Biri Island in Northern Samar is a rock star (pun intended)! Its rock formations are unrivalled in terms of grandiosity and grandeur. The limestone rocks and their unique forms, the different gradients of blues and greens of the crystal clear water, and the serenity of the whole area make Biri Island rock formations a dream destination.
In the previous entry, I wrote about the formation of these ginormous rocks and the way to get there, which involves many modes of transportation. If you wish to read it, please proceed here.
This entry is solely dedicated to Biri Island rock formations called Magasang and Magsapad. Unlike Bel-at and Caranas that are accessible by foot any time of the day (but not recommended to go there after sundown because the night is dark and full of terrors), Magasang and Magsapad pose a challenge. The way to Magasang and Magsapad lacks the long and sturdy bridge present in the previous route, what it has is a short concrete bridge and around 500-meter of water that one needs to wade through to get to the rock formations. Louie, our remarkable tour guide, advised Juan and me to visit Magasang and Magsapad after Bel-at and Caranas for this reason. The water level is high and the current is strong. At 406pm (based on the time on the photos taken that day), the water level reached my thighs, and the three of us held hand to walk across.
While wading through the cold water sprinkled with algae, I asked Louie if there was another way to get to the rock formations. He replied that it was possible to rent a boat. 🙂 We did not rent a boat since we were already halfway through the water-wading activity.
The water exercise was fruitful because the rock formations were transcendental. The rock formations look like the head of a roaring lion, neck and head of an ostrich, honeycomb, and butt cheeks, among other things. There were birds in the higher level of the formations, and the water was the deepest shade of blue. The best part was, there were only three of us in the entire place! It was lovelovelove.
How to get to Biri Island by air:
- Fly to Catarman Airport. Only Philippine Airlines services the area, so tickets are a little steep.
- From Catarman Airport, rent one of the tricycles in the parking area of the airport to go to the main terminal, P150.00 (US $2.93). The drivers claimed that the normal fee is P200.00 (US $3.90), which is too much for a ride that lasted less than ten minutes.
- Ride a jeepney bound for Lavezares port, P50.00 (US $0.98). Approximate travel time, one hour. Jeepney makes several stops to pick up passengers. We were fortunate that our ride was not 100% full; otherwise, we would have to pay for our backpacks. J
- Register at the tourism office in Lavezares and pay P25.00 (US $0.49).
- In Lavezares port, ride a boat that services Sto. Niño or Biri. Boat fare is P50.00 (US $0.98). It takes a while to fill the boat to its 15 – 20 people-capacity, but one can choose to pay P750.00 (US $14.64) for a special trip. Our boat had a capacity of 20 but more than 30 people and our baggage, which ranged from sacks of rice to meat, were in the boat. Approximate travel time, one hour.
- In Sto. Niño, hire a habal-habal (motorbike) to Biri. The habal-habal can accommodate two to three passengers comfortably. Register in the tourism office.
- In Biri, register in the tourism office.
- Fee for a tour guide is P300.00 (US $5.85) and fee for the habal-habal is P195.00 (US $3.80). Kindly add a generous tip to the total amount. Our tour guide was Louie. He was informative, helpful, respectful, and very creative in taking photos. He kept Juan and I safe and comfortable. I highly suggest getting his services. His mobile number is (0915) 970 – 3516 (with permission to post his number).
For related entries, please read Biri Island Rock Formations (Northern Samar), Part I. For accommodation and food, please read Villa Amor Accommodation and Lawud Seafood Restaurant, respectively.
Here are some of the photos taken in Biri Island, particularly in Magasang and Magsapad:
Hear me roar! The mighty lion of House Lannister. Tywin is alive in this island.
I love this photo because of the complete reflection. They say love yourself, it is better if you love yourself twice as much. Hehehe. I am just making fun of myself!
This rock formation does not have the jagged parallel lines present in Bel-at, but the color here is more arresting.
I thought we would go down and touch the water. Thank goodness, we did not! Even all that blue could not make me force to step on slippery rocks.
To see more Biri Island photos, please read Biri Island Rock Formations (Northern Samar), Part I.
For more information, please visit www.facebook.com/BiriNorthernSamar-RockFormations/.
Omg I really enjoyed a lot in Biri, we met a wonderful guide and better person, thank you so much Louie you are the best :), and of course I spent a great time with my great friend Roselee. She told me some months ago to go there and when i saw the pictures, immediately i wanted to go, when we arrived I fell in love with Biri. Hope to visit the island again :).
Thank you so much Roselee, I enjoyed a lot reading our adventures in Biri :).
Oki Don’t miss the opportunity to know the beautiful island and know the best guide ever :).
Hello, Juan!
I am glad you had a blast in Biri Island. Thank you for arranging everything so much so that all I needed to do was show up. 🙂 I had a grand time with you and Louie, the best guide ever, however short our time was with him. What a way to kick off our adventure!
Sorry for the delay of the approval of and reply to this message. It took me a while to look for the comment, then I realized there is a list for pending comments. OMG.