Hoyop-hoyopan Cave

Hoyop-hoyopan Cave

By: Lorelie B. Brabante

In Albay, there are two caves that are well-known, one is the Hoyop-hoyopan cave and the Calabidongan cave. If you want a harder course for your spelunking adventure, I suggest you go to Calabidongan as Hoyop-hoyopan is just a walking inside a cave- it doesn't have the swimming, climbing, and sliding which is expected for a spelunking adventure. 

The main entrance of the Cave

The cave that we went to is called as Hoyop-hoyopan Cave. The cave has 3 main entrance and 3 floors, and what is fascinating is that it has its own ventilation. The wind passes through the openings of this cave which makes it cool inside and also, that is where its name came from. Hoyop, which means (ihip) blow. 

Sign near the entrance of Hoyop-hoyopan Cave

The cave also doesn’t stink unlike other caves.

Can you see a giraffe?

Hoyop-hoyopan cave is located in Camalig, Albay, about 30 minutes away from Legazpi City. As far as i know, there is no direct transportation which will take you in this cave. What you can do is hire a tricycle or a van in Daraga (instead of Legazpi, so that the price will be cheaper) to transport you in this destination.

The Exit

When you arrive in the site, there are people who can assist you and tour you around the cave, but the service is not for free it is for a minimum fee of P300.00 or $7 USD. The price is per group, so it doesn't matter how many people you are. And also, it include the entrance fee but excludes the parking fee.The parking fee is P25.00 or $0.55 USD.

DEAD MAN ROCK FORMATION (You can see a lot of interesting rock formation inside this cave)

The cave is not "au naturale" there are man-made structures inside the cave for visitor's safety. There are stairs and bridges; and also there are lights hanging in some of the areas of this place. That is why you don't need to bring some flashlights. The stairs are made because there's a lot of visitors slipping when they go up to the higher level.

Bridge in Hoyop-hoyopan Cave

There is also a man-made dance floor where people of Camalig go and party during the Martial Law era. This is funny but this is real. They go there during the night and enjoy themselves although there was a curfew set by the Marcos' government.

Even though there's man made structures inside the cave, it doesn't really affect how natural and beautiful the cave is. The man made structures are just to protect the tourists from any untoward accident.

You can also buy some crystals as souvenirs here. They cost at an average of P10.00 to P1000.00 ($0.23 - $23.25 USD).