Estrella River Waterfalls Narra

Heading south on the National Highway from Puerto Princesa City, you can take a van or motorbike to Estrella River Waterfalls for a day jaunt. The trip from Puerto city center is approximately 2 1/2 hours one way. But if you bring everything you need to enjoy the rest, relaxing and swimming activities a couple of hours at this river and waterfalls will certainly invigorate you on a hot summer day. You can hire a van with a driver for approximately 3500.00 per day and a van is capable of traversing the roads. Stick to summer as the roads will be muddy during the rainy season, and the waters would be too cold to swim in unless you are from Alaska! If you don't like crowds. Do not go on a weekend!!

If you head there early, on the way to the waterfalls you might have time to take in the usual city tour of Bakers Hill, Butterfly gardens, and the Crocodile Farm and Nature Conservancy as well as further up the road where the historic Iwahig Penal Colony where you can make a donation and dance with the prisoners for a cool video memory.

There is a fee to get in and with parking and 6 people in our party, it cost 250.00 Php. Well worth it for the nice covered tables to sit at as well as the convenience of a male and female comfort room, although very basic.

There are many covered tables as well as open seating if you prefer to bask in the sunlight.

The South National highway past Aborlan is really bumpy and full of potholes as well as road and bridge construction. At Narra you turn right between two gas stations and from there to the falls it's a graded dirt road. Head straight past the rice fields until you come to a sign to turn left at a sign indicating Estrella River Waterfalls

You need to pack up in a cooler all you need as there are no services or stores at the river itself. They have provided sinks to wash, Comfort rooms and places to grill any meats, fish or veggies you bring, I assume you need to bring your own charcoal as well.  There are several covered tables with seats so you can eat in comfort. You might want to bring your won toilet tissue because none is provided in the comfort rooms. It's all very basic but it works..they do provide a pail and a faucet to fill and flush the toilet with.

They have ropes across the river at the deepest part after the falls and a rope in a tree you can swing from. They also provide inner tubes.

The clear waters of Estrella river are cold. We went in early February but I can imagine it will feel more refreshing to me when summer really hits. This is the rope you can use to get to the other side of the river where there is a rope hanging in a tree you can jump into the river from.

They do provide Inner tubes to float in the river on.

Across the river there are monkeys always begging for food. They ask that you do not feed them at the sitting areas for people for a good reason. These are macaques with big sharp teeth and if they get in the habit of going over to the human side, they could be a threat and also they are known to steal and break things like cameras etc.