Calawag Mountain Resort: Antique's Secluded Gem for Adventurous Souls

Hi Hiveans, welcome to another travel blog! My friends and I embarked on a long weekend adventure in the Western Visayas region namely in Panay and Antique. PS. It is not my first time being in this region but I loved the place so I decided to go back and tag along with my friends.

Antique is a province in Western Visayas and is the home of indigenous Iraynun-Bukidnon, and it is where Mt. Madjaas is located which is very well known to trekkers.

Going to Calawag Mountain Resort

Believe it or not, it was my first flight since the pandemic. LOL! I was excited to be on this trip and luckily I was in the window seat. I enjoyed it as if it was my first flight! haha! We flew from Cebu to Caticlan, Aklan. This place is actually well-known if you will be going to Boracay so most of the locals there were asking if we are going to Boracay. But not for now, because we are going to Antique.

We rode a trike from the Airport to Jetty Port, then we rode a bus on the terminal to Antique. It was late morning when we rode the bus and we should be reaching Antique by lunchtime as per the itinerary.

However, our itinerary didn't go well as planned. We thought the travel by bus will only take an hour and 30 mins, but it ended up taking more than 2 hours! Whew!

We disembarked at Brgy. Importante, Tibiao, Antique past lunch time. We forgot the time when we saw the name of the barangay and inserted funny thoughts HAHAHAHA! Here we go to the place where we feel most important, Brgy. Importante!!! AHAHAHAHA!

After taking a few photos and laughing, we then rode a motorcycle taxi that will bring us to Calawag Mountain Resort directly. Before arriving, we had to stop by the Tourism checkpoint to pay some fees.

Calawag Mountain Resort

**Calawag Mountain Resort **is situated in the mountains of Tibiao and is just beside the Tibiao River. The resort is well known for its adventurous activities such as River Tubing, and Kawa Bath.

It was I think past 2 in the afternoon so we were able to check in directly on our accommodation. And yes, we will be staying the night in this resort. The place definitely helps you reconnect with nature with the view of the beautiful Tibiao River, the sound of the gushing water rapids, and the native-themed resort. They also have a restaurant so you don't have to worry that you'll be starving (but it comes with a price so be prepared LOL)

Our accommodation is beside the river and is a native hut made of wood.

Activities in Calawag Mountain Resort

What's unique about this resort is that they offer a lot of activities. Due to budget and schedule restrictions, we only booked extreme river tubing and Kawa Bath. However, they offer other activities such as Spa by the river, a fish spa, and chasing waterfalls.

We took lunch by the river before embarking on our first activity of the day, river tubing.

"Extreme" River Tubing

River tubing is an activity where you will ride inflated disks or floaters to float down the river for fun. This is one of the activities I am most excited about because I had so much fun when I had it years ago. This comes with different levels depending on the length of the course and the time it takes to finish. Of course, we didn't hesitate to pick the extreme one because why not? LOL!

Apparently, it is already summer time so it was not raining for the past few weeks. This resulted in the water of the Tibiao River being shallow and with a low current. So the "extreme" water tubing to be honest ended up being boring and less fun. Nonetheless, we still enjoyed the gushing of the river and riding along with the water rapids especially if there was a fall hoping we would tumble down. HAHA! But it was a bummer because my floater is big and it just eats up the obstacles.

Kawa Bath

After that intense (LOL) river tubing, we booked our Kawa Bath to just chill and relax. Kawa Bath is an activity where you will dip into hot water and take a bath in a Kawa or huge wok. You can opt to have a special ingredient for added health benefits. Chiarra chose a Beer bath, Hive account@kev.incredible chose Milk Bath, and then I chose a Coffee bath.

Kawa Bath would not be complete without awra photos. Thanks to kuya who prepared our bath and he took photos of us.

If you find this picture funny, then you are in the same boat as my friends! HAHAHA!

As stated above, I chose a Coffee bath so I was given black coffee that I can mix in my bath. While taking photos, one of the staff told me to apply the black coffee on my face and on my skin. Since it was my first time, I followed her advice and check out the result. HAHAHA! I'm like a kid who fell into the charcoal HAHAHAHAHA!

Enjoying Tibiao River

One of the free things to enjoy in this resort is the Tibiao River. There are tables literally on the river where you can have lunch. And of course, you can swim and enjoy the freshness of the spring water. There are also some spots for picture-taking because Filipinos definitely love to take a selfie!

Calawag Mountain Resort is definitely one for the books, offering you a lot of activities while reconnecting to nature and away from stress. However, all good things come with a price. Hence you better prepare for it!

Expense List as of March 2023:

• Bus Fare from Caticlan to Tibiao - P200/pax (AC bus)
• Motorcycle Taxi from Brgy. Importante to Calawag Resort - P90/pax
• Extreme River Tubing - P499/pax
• Kawa Bath with Add-on - P399/pax
• Food - Viand ranges from P199 to P699