ABW Sept 2023-1

It was built by the Americans in 1903 on a 351 feet (107 m)
high promontory at the western part of Cape Bolinao, the
lighthouse still sends signals to vessels passing by the area.
The lighthouse provides a panoramic view of a portion of
the 1,269 hectare Cape Bolinao Dendro Thermal Ipil-Ipil
Plantation on a land area where archaeological excavations
have revealed relics from the 14th to the 15th centuries.
Filipino, British and American engineers constructed the
lighthouse in 1905.
According to the Bureau of Geodetic Surveys, the land
elevation is 250 feet (76 m). Visibility is 20 miles (32 km; 17
nmi) at midsea towards the lighthouse in Poro Point. The
winding stairway has 6 platforms with 20 steps or rungs for
a total of 120 steps plus 14 more to the illumination room,
or an over-all total of 134 steps.
Bolinao Falls
A waterfall was something Active Boating & Watersports
least expected to see when we visited Bolinao with the
Department of Tourism. In my travel experience with the
magazine, most falls we have encountered were found in
mountainous areas where waters are expected to cascade
down into streams and rivers, some of them creating a
spectacular cascading water show. Bolinao is hardly like
that; the surrounding areas are mostly flat and are generally
composed of farmlands.
Bolinao Falls is situated about twenty kilometers away from
the town proper and it takes at least twenty minutes to
reach the falls from the town. The road en route to the falls
is a newly concreted road, but drive carefully as it is quite
narrow and is still in the stages of being completed with a
sharp drop at the edges. We were lucky, that we did not
encounter one of the many tourist buses visiting the area,
while negotiating the road to the falls. If you don’t have a
vehicle and you’re going to visit the falls, the best option is
to hire a tricycle in the Poblacion and negotiate a reasonable
fare with the driver.
The falls are accessed through a very short walk from a
clearing which functions as the parking area. To get to the
Bolinao Falls from a different angle
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