Searching for the Naglaus Underground River in Jovellar town, Albay.

When I found out a few months ago that there is an underground river in Albay, I got so curious about it. I searched the Internet for information regarding Naglaus Underground River but I only found a handful of information. So a few weeks ago, I invited my friends if they wanted to go with me to Naglaus but only few replied because they already have plans for the long weekend. Kaya ayun, 3 lang kami ng mga kaibigan ko na pumuntaa sa Naglaus, but 3 is a crowd naman di ba?hehehe!

The previous 2 days, we had an adventure in Sorsogon Province. We visited Paguriran Island in Sorsogon City and Malawmawan Island in Castilla. Gagawa na lang ako ng kwento tungkol sa travel ko sa Sorsogon City and Castilla kasi mas excited ako to write this story about Naglaus.hehehe!

entrance to Naglaus Underground River

So on our last day for our Sorsogon and Albay Province adventure, sa Jovellar ang target namin, specifically sa Naglaus Underground River and yung ibang falls. Ayon sa nakuha kong info sa internet, pwede daw pasukin ng banca ang Naglaus and that made me think na baka kagaya nga sya ng sa Palawan.

After namin na magovernight stay sa Malawmawan Island in Castilla, we then travelled to Daraga City to have our breakfast, and then from Daraga we then travelled to Guinobatan town to look for the jeepneys bound for Jovellar.

The town of Jovellar is less than 20 kilometers from Guinobatan town, so after 30 minutes of travel, narating na din namin ang downtown Jovellar. We asked for information from the locals about the tourist destination in Jovellar and they informed us na magkalayo ang Naglaus sa ibang waterfalls and since it was already past 12 when we arrived at Jovellar, we then decided na sa Naglaus na lang pumunta.

After namin bumaba sa jeep, we crossed a river to go to the habal habal or motorcycle terminal bound for Barangay Del Rosario but only to found out na iisa lang yung motor na nakapark at ayaw nila bumyahe dahil maputik daw yung daan at di kakayanin ng motor. They discouraged us not to proceed with our plans because it would take us several hours if we're going to walk to Naglaus, which they said, it is about 8 to 10 kilometers of walk. Sabi nila masyado daw maulan nung gabi bago kami dumating  kaya sobrang maputik ang daan. However, dahil andun na lang din kami, we just then decided to proceed with our plan and go to Naglaus.

We then started walking and true enough, sobrang maputik nga yung daan that we ended up walking barefoot at bitbit ang mga tsinelas namin dahil masyadong madulas at bumabaon sa putik ang aming mga tsinelas. There were some paved roads but most of the roads are unpaved and muddy and some are grassy. You won't even think na may kalsada pala kasi mukha syang palayan or napabayaang lupa lang na puno ng putik at damo. There were also some concrete pathways which are about a meter wide, and I think it is the main road being used by motorcycles since the “actual road” is muddy and non-existent. Sobrang napabayaan nga talaga ng gobyerno ang lugar na yun.

We started walking at around 1 pm and after 2 hours, we reached the forked road going to Naglaus. The road going to the left is the one that we took. That is the road going to Barangay San Isidro and Barangay Del Rosario. The road to the right is for Barangay San Roque and if you go further along that road, you'll be able to reach Donsol, Sorsogon.

From that forked road, we walked for another 45 minutes and then we finally arrived at Barangay San Isidro. We rested for a few minutes and then we walked again for another 15 to 20 minutes before we finally arrived at Barangay Del Rosario. We asked for directions from the barangay and they told us to just continue following the concrete pathways in order for us to reach Naglaus. So we just continued walking until the paved road ended again and we just found ourselves trekking on a dense bush and vegetation. May nakasalubong kaming lalaki na kakatapos lang maglaba and we asked him for direction. Sabi nya ifollow na lang daw namin yung trail at mararating na namin ang Naglaus.

So after walking for almost 20 to 30 minutes from Barangay Del Rosario community area, we finally reached Naglaus. Sobrang layo pala ng lugar. We were exhausted but excited but also disappointed kasi nung dumating kami sa entrance ng Naglaus, wala naman palang banca or guide na pwede na magguide sa amin sa loob. At hindi ko rin mahanap ang flashlight ko kaya we ended up na nagphoto shoot na lang sa harap ng cave. Malaki ang entrance ng cave and I think kasya nga ang mga bangka na katulad ng mga bangka na ginagamit sa Palawan Underground River.

Etrance to Naglaus Underground River

We stayed there for about 15 minutes and then we decided na umuwi na because it was getting late na din and for sure aabutan na kami ng gabi sa paglalakad pauwi. We arrived at Naglaus at around past 4 in the afternoon so that means we walked for more than 3 hours from downtown Jovellar to Naglaus.

Naglakad na kami pabalik  but we dropped by again sa Barangay Del Rosario. We asked some locals if they know someone who owns a motorcycle that we could rent. Pero wala daw at wala daw makakabyahe kasi nga putikan. We were hoping na okay na ang daan kasi uminit na din nung hapon na yun.

After walking back to Barangay San Isidro, we again asked the locals there if they knew someone who owns a motorcycle and luckily, may nagmagandang loob na ihanap kami ng motor. And luckily again, may mga dumating ng motor. Nakakadaan na daw kasi yung mga motor from downtown Jovellar kasi medjo tumigas na daw yung yung putik doon sa mga maputik na daan. We were so happy because it would mean na hindi na kami maglalakad for another 3 hours.

Nagpasalamat kami sa naghanap ng masasakyan namin and then off we go to downtown Jovellar. May mga times na we need to get off sa motorcycle kasi may mga part pa din na maputik but okay lang kasi mas mabilis na yung travel namin pabalik. It only took us 30 minutes of travel from Barangay San Isidro. We paid 75 pesos for each motorcycle kasi 2 motorcycle ang nirentahan namin and 75 pesos naman talaga yung usual fare kaya nagdagdag na din ng tip yung isa kong friend.

Jovellar Public Market

It was already past 5 when we arrived at downtown Jovellar. Pumunta muna kami sa simbahan at nagikot ikot na din ng konti sa Jovellar at nakita na din namin yung park nila at dun na din kami naghanap ng tricycle na marerent namin going back to Guinobatan town. The last trip of jeepneys going back to Guinobatan is 2 pm or sometimes 3 pm kaya ang magrent ng sasakyan na lang ang option namin. We found a tricycle driver who agreed for 220 pesos para ihatid kami sa Guinobatan town. After 30 minutes of travel nakarating na din kami sa Guinobatan and from Guinobatan we rode a jeepney to Ligao City. It was already 7pm when we arrived at Ligao and we decided to go to Ligao City because we have a good chance of catching a bus bound for Manila compared kung sa Guinobatan kami magaabang. Nakasakay agad kami ng bus and me and one of my friend got off at Nabua town and my other friend got off at Naga City. So that's my story about our Jovellar experience. Sobrang nakakapagod but exciting din.

Jovellar Church

Here's a guide on how to go to Naglaus Underground River:

If you're coming from Manila, ride a plane bound for Legazpi City (1hour travel) and from Legazpi City Airport ride a tricycle to central terminal (10minutes travel) and then ride a jeepney bound for Guinobatan town.(30minutes travel)

From Guinobatan, ride a jeepney to Jovellar.(30 minutes travel) The jeepney terminal is located near the Guinobatan public market. From downtown Jovellar, near the public market, cross the river to reach the habal habal or motorcycle terminal bound for Barangay Del Rosario.(5 to 10 minutes’ walk) From there, ride a motorcycle and tell the driver that you're going to Naglaus Underground River so that he will drop you off near the trail going to Naglaus.(30 minutes travel)

If you're coming from Manila, you can also ride a bus to Guinobatan. The travel time is 9 to 12 hours.

You can also ride a plane to Naga Airport, and then from Naga Airport, ride a pedicab going to the highway and then ride a bus bound for Guinobatan.You can also ride a train from Manila to Ligao City. From Ligao City, ride a jeepney or a bus bound for Guinobatan.