The Mabini Caves

CEBU, Philippines - The province Negros Oriental is endowed with many tourist attractions. There is natural beauty everywhere, from sea to land. Visitors to the province are treated to beautiful sights – beaches, lakes, falls, and caves.

Speaking of caves, the town most noted for its good number of these natural attractions is Mabinay. It is dubbed as the province’s “Cave Town.” More than 400 caves are found in the municipality!

The adventure for visitors does not only happen in the caves. Hiking and trekking are activities to enjoy on the way to the caves. Reaching the cave is like the prize visitors get for daring the climb.

The many caves in Mabinay are due to the wide karst and the limestone rocks that characterize the geologic profile of the town. Its Odloman Cave holds the record as the second longest cave system in the Philippines. The cave measures 8,870 meters long, with a vertical range of 82 meters.

In 1989-1990, the Belgian-Dutch-Philippine Club undertook an expedition and identified 45 caves in the town. But these are only some of the caves so far explored in the town.

Odloman Cave. It is accessed by rappelling down through an opening in its ceiling or by swimming 20 meters across an underground river. The cave has large galleries, many narrow corridors, active streams and more than enough difficult obstacles to lure extreme cavers.

Mambajo Cave. The cave is so called because of the foul smell or “bahô” inside, from the decomposing dung and urine of the bats that inhabit the cave. The smell even spreads around the neighborhood of the cave.  But adventurers dare the bad smell just to experience the beauty of the cave, which is 326 meters long and 35 meters deep. It is located 2.5 kilometers northeast of barangay Paniabonan. It has an underground river flowing towards the north and falls into an opening  at the other entrance, the second Mambajo cave. 

Crystal Cave. One of the most breathtaking caves in Mabinay is the Crystal Cave, found in barangay Bulwang. It is 157 meters long and 12 meters deep. Here, there’s an abundance of beautiful stalactites and stalagmites.

Panligawan Cave. It is 143 meters long and 22 meters deep and found in barangay Bulwang. The cave has a wide and sloping entrance. An opening in the ceiling allows the sunlight, illuminating the entire cave. The cave is dome-shaped cave with fossilized formations. Visitors to the cave find it to be an ideal place for camping.

Baliw Cave. It is 769 meters long, located some six kilometers away from barangay Bulwang. It’s a breathtaking cave with fantastic white concretions that have come to be called “white forest.” 

These are, so far, the caves that are more frequently visited. There are a lot more to discover by the bold in spirit. For the casual visitor, Mabinay town has other natural attractions to relish in.

From Dumaguete, visitors may take a bus going to Mabinay. The 87-kilometer road trip takes about two hours. In reaching the town, they may ask at the municipal tourism office about available cave tour packages. Visitors shall only go on a cave tour with an accredited guide.  (Photos: choosephilippines.com, negrostourism.com)