Wandering Den: Wawa Dam

Wawa Dam (also known as Montalban Dam) is a gravity dam constructed over the Marikina River in the municipality of Rodriguez in Rizal province, Philippines. The slightly arched dam is situated in the 360-metre (1,180 ft) high Montalban Gorge or Wawa Gorge, a water gap in the Sierra Madre Mountains, east of Manila. It was built in 1909 during the American colonial era to provide the water needs for Manila. It used to be the only source of water for Manila until Angat Dam was built and Wawa was abandoned. Due to insufficiency of water supply for Metro Manila, there was a strong clamor to reuse the dam.

The dam is abandoned and now used as a getaway by tourist, bikers, hikers, and locals. There is a diversity of people that visits the sublime wonder. You can wander the dam - its man-made falls with the presence of ruins side by side, including the gorge, and its creeks.

The trail to the dam is a rock part of the mountain passing through the small tunnel before setting foot on the plain and conspicuous area. A short hike will lead you to the ruin, dam and its man-made falls, gorge, the enormous rock mountain, and the Karugo falls wich is a small falls with slope structured rock with falling water. The falls used as a passage trail to Mt. Ayaas and exit trail for traverse from Mt. Pamitinan. The falls is just a minutes long hike from the Dam.

How to get there

If you are coming from North EDSA or South EDSA, all you need to do is ride any bus passing or going to Cubao or take an MRT ride and go down at Cubao MRT station. Look for the FX station located just infront of Jolibee in Farmers. Take the van with Cubao-Rodriguez signage (Fare is PHP 50.00 per head). It’s an hour or less ride going to Rodriguez, Rizal. Go down at Montalban Station (which is actually the end of the ride). You can ask the driver as well to drop you off at the terminal going to Wawa Dam. Ride a tricycle and tell the driver to drop you off at Wawa Village. (Fare is P15.00 per head)

Activities done in Wawa Dam
Picnicking

It is the main activity in the Dam, best thing to do is to invite your family together with you, have a trip with your friends to escapade the Dam, and make sure to side trips the dam after your hike to the mountains located at Rodriguez, Rizal.

Balsa ride

Riding balsa is one of the activities in Wawa Dam, experience a boat like adventure handled manually made up entirely of bamboo heading to the creek nearing the trail to Karugo falls.

Sigtseeing

As you stand on the ruins or passing through the trail, youll be able to glimpse the enormous mountains, gorge, falls, and the dam.

Swimming

Swimming whether in the waterfall and in the dam is an option on your visit, depends on your preferences. You can also visit Karugo falls as your side trip.

Journey

As morning daylight has arrived from our camping area – Kuya Oliver Home, the view of the Mountain and rivers paints great scenery. Morning talks, food preparation, and pictures were undergone before our venture to Wawa Dam.

Starting from the DENR Registration point, you can walk or rent a tricycle ride heading to Wawa dam, and will take you 5-20 minute long to reach it. There is no registration fee to be paid.

Preceding a various store heading to the rocky trail passing through a tunnel engrave by the rock mountain, with an overlook of man-made falls alongside ruins side by side.

Tunnel

Ruins

Mt. Binacayan as seen from the Dam

A gorge and the view of the two mountain set apart by Bernardo Carpio: Pamitinan and Binacayan

Upon reaching the dam, we rented and rode on a Balsa, a local boat made entirely of bamboo. Afterwards we venture the falls namely Karugo which is just a walk away from the endpoint of the ride at the creek.

The Karugo Falls

Thus, we were accompanied by our boatman to waterfalls, he bid farewell afterwards for us to accommodate ourselves at the falls. Prior, we set our meet up time of our return to sail back to the dam.

We swam and feel the fall of the water raging through the rocks from top to its small basin. Along with fellow hikers exiting from their respective hike from Mt. Ayaas and Mt. Pamitinan.

We barely spends an hours staying at the falls before sailing back to the dam. Eventually after we rode on the balsa, we hurriedly venture the front of the dam – man made falls, which is the common picnicking area, the best time to stay at the area depends on the vary of weather situation. Summer is the best time for picnicking at the dam.

So if you happen to hike any mountain or visit whereabout the vicinity of Montalban, Rizal, make sure to venture or side trip the Wawa Dam.

Pictures