The Pamuayan waterfall is a beautiful little waterfall close to the coastal town of Port Barton, on the island of Palawan in the Philippines.
Visiting the waterfall is one of the best adventures you can have when visiting Port Barton.
Port Barton itself is a very chill, sleepy town, so hiking or driving to the waterfalls is a great way to spend some time here.
This article is going to outline exactly how you can visit the waterfall, including step-by-step hiking instructions.
So, let’s dive into how to get to the Pamuayan waterfall in Port Barton.
Where is the Pamuayan Waterfall?
The Pamuayan waterfall lies a couple of kilometres North of the coastal town of Port Barton, on the stunning island of Palawan in the Philippines.
The waterfall can be visited from the town of Port Barton by either walking, jumping on a moped, or by hiring one of the famous Filipino motorised tricycles.
Where to stay in Port Barton?
Despite being a small town along the coast, there are plenty of different options on where to stay in Port Barton, covering an array of different options.
Here’s a quick rundown of some of the best places to stay in Port Barton:
- Best for a quiet, relaxing stay: Le Cou de Tou Village Resort – a relaxing, family-fun resort. Very chill and quiet atmosphere and the hosts were super friendly too!
- Best place for meeting other travellers: Coco Rico Hostel – easily the most popular place in Port Barton, Coco Rico has several dorms and family rooms and also has a bar that has live music 2 or 3 times a week!
- Best for a comfortable, more luxurious stay: Holiday Suites Port Barton – found directly on the beach and featuring its own private pool, it’s hard to think of a nicer place to stay in Port Barton!
How to get to Pamuayan Waterfall
You are going to have 3 main options for visiting the Pamuayan waterfall – hiking, moped, or renting a motorised tricycle.
Here’s a brief outline of all the different options and a rough idea of how much each is likely to cost:
- Renting a moped – Every hostel and business in Port Barton seemingly has a moped available to rent. They are the most popular way of getting around the little town and so as they say ‘do as the locals do’. It will cost between 500-750 PHP to hire a moped for your trip to the waterfall, which is pretty good value all things considered.
- Hiring a motorised tricycle – This option is also popular for visiting the waterfall but unlike with the moped, you have to also hire the driver (a bit like a tuk-tuk in SE Asia). This is likely to cost around 750 PHP as you will have to ask the driver to hang around while you explore the waterfall
- Hiking – Obviously this option is totally free and probably the best option for those on a budget, or for those with plenty of time to kill. Underneath is a full step-by-step guide to hiking to the waterfall.
Step-by-step instructions for hiking to Pamuayan Waterfall
The hike to the Pamuayan waterfall from the centre of Port Barton takes around 1.5 hours one-way, or 3 hours round-trip.
If you view the hike on google maps, it says it should take around 57 minutes but this doesn’t really take into account the terrain as it can be quite slippery and rocky in places.
With this in mind, here are some step-by-step instructions for reaching the waterfall:
- From the centre of Port Barton, you want to be making your way to the main road that heads North out of the town.
- If you’re unsure of where the main road is, head to the beach and head North until you reach the end of the beach. Take the road to your right and it will lead directly to the main road
- Once you’re on the main road, walk for around 10 minutes until you reach a fork in the road. Take the fork right that heads uphill (taking the left fork will bring you to a little community)
Something to be aware of: This road doesn’t always show up on google maps because it is a brand new road!
- You will then continue on the same paved road for a good 30 minutes before you reach the end of the paved road and the dirt track splits into two.
- Once again, you should take the right-hand fork
- You’ll be on this dirt track for a while until you reach a river crossing. You have to walk directly through the river as there is no way to go around – it’s about shin-deep and is quite easy to cross
- After the river, around 100m in front of you will be the first sign for the waterfall. Turn right at the sign and walk a further 200m
- You will see 2 small wooden huts on your right-hand side. At this point, a local will come over to you and ask you to sign an entry book as well as giving a small donation
- After the hut, walk a further 200m before another river crossing
- Once you’ve crossed the river, it’s a relatively straightforward dirt track for around 600m all the way to the waterfall
- At the waterfall there is a small toilet (granted it’s not the nicest toilet in the world) and a small shelter which is good for using to get dry after swimming in the pool below the waterfall
- As you can probably imagine, to hike back to Port Barton you take the exact same trail just in reverse
Tips for Completing the Pamuayan waterfall hike
While it is more of a walk than a hike for the majority, there are still a few things you should take into consideration when hiking to Pamuayan.
So, here’s our quick tips for hiking to Pamuayan waterfall:
- Wear sneakers/trainers all the way until you get to the first river crossing and then wear flip-flops until you get to the waterfall
- Bring plenty of water and snacks with you – understandably there is nowhere to buy either along the route
- Make a donation at the hut before the waterfall but don’t feel pressured to pay too much. At the end of the day it’s a donation and the waterfall isn’t ‘owned’ by the locals. A suggested amount would be around 50 PHP per person.
There we have it folks, a conclusive guide for how to get to the Pamuayan waterfall in Port Barton, Palawan. Visiting the waterfall is a great way to spend some time in Port Barton away from the water.
Author Bio
This post was written by Ben Lloyd. He travelled around Palawan as part of an extended East-Asian trip alongside his partner, Orla. You can find many inspiring East Asian travel articles on their couples travel blog Ticket 4 Two Please, as well as articles from countless other worldwide destinations.
