nearly 140 feet thereby splashing water on all the visitors making us drenched. It was overall a short trek and one should be ready to walk on the rocky path to have a splendid view of the waterfall. 

Balete Park (The Milennium Tree)

The tricycle took us to the Balete Eco Park where the 600- year old enormous Milennium tree stood with its head high. It takes the pride of being the largest of its kind in Asia. On account of its age, the roots have grown above ground building caves under the trunk.

The Milennium tree

It resembles the trees which are usually spoken and written in fairy tales. Balete park is an ideal spot for students and botany enthusiasts.

Time was scarce and there were other spots to be visited, so we moved from the eco park to our next destination.

Hanging Bridge-

Taking a break from history, Hanging bridge was more of an adventurous venture. Implied from the name, the bridge is a steel cable foot bridge hanging over the moss-green Tibag-Sabang river. It basically is the connect between Sabang and Tibang. You will be able to see the river mouth while crossing the bridge.

The view of the mountains along with the greenery was visually pleasant. While walking, the bridge kept on tilting from one side to the other generating fear on one hand and excitement on the other.

Aurora house and the Quezon Park-

Dona Aurora Quezon House

The epitaph of late Dona Aurora Quezon

Yet another symbol of history, The Dona Aurora House, house of Dona Aurora, the wife of first President of Philippines, Mr. Manuel Luis Quezon. She was well known among the Filipinos because of her charitable and humanitarian involvement. 

The wooden house holds old artifacts of Baler topped with nipa roofs (Nipa is a species of palm native to the coastlines of Indian and Pacific oceans which is adaptive to the mangrove biome). The house beholds a small library, a reading corner and a kitchen connected to a mini garden.
The entry fee is PHP 30.

The Quezon Park- Located just opposite to the Aurora house is the Quezon Park which unfolds the history of Aurora province.

Statue of the first President- Mr. Manuel Luis Quezon and the Museo de Baler behind

The epitaph of Manuel Luis Quezon

Museo de Baler- The Baler Museum

If you are curious enough to know about the culture and history of Baler, Museo de Baler is the right place. It houses several artifacts of the Spanish colonization along with paintings highlighting the rich history of Aurora province.
Some of the images clicked by me are self-explanatory.

The Philippine Eagle-Weight 4.5 kg

The Baler Church-

It was already 6.30 PM so we had to end the list with the Baler Church. Being educated in a Christian school, I always possessed an inclination towards the architecture of churches and cathedrals.

We came to know that the Baler Church was originally built in 1611 and served as the major site of the siege of  Baler that dates back to 1898-99. It was during the Philippine Revolution in 1896, Filipino rebels joined hands with the American army against the Spanish. Baler was stationed by Spanish military forces. Only 30 out of 50 Spaniards survived who entered the church.
It was in 1939 that the First Lady Aurora Quezon started a movement to rebuild and renovate the historical church.

The day ended on a good note with a mix of history and adventure. 

At the resort-

We reached the resort, hungry and tired with good memories, so without delay our dinner was ordered at Misilig Eatery. As we were not very familiar with the Filipino dishes, we decided not to experiment much, hence we placed almost the same order as we had for lunch, except for a twist..

The breeze was pleasant enough to eradicate our exhaustion and put our minds at ease. We rested on our respective hammocks by the beach and enjoyed the company of the ocean. It seemed that the ocean tried to convey a message to us-

"Don't get so tied down on work and your daily chores that you miss out on life's beautiful waves". 

The night passed under the starry sky and soft music on my iPhone but the sound of the massive waves conquered the sound of music making it inaudible to my ears.

As mentioned in my earlier blogposts, sunrise and sunsets are the most charming events of nature. In Baler too, we witnessed the Mighty Sun rising from the blanket of ocean and captured the scene.

Sunrise at the Sabang Beach

It was time we bid adieu to one of the beautiful places in the Philippines as we had a bus to board at 10 AM for Cubao city.
Besides surfing, Baler has a lot to offer in terms of adventure and historical interest. The beaches are too good to be expressed in mere words.If you are a hardcore beach person, you may choose Baler as it is easily accessible and affordable.

If you liked reading this post, please comment and subscribe to my blog, 'Travel with Tanya'.
Also you may visit the following link on my Youtube channel
https://youtu.be/PD7Alyw4JXc

More travel posts are on their way... Keep reading.