Kawasan Falls, Cebu, Philippines

You may have not known the name of these world famous waterfalls but I’m sure you’ve seen a picture of them at some point in your life. The Kawasan Falls are located in Badian, Cebu, Philippines. There are 3 levels with a swimming “pool” at each level.

The most famous level is the first one. It’s about a 1.5km walk from the parking lot on a very well defined path. Unfortunately, there is trash everywhere during this walk. The entire time you’re walking to the waterfall you are hoping it isn’t full of garbage.

It costs 20-40 pesos to enter the park (this may be a charge only to foreigners and we aren’t even sure if there’s a set price). 50 pesos will get you a life vest, 300 pesos will cover a table rental, and another 300 pesos goes towards the bamboo raft that takes you under the waterfall.

We only brought enough money to cover our entrance fee and wish we would’ve brought more for the bamboo raft. It’s all part of the experience.

Once we made it to the first level, we jumped in. Of all the water we’ve gone swimming in during our time in the Philippines, Kawasan Falls was by far the coldest. It was a shock to the body and the force of the water was borderline dangerous. We swam our hearts out to get deeper but we were constantly pushed back to the rocks. I’m very comfortable in the water and I decided to stop swimming away from the shallow rock area.

The picnic area around the first level was packed with people. Every table was rented and picnics were set out. Kawasan Falls seems to be a locals weekend escape. Similar to how many people treat the beach in Southern California.

We only made it up to the second level (it might’ve even been the third). At one point we came up to a steep path to another pool but we didn’t even attempt to make our way down there. How were we supposed to get back up?!

At the top (questionably), were more picnic tables, restrooms, and food/drink shops. The hike was much steeper but doable. It consisted of mostly large steps and narrow paths. The strength of the water didn’t appear to be as powerful as the first level because the waterfall was smaller and the pool was much larger. I recommend this level if you are planning to stay at Kawasan Falls for the entire day or you’re planning to actually swim and float around.

There was a group cliff jumping into the water here and we were approached by a man who takes people cliff jumping all over the area. This is a popular excursion around Cebu.

The natural beauty of Kawasan Falls is definitely worth seeing! It is one of two reasons we planned our trip to Cebu while visiting the Philippines and we’re glad we did. Cebu did not disappoint!

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