No tags yet.
ANTIQUE: Malumpati Cold Spring and Kawa Bath
Antique, situated at the western part of Panay Island. This province was commonly tagged with horror stories since I was a child. I decided to come to the province alone to see what's the real story behind every story that I used to hear back then.
My journey to Antique started right after my Hinugtan Beach adventure. I decided to visit one of the famous natural spring resorts on the area. Malumpati cold spring. For only40 Php you can enter the resort. This resort has plenty of things to offer, you can do cliff diving, tubing, trekking to the blue lagoon and etc. Like many other natural spring resorts that I've visited this also has the coldest water I've ever experienced. The water from the resort came from the nearby mountains. The coldness of the water in the spring is just perfect for my tired body, it's very relaxing! They have cottages for rent for as low as 300-500 Php, they also have room for rent for overnight stay for very affordable prices!
For transportation, if you're from Caticlan just take the van going to Iloilo via Antique and ask the driver to drop you off at Pandan fare is around 60-100 Php, once you're in Pandan just ask for a tricycle and ask the driver to bring you to Malumpati Cold Spring the fare is around 100-150 Php. There's no problem when going back to Pandan because there is a tricycle terminal outside the resort.
Right after my adventure in the spring I headed directly to the house of a friend that will host me. The house is about an hour or two away from the spring. And it gives me one of the best sunset view along the shore. They even cooked freshly caught seafood for fruits for the night! I love the feeling that my host's family treat me as one of them.
I was originally planning to go and re-visit the Malalison but the weather the next moring does not permit me to go to. So I decided to try and experience the one of the most popular attractions on the province, the Kawa Bath! I've been dreaming to try kawa bath since I was a kid.
I headed to Kayak inn and tried their bath! It was indeed a great experience! The helpers were very accommodating and they're even laughing like witches while preparing the kawa for me. Honestly speaking I'm starting to get nervous that time but they told me that they're just doing it to make the preparations more fun and make the guest a bit nervous. Hahahaha! There are two options for kawa, small (250 Php/hour) and large (500 Php/hour). The helpers added herbal leaves and some flowers to make the kawa bath look fancy. Lying inside the kawa with warm water is one of my best experience! I will surely come back to this inn!
For transportation if your from Caticlan take a bus or Van and ask them to drop you off at Tibiao the fare is around 100-120 Php then hail a habal-habal fare is around 300 Php (round trip) to take you to the famous kawa bath in the area. You can take the bus from the drop off point earlier if you want to go to Caticlan or Iloilo.
All in all, my Antique adventure wasn't scary, I've proven that all the stories when I was a child we're all just stories. People in Antique were more accommodating, warm and they have high sense of humor! they can make you feel at home in a very short period of time. I will surely come back to Antique soon! Just remember the LNT principle upon visiting to preserve the area .
Have you visited the Antique? I'm happy if you'll share your experience with me. Feel free to message me.