Exploring 2 virgin caves in one time AN ECSTATIC ADVENTURE

TUGUEGARAO, Cagayan – Inside the cave was dark. But the pitch-black darkness of the tunnel that sits by the surrounding bushes did not stop me from plunging deep into it.

Hanging at the entrance of the cave that sits below two mountains are eons-old multisized stalactites, pyrite-laced stalagmites of awesome shapes that sparkle with the beams of our flashlights and a gas lantern.

It was on Feb. 6, when our group composed of 20 locals, and a platoon of the 41st Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army based in Alcala, Cagayan, entered the Ar-aro cave.

Nobody from among the old-timers of Barangay Naddungan, with a population of not more than 200, remembers how this cave got its name as the Ar-aro cave. Only a few locals, particularly fishermen, know the place. And it was “discovered by some of their old folks only as a fishing ground for eels and Araro, a freshwater fish.”

Found inside the kilometer-long stretch of winding tunnels are crevices of various shapes and sparkling limestone formations. The clear waters flowing through the caves are perfect for wading and provide thrills for spelunkers.

It was Father Roger Cortez of the Gattaran Sn. Isidro Labrador Parish, concurrent chairman of the municipal tourism council and Councilor Tanny Agulay, chair of the SB committee on tourism, who invited me to take a look at the cave that they described as “beautiful.”

I have been to many caves including the famous Callao Cave in Peñablanca town, also in this province; the burial caves of the Tagbanua in Coron, Palawan; and the Sagada Mt. Province, all featuring different rock formations.

But the Ar-aro cave has a different appeal I couldn’t explain. An X-factor, I guess, especially that it is yet unexplored (except for the few of us who went in and out) and the totally varied natural adornments inside, from big limestone rocks to tiny and dense stalactites covering the cave walls that look like moon craters.

Also on the same day, our group set off for the Bote Cave in Naddungan barangay which is equally awesome with its smooth-walled chambers and ceilings spotted with sporadic hanging stalactites. Low crevices that challenge an exciting crawl make the adventurous reach a gorgeous chamber. There is a Buddha image of a pyrite-laced stalagmite there that captured my attention. The contoured brown walls of the dome-shaped chamber and wide flat floors is ideal as a “meditation chamber,” Rev. Cortes exclaimed.

The beauty was told. The word of mouth from a few people I had been with on that “Discovery Day” and the photographs of the innards of the earth that I captured on my Nikon inside Ar-aro and Bote Caves have reached the provincial board. On Feb. 15, all of the provincial board members decided to conduct an ocular inspection there.

“Seeing that there has been an active parish and community initiative in developing for eco-tourim purposes the Ar-aro and Bote caves, the board members personally shelled out R100,000 to finance its development as a tourist attraction. The initiative is in line with Gov. Edgar Ramones Lara’s priority program of developing the province into an investment and tourism destination.

“We were moved by the “bayanihan” initiative of the community, parish and village folks to develop such a magnificent and beautiful place,” says Norman Agatep, chairman of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan committee on tourism.

Rest rooms and nipa cottages are now being constructed near the caves for visitors. The trail is being developed into an alley for carabao-drawn carts. Those who do not want to trek some 300 meters to the main village can take a shortcut by riding in this carabaodrawn cart, he says.

Cagayan has the longest cave system in the country with over 300 caves. The natural wonders and awesome destinations of the province may soon catapult it as the adventure capital of the country, says DOT Region 2 director Blessie Diwa.