MALAMAWI / CABUNBATA ISABELA BASILAN ADVENTURE
"It's a paradise, not a warzone"
watch the vlog here:
watch the vlog here:
Last week, me and 3 of my friends decided to visit Basilan, one of the most feared places in the Philippines as it is the hiding spot of a terrorist group. Only few of my friends came with me because they were scared of the place.
Also, the decision to visit this place was abrupt. (planning a trip too early ahead of time usually does not push-through, at least for me experience)
Despite of Basilan's bad reputation, province is endowed with amazing islands and beautiful spots. Two of them are the Malamawi Island White Beach and the Cabunbata Falls, which is where we're heading. Both of these places are located in Isabela Basilan. Both places can be visited in a single day.
The photos we have of Malamawi white beach speaks for itself. It is so beautiful. It's has a pure white sand beach like that of Boracay. Its beach cove is distinct of its wharf that stretch towards the sea, a beautiful background for every selfie and groufie. You may also climb at Malamawi hill top and enjoy the scenic sight of the entire Malamawi island that features a view of a vast mangrove plantation.
After enjoying the Malamawi white beach, we headed to our next destination which is a waterfall in Brgy Cabunbata. With just a tricycle ride from the Isabela port, you'll be in the place in 30 mins.
Cabunbata Falls is visible from the highway. It does not take a long trek to get to the it. It's looks beautiful from the highway. However, as you get closer to the waterfalls, you'll realized that this places isn't getting the love it deserves. It such a sad scene because there are trashes everywhere. People who visit this place seem to leave their litter in the waterfalls area. You'll see plastic bottles, cellophane, leftover food and so on. The worst thing about it is that there are motorist who do their motorbike washing in the area. When they wash their motorbike, oil from the engine drip to the swimming area of the waterfalls making the falls oily. Too bad. Maybe, it's better to come to this place on weekday where there are few, or no people at all the visit this beautiful waterfall.
If you ask about its safety, it was technically safe. The people were friendly and nice. There were many security checkpoints as well. There were military men around so we felt really safe during our visit.
We traveled from Zamboanga City going to the beach. It was so easy. Below is the itinerary and expenses of our trip.
Ferry via Stephanie to Isabela Basilan Port- 60 pesos
Boat from Isabela Port to Malamawi Port - 5 pesos
Habal-habal from Malamawi Port to White beach - 25 pesos
Malamawi White Beach Entrance Fee - 30 pesos
Entrance to Malamawi Hill top - 20php with free bottled water
Habal-habal back Malamawi port - 25 pesos
Malamawi to Isabela Port - 5 pesos
tricycle to Cabunbata Falls - 50 pesos (round trip)
Isabela to Zamboagnaa City - 60 pesos
Food - 100 pesos (it's up to how much food you'd like to bring)
TOTAL: 250 pesos plus FOOD!
