Can-umantad Falls

Can-umantad is the highest waterfall on Bohol, dropping around sixty metres over a wide rock face into a pool at the bottom of a green valley in Candijay. It comes as a pair with the Cadapdapan rice terraces directly above - small stepped paddies carved into the hillside, unusual on an island better known for limestone hills than for terracing - and the standard visit takes in both, with a viewing deck and a restaurant on the ridge looking down over the terraces to the fall beyond. Steps and a path lead down to the pool, where swimming is possible when the flow is moderate. The site is community-managed with a small fee, and it stays comparatively quiet because it sits on the far eastern side of the island, well past the Chocolate Hills circuit. Flow varies enormously: after rain it is genuinely powerful, and late in the dry season it thins considerably.

The landscape

• The wide fall - Bohol's tallest, dropping into a valley pool.
• The Cadapdapan terraces - stepped paddies on the ridge above.
• The viewing deck - the framed view down over both.
• The pool - swimming at the base when flow allows.

When to go

June to November for the strongest flow; the dry months reduce it but make the paths safer. Mornings are quietest.

Practical notes

The descent is steps and uneven path - slippery when wet. Flow can be weak late in the dry season. Facilities are basic and fees are cash on site.

Nearby

Anda's beach and cave pools are about an hour on; the Chocolate Hills lie back toward the island's centre.