Calinawan Cave is situated in Barangay Tandang Kutyo of Tanay, Rizal, Calinawan Cave is an enormous cave system composed of multiple levels and various chambers and openings.
The Calinawan Cave has an impressive history with huge value for the Filipinos. Before entering the cave a guide will give you some history about the cave.
Calinawan Cave is said to be the hideout of Filipino revolutionaries during Spanish-American war, and a shelter during the Second World War. Keeping the locals save during the times of terror. Besides only being a shelter and of its historical important the cave in itself is a wonder of nature. The natural beauty of the cave’s interior are eye catchers that attract a lot of people. Explore how these caves have developed naturally.
Not only does the natural beauty of the cave attracts a lot of people it also attracts well known TV producers to make movies and series here. Well known TV series like the mystical Encantadia and well known police serie Ang Probinsyano have used the cave as one of their shooting location. This makes this place exciting to visit.
Since the Calinawan Cave is such as historical place and natural beauty, there are rules within in the cave. They even posted tarpaulins of dos and don’ts before entering the cave. Based on the Cave Conservation Code Republic Act 9072. Always observe the rules a these caves are huge and follow the cave guide instructions since these caves are huge.
To even enter the cave everyone must wear a protective helmet, which they provide to everyone who visits the cave. This is truly essential while going there. The cave guide will provide for everyone a special hard hat helmet for your own protection and safety.
Next the most important that the government wants to do is to preserve the cave natural state. This is why it is not allowed to touch rock formations as this might damage the formations. Eating drinking within the cave is not allowed to avoid any litter or trash within the cave.
Never smoke underground as the smoke tend to hang around in the cave which is dangerous. It is not allowed to write on cave walls. As always please follow indicated trails. They have many different trails depending on the cave stages or levels. Which you can see more below.
Do not disturb cave life, Move slowly and carefully and lastly keep parties at a manageable size (10 persons per group).
According to a local folklore, the cave is said to be where the Japanese and American troops settle their agreement. Calinawan came from the word “linaw” which means to settle or make things clear. The cave is dark but named Calinawan also because during the world war, Filipinos and the Americans meet here and had clarifications or agreements.
Calinawan Cave is an impressive cave with over 5 levels of excitement. The first 2 levels are very accessible for all while the remaining 3 and above levels are for the daredevils who want more thrill! But others can stay at level 1 and 2.
Stage 1 is the part of the cave which can be somehow penetrated or make a way by light. In stage 2, you’ll be asked if you what path will you choose, the easy or the hard path. If you wanted to be challenged, you must choose the hard path where you need to crawl and be dirty. In this stage, you’ll also experience total darkness and also the “sound of silence”.
As you go deeper the guide will tell your group that cave walls must not be touched because the shining cave walls are alive and a simple human touch will kill it. Inside the cave you’ll also see some bats. There you’ll noticed various holes on the ceiling of the cave. According to the guide, those are the former home of the bats. Bats dig in the ceiling to form their house and for some reason they leave their house and create another one.
Levels 3 – 5 are open during summer and are more difficult, with some parts requiring the tourist to crawl and such.
Sadly enough the levels 6 – 7 are permanently inaccessible, from when the tunnels were bombed by Japanese soldiers. Before the bombing the cave was a secret entrance which you could enter from one side and exit the other side. This is why the Japanese soldiers bombed the upper levels of the cave. To block the back entrance of the cave so once the Japanese where in there, they could hide and force the American soldiers had to enter the main entrance only. This part of the cave has not been restored and cannot be restored as of now.
The entrance fee for the cave is ₱ 40 per person plus ₱ 200 (per group of 10) for the tour fee. The entrance fee increased from 20 to 40 because recently, they already have helmets.
Below you can see the official opening hours of the Calinawan Cave.
| Day | Opening Hour | Closing Hour |
| Monday | 6 AM | 5:30 PM |
| Tuesday | 6 AM | 5:30 PM |
| Wednesday | 6 AM | 5:30 PM |
| Thursday | 6 AM | 5:30 PM |
| Friday | 6 AM | 5:30 PM |
| Saturday | 6 AM | 5:30 PM |
| Sunday | 6 AM | 5:30 PM |
Getting there from Metro Manila, just ride a van from EDSA Crossing to Tanay Central Terminal. Travel time takes at least one-and-a-half hour and fare is at around P70. From the terminal, ride a tricycle to take you to Calinawan Cave. Average rate for tricycle is P150, maximum of five passengers
