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Before our discovery of pancit batil patong, the first thing that comes to my mind when one mentions Tuguegarao City is a cave—a huge one where light filters in from a natural crevice above, illuminating a row of pews facing a natural stone altar. A cave, whose chambers are large enough to hold weddings in; one unlike any other in the Philippines -- the Callao Cave.

Callao Cave is a seven-chamber show-cave in Cagayan Province. The cave system is composed of seven chambers each with its own features and rock formations. There are also natural cracks above some chambers allowing rays of light that illuminate the area. From Tuguegarao city center, it takes more than an hour to reach the Callao Cave. You may charter a van (which is quite expensive) or charter a tricycle (PHP630, round trip) at the town proper. At the banks of Pinacanauan River, one of the major tributaries of the Cagayan River in the town of Peñablanca, you can ride a wooden boat to the cave (PHP20.00, round trip).

It was an uphill battle to get to the mouth of Callao. A hundred and eighty four-stepped battle to be exact. I was grunting and puffing my way through it all, my shirt drenched in sweat, my lungs about to burst. After what seemed like an eternity of stairs, a vertical limestone rock face came into view. We’ve finally reached Callao’s awning mouth.

Located at the foothills of western Sierra Madre, Callao Cave’s seven chambers are gynormous; its largest one, soaring to a great height of 118 feet. Of its seven open chambers, five of them have natural roof crevices which let in sunlight all the way to the cave floor. It’s actually not uncommon to see vegetation growing on some parts of the cave due to these natural skylights. The main draw of Peñablanca’s Callao Cave is its first chamber. Here, pews are set up facing a natural rock formation resembling a church’s retablo. Supplemented by warm lamps, the effect is quite magical. One can just imagine how a wedding would take place here.

It would’ve been a chance to brush up on our history, as unbeknownst to us then, Callao holds the record for having the oldest known fossilized remains of a probable Homo Sapien in the country, dating to about 67,000 years old. Dubbed as the Callao Man, it is 20,000 years older than Palawan’s more famous Tabon Man.

Even with its gargantuanly inhuman size, Callao Cave makes justice for its name. From the placid river running parallel to it, to its monastic-like echoing chambers, it is indeed callado or calm, as the Spaniards referred to it back in the day. A definite must-visit tourist destination when in the province of Cagayan.

For the more adventurous type, Sierra Cave, which is a very short distance from Callao Cave, offers a lot more excitement with numerous cave formations in its pitch-black environ. We had our lunch (read: pancit canton with hotdogs and egg) after the Callao Cave exploration, and then set off for a short hike up the road. As we learned from out guide, the cave is threatened by the theft of stalactites by unscrupulous intruders who have found that these calcite formations are in demand among certain collectors. To protect the living rock formations of the cave, a steel gate has been placed across the Sierra Cave’s entrance. The cave may now be entered only with official permission.The exit at the end of the cave is an extremely narrow tunnel which can only be traversed by crawling.

Yup, can't believe I survived. A survivor photo is a must! Haha.

Sierra cave is one of my favorite caves because it's a perfect example of a living cave which is ideal for studying various rock formations. These caves are formed by the natural hand of nature as old as the earth itself, and with the careless hand of an irresponsible man, it could be destroyed in an instant. The initiatives of Cagayan people to help preserve the caves are worth praising for.