Narbakan?: The Untold Wonders of Narvacan, Ilocos Sur

Short ride? Easy trek?

Dissuor Falls may just be the answer to that. It's less than an hour away from Vigan and the trek will not take you more than 30 minutes. [Hindi mae-erase ang kilay mo dito.] If you have enough time, you can also visit the other falls located nearby. There's basically one in every junction you'll see as you go on your way to Dissuor.

So where is it located? It's in Brgy. Kakaldingan, Narvacan, Ilocos Sur. The last barangay along the Ilocos-Bangued Road.

[caption id="attachment_473" align="alignnone" width="960"] *sigh*[/caption]




DID YOU KNOW?

According to Local History, the place was discovered by a certain Capitan Juan de Salcedo. He was said to be one of the leaders of the expeditionary crew sent to Ilocos Sur. They got shipwrecked along the town's coast. Luckily, the locals came to their aid. Capitan Juan, however, had trouble communicating since he doesn't know how to speak Ilokano. The natives, who were having the same problem, approached them and asked, 'Narbakan?' meaning... 'is it ruined?' or 'is your ship destroyed?' (I swear that's the best translation I could think of. LOL). The Spaniards thought the locals were informing them of the name of the place so from then on, the town was known as 'Narvacan'.

[Ano kaya talagang pangalan ng lugar noon? Itong mga Spaniards kasi ambilis mag-assume eh. Haha. Bakit ba kasi nasa kanila yung authority na mag-pangalan ng mga lugar? Pinangalanan na nga ng mga locals tapos iibahin pa nila. Sila naman yung unang hindi nakaintindi. Eh bakit ako galit? Hindi naman ako galit. Nagtatanong lang. CHAROT. HAHA]

HOW TO GET THERE:
- From Vigan, take any bus going South.
- From Manila, take any bus bound for Vigan City or Laoag City.
- Drop-off at Abra Junction Park.
- Wait for a bus bound for Abra.

(OR you can just take a bus bound for Abra para one ride na lang.)

- Ask them to drop-you off at Brgy. Kakaldingan, dun sa may Quarantine Station.
- Near the posts, there's a merging road to your left. An elementary school will be your landmark.
- Ask locals to guide you on your way to Dissuor Falls. Alam na alam na nila yun. Medyo tricky yung pag-punta kasi maraming mga established paths going to different places.

[caption id="attachment_482" align="alignnone" width="960"] CJ, our tour guide, leading the way.[/caption]

CJ was our tour guide for the day. He's very talkative and he has a noticeable accent. Ambilis niya magsalita actually. Puro ako, 'Nya? Nya?' (What? What?) tuwing nagkukwento siya. Buti hindi siya napikon. Haha.

You will have to cross rivers once in a while so bring your slippers or amphi shoes. Nothing dangerous naman pero may mga parts na mahirap na talaga i-save ang shoes. Haha. But during Summer, the river bed would dry up so pwede kahit wag ka na mag-slippers. Do not attempt to go barefoot because the river rocks can be quite sharp. My travel-buddy, Kliff, found that out the hard way. Ako naman nung una, I would take off my shoes tuwing tumatawid kami ng ilog but it was too uncomfortable. It was also slowing us down so I had to suck it up... RIP Shoes. *cries*

[caption id="attachment_633" align="alignnone" width="960"] Kaya pa, Sir? HAHA.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_483" align="alignnone" width="960"] I remember coming here the first time. The river was all dried up! But now...[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_484" align="alignnone" width="960"] View from the top.[/caption]



[caption id="attachment_490" align="alignnone" width="960"] Perfect for picnic dates. Kaso single ka nga pala. Charot.[/caption]

The cool thing about this place is the 'picnic area'. You can set up a whole luncheon there or maybe a sweet picnic date.







[caption id="attachment_491" align="alignnone" width="960"] Photo Ops with Pareng CJ![/caption]

Aside from Dissuor Falls, you will also find Pinsal Tumasa, Pinsal ni Marcos, and Pinsal Nangato there. Like I said, there's a waterfall at the end of every river junction. Even the people there don't know which is which. For me, they're basically... Pinsal 1, Pinsal 2, Pinsal 3 and so on. LOL

[caption id="attachment_481" align="alignnone" width="960"] Pinsal Tumasa at Minsang Umasa.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_632" align="alignnone" width="960"] Well, hello there. :)[/caption]

I wasn't able to check out Pinsal ni Marcos and Pinsal Nangato up-close but my ka-Ballogs were able to visit them last week so I'll post some snapshots here:

 

[gallery ids="476,474,475,477" type="columns"]

Ballog Adventures is a slowly-growing group of passionate Ilokanos whose goal is to explore, discover and promote the lesser-known beauties of Ilocos Sur. Photo Credits: Ballog Adventures* (Sir Glenn and Co.)

While we were having our snacks, CJ told us that he was trying to look for an allagat but failed to see some. 'Allagat? Ano yun?' Honestly, it was my first time to hear about it. So I did a little research.

Allagat is also known as 'Sus0ng Kalabaw' or 'Suso ng Kalabaw'. It's widely found in Nueva Vizcaya but here in Ilocos, it can be seen in some parts of Narvacan, particularly in Bantay Abot. Its roots, bark and leaves, when boiled, are known to help mothers, who just gave birth, regain their strength. It's quite tasty. It's sour and sweet and the insides has the consistency of a very ripe kaimito (star apple). To eat it, you just have to bite off one end of the fruit and then squeeze the pulp into your mouth. The locals said it should be sweet so I guess the one I ate wasn't ripe enough.

[caption id="attachment_628" align="alignnone" width="960"] Allagat a.k.a. Susong Kalabaw a.k.a. Suso ti Nuang a.k.a. Carabao Teat a.k.a Water Buffalo Nipples. LOL[/caption]

We saw several of it during the trek but it was too high for us to reach. So we looked for some at the vendor stands along the Ilocos-Bangued road and luckily, we found a few. We bought a bunch, together with a bundle of kamangeg. Yey!

[caption id="attachment_631" align="alignnone" width="960"] Kamangeg. Anybody up for some Bilo-bilo?[/caption]

We called it quits at around 11AM.

[caption id="attachment_629" align="alignnone" width="960"] Going home.[/caption]

You can make this a half-day hike. It's great for beginners. Add this to your itinerary when you visit Narvacan's Noah Adventure Hub!

Here's some moments taken when we conquered Bantay Abot last January!

[caption id="attachment_455" align="alignnone" width="960"] Most Best Favorite-est Shot Ever.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_459" align="alignnone" width="960"] People of all ages... Adventure has no age-limit. *wink*[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_457" align="alignnone" width="960"] Good morning, Narvacan![/caption]

The peak is an awesome place to view the setting and the rising of the sun. The trek difficulty would be 3/5. I suggest you guys do some pre-conditioning before climbing but then again, who has time for that? Pupunta pa rin naman kayo kahit walang condi-condition eh. Haha. Still, it's a nice trail for newbies. Hindi naman kasumpa-sumpa yung trek. Sakto lang. Bring lots of water!

Ibang klase din talaga ang Narvacan, may pa-mountain climbing, may pa-beach, may pa-zipline at may pa-waterfalls pa. So what are you waiting for? Get your swimming/trekking gears on!