TRAVEL GUIDE TO MALANGAAN CAVE

Hi! It's been a month since my last entry, mainly because I was bombarded by exams and projects in medical school. But now that I have set some time to blog, I will share my recent experience at Malangaan Cave in San Rafael, Bulacan. Roughly 2 hours away from Manila, this is a great attraction to visit. It's the perfect place you can go to if you ask yourself the question, "Where will my 350 pesos take me?"
Aside from Malangaan Cave, you can jumpstart and end your trek at Malangaan Spring, where you can swim in the natural cold spring waters of Malangaan. Most of the time, Malangaan Spring is visited by locals who live in the nearby area and is usually full during the weekends. For Malangaan Cave, however, it's the opposite. Up until today, it has remained an unspoiled attraction with only my boyfriend and I, aside from our 2 guides exploring the area (and it was already the weekend).

To shed some light into the difficulty level of this cave spelunking, I would have to say a 2/10. The area where you pass leading up to the entry point of the cave is what makes this place spectacular. Rock formations of different shapes and sizes offer for some great architecture that mimics a little bit of the ones found in the Antelope Canyon in Arizona. Great for pictures too!

First things first: if you plan to visit Malangaan Cave, make sure you:

1) WEAR PROPER FOOTWEAR (it can be slippery at times especially when it's raining)
2) BRING FLASHLIGHT
3) WEAR APPROPRIATE CLOTHES (because trust me, you will crawl on dirty and soiled surfaces to get from one place to another)

Aside from that, if you bring a car, the parking fee is 30 pesos and a little fee of 25 pesos is asked as a form of environmental fee. As for the guides, there is no fixed price. You can ask a local kid who lives in the area to bring you around. They were probably the cutest 19-year-olds I've ever met. They were really small and looked like 10-year-olds. We gave them 150 pesos each and bought them a snack after our trek at a nearby sari-sari store.

The cave is still filled with mineral formations called stalagmites that sparkle with the help of a flashlight. Make sure not to touch these rocks.

The road leading up to Malangaan Cave is a combination of rough and cemented roads so if you are concerned of bringing your car, you can commute to the area, however, it might cost you more. If you do bring your car, you could pass through NLEX and take exit 34 at Balagtas. You could also pass a different area if you want to avoid paying the toll.

This is the view from where you will start your trek to the entry point of the cave. 

Even if this place remains unspoiled, there are still a few vandals on the rocks and some trash around the place. I hope that if you plan to visit Malangaan Cave soon, please practice cleanliness so we could preserve amazing attractions like this in the Philippines.

After exiting the cave, you can climb up a small rock formation outside the cave where you can get spectacular views of San Rafael. 

Breakdown of expenses:

25 PESOS - ENVIRONMENTAL FEE

30 PESOS - PARKING FEE

300 PESOS - GUIDE FEE (for 2)

70 PESOS - NLEX TOLL (one-way; we passed by a different route going back that saved us from paying for the toll)

TOTAL (for 2 people): 420 PESOS

VIA NLEX:

1) Take exit 34 to Balagtas

2) Turn right at Gen Alejo G. Santos Hwy

3) Turn left at Angat-Dona Remedios Trinidad Rd

4) Turn left at Angat-San Rafael Rd

5) Turn right at Sapang Pahalang-Tukod Rd

6) Turn right at Malangaan Rd

IF YOU PLAN TO COMMUTE:

1) Take the Baliway Bus Transit to Baliwag

2) Ride a jeepney to Pulo, San Rafael, Bulacan

3) Get a tricycle with a dropoff point at Malangaan in Tukod, San Rafael

Make sure to take precautions when you do your cave spelunking and avoid writing anything on the rock formations or throwing any form of trash in the area.