Casaroro Falls

Casaroro drops around thirty metres as a single narrow jet into a deep, cold pool at the bottom of a ravine so tight that the walls close in on both sides and the sun reaches the water only in the middle of the day. Getting there is the experience: a long concrete staircase of roughly three hundred and fifty steps from the parking area down to the river, then a walk upstream over and around boulders, wading in places, for fifteen or twenty minutes to the base. The pool is deep and genuinely cold - Negros Oriental's mountain water - and the ravine amplifies the noise. The site has closed periodically after landslides and typhoon damage, and the trail conditions change; it is worth checking locally before making the trip. Valencia sits on the way, with hot springs and the road up toward Mount Talinis and the Twin Lakes.

What you actually see

• The narrow jet - a single column in a tight ravine.
• The staircase - several hundred steps down to the river.
• The boulder walk - scrambling upstream to the base.
• The cold pool - deep water at the foot of the fall.

When to go

December to May for safer river conditions; heavy rain makes the boulder walk dangerous and raises the water fast. Midday for light reaching the ravine floor.

Honest expectations

The climb back up the steps is hard work in heat. The riverbed scramble is slippery and not suitable for small children or anyone unsteady. The site has closed after storm damage before - check before travelling.

Nearby

Valencia's hot springs, Pulangbato Falls and the Twin Lakes of Balinsasayao are on the same side of Dumaguete.