The Trek in a snapshot
Location
Valencia City, Negros Oriental, Philippines
Managing Agency
Private ownership
Pets
Allowed
Fees
There are entrance fees into the falls
Restrooms
Yes. At the resort
Camping
Not allowed but there is a resort with rooms available for rent
Trail Condition
Cement trail with some stairs leading down to the creek where the falls are located
Sights
Pulangbato Falls, many sulfur seeps, Pulangbato Falls Resort
Water Info
Bring your own water! But water is available for purchase at the resort too
Best Season
All
Distance
We walked about 1/10 of a mile if you get a ride up to the falls. If not, from the Jeepney stop, it’s about 1 kilometer to the falls
Time Required
If you are taking a Jeepney to the falls, you could easily spend up to 5+ hours roundtrip
Parking Elevation
1350 ft
Summit Elevation
Varies slightly
Elevation Difference
Varies slightly
Trek Planner Maps
Pulangbato Jeepney Stop: 9.31306, 123.19865
Pulangbato Falls: 9.32117, 123.19292
Mag-Aso Steam Spring: 9.31366, 123.1999
Experience. Discover. Explore.
Follow along on our adventure then go out on your own!
Note A: most Filipinos speak and understand basic English. In fact, many speak English rather well! You should have little trouble hiring a taxi/van or using a Jeepney to get to the waterfalls.
Note B: If you are taking a Jeepney ride to the falls, you will want to leave in the morning and come back early afternoon as there may not be a Jeepney coming back later in the day.
You can get to the falls several ways. You can either find a taxi or a van in Dumaguete City to take you to Pulangbato Falls or you can do it the local way and take a Jeepney to the Pulangbato stop. We started in Dumaguete City and asked our tricycle driver to take us to the Jeepney terminal for Valencia City. This cost us 12 pesos (about 23 cents USD) each. We then found a Jeepney going to Valencia City and spoke to the Jeepney driver beforehand that we want to go to the Pulangbato Falls stop. He charged us 20 pesos (about 38 cents USD) each and we were on our way.
It took us about 25 minutes to get to the stop where we needed to be and the Jeepney driver let us out here. From here you can either hire a motorcycle (they are typically waiting under the Jeepney stop) to take you the remaining 1 kilometer or you can walk it. It’s kind of a steep-ish hike but it’s on a paved road so it isn’t too bad. We walked the rest of the way and enjoyed taking pictures and talking with the locals.
If you are not comfortable riding in a Jeepney you can always take a taxi or hire a van to take you to the falls. This could cost you up to 3000 pesos (about $57 USD) if you want to do it this way!
Jeepneys have many different styles but here is what a typical Jeepney looks like (see below picture).
Pulangbato Falls or, red rock falls or red stone falls, is an amazing waterfall located in the city of Valencia just west of Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental. The rocks underneath the falls are stained red due to the sulfur and other minerals. You can sometimes get the scent of sulfur as you are hanging around the falls but for the most part they do not smell. This is a great half day adventure for the whole family!
As we were walking up from the Jeepney stop we passed over a small bridge and saw lots of sulfur water seeping from of the side of the hill. The water was warm and smelled very strongly of sulfur. You will also see that the creek has many rocks that are stained red and orange from the minerals too. Keep walking up the hill until you come to another bridge. Cross over and the Pulangbato Falls Resort will be on your left.
In 2018 it cost 50 pesos (about 92 cents USD) per person to enter the waterfalls area. There is a restaurant and also several motel rooms available for rent too. We didn’t check out the prices for the rooms but the food costs were reasonable. We all got fresh mango shakes of course and headed down to the falls drinks in hand. The falls are a few hundred feet from the resort restaurant. You can stay up top and get some good pictures of the falls or you can go down the stairs and hike about 50 feet to get closer.
There was some construction going on during our visit – the resort is building a bridge across the creek and it should be completed in 2019.
One of the best parts about our visit was that it wasn’t crowded! Most other people want to see the more crowded Casororo falls which is also in Valencia but deeper in the mountains.
I think we saw maybe 15 people total while we were there for several hours! We visited in the morning on a weekday which explains while it was mostly empty but still, it was great to relax without the crowds.
The falls were incredible to see up close! I don’t recommend you swim under the falls due to the potential for rocks falling on you. If you want to swim, go back up to the resort and swim in their pool. They dammed up a different creek (not full of sulfur) and made it available for swimming.
Since all of us were sweating pretty bad from our walk to the falls from the Jeepney stop we needed to swim! The water was on the colder side but felt refreshing. It was probably up to 10 ft deep in some spots too.
There are some other small falls to see here but Pulangbato fall is the main event of course.
If you took a Jeepney then head back down towards the Jeepney stop. If you are leaving late in the day, there may not be a Jeepney to take you back to town. If this is the case, ask one of the motorcycle drivers if they will take you into town (it may cost you up to 500 pesos! (about $9.50 USD).
Personal Thoughts
This was my first time visiting the falls and it was an incredible place to see! If you have extra time to kill, go back down to the Pulangbato Jeepney stop and hike down a few hundred feet to the Mag-Aso Steam Spring. The steam spring is just more geothermal activity but with steam coming up out of the ground next to the road! I would recommend seeing Pulangbato Falls to everyone who visits Dumaguete City!
