Monday, October 26, 2009

Scud's Travels: Kapurpurawan Rock Formation - Burgos, Ilocos Norte

The tricycle ride to Kapurpurawan, a splendid rock formation located in Burgos, Ilocos Norte, was long and bumpy. Rocks, some larger than one’s fist, were strewn all over the road. The tricycle screeched and screamed as it struggled to pass through the crests and bumps.






















The rough ride ended when we reached a makeshift shed with the blue-colored sea beyond it. I could see on the far right, obscured by some trees, a majestic white rock formation. After a 15-20 minute ride, Kapurpurawan was now only a short walk away.






















We then made our way down a flight of steps and through a short trail that led to a wide stretch of land. It was like I had stepped into J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth. The place was part Shire, part Mordor. I half-expected Gollum to jump out of the puddle of water demanding for his beloved precious.






















The ground we were standing on was made up of corals. The whole beach was practically covered with these dead marine organisms. The place most probably was submerged in seawater many years ago and a natural phenomenon could have caused the water to recede.






















When we reached the rock formation, which was hundreds of meters from where we parked, the group who came before us we were leaving. We had the place to ourselves. We took advantage of the opportunity. We took photos. We took videos. We climbed on top of ledges where we could stand, take photos of the place, and have our photos taken.






















I stared and took photos of the creases, curves, and black stains that lined the floors and walls. The floor looked like a river of water had passed through it for years, eating up the rock, and producing an intricate design.





























In between shots I continued to marvel at the place, wondering how many years it could have taken nature to carve something extraordinary out of a big mountain of rock. I wondered who could have first discovered the place, it being so far from the highway and with no obvious human inhabitants in sight.

19 comments:

engel said...

some of the pictures look like you're in the middle of the desert.

Raft3r said...

whoa
ang ganda dito, ah!

must really be worth the travel
=)

escape said...

one of the best place to be for a person like me.

Photo Cache said...

this is the type of places i would go. amazing rock formations.

The Gasoline Dude™ said...

Oh shit! I've been to that place before!

I was with my photography club when we went there.The rock formations look like chiffon cakes in my own shots. LOL

WCS Minor Circuit said...

I've been wanting to go there for years, but no one ever wants to come with me.

Random Student said...

sinabi mo pa, imagine thousands of years siguro or even more eh mataas ang tubig d'yan. a cycle is possible.

Oman said...

parang tayo yata magkasama sa tricycle that time ah. ilan bese ako nauntog lol. definitely one of the best places i have been this year. kapurpurawan pala means white in ilocano.

The Scud said...

engel, totoo. parang nasa disyerto. meron nga sand dunes sa ilocos norte. di kami nakapunta.

The Scud said...

raft3r, it was! kahit kulang sa tulog at chichirya lang kinakain.

The Scud said...

dong, me too! kelan ang susunod na road trip?

The Scud said...

photo cache, basta nature astig tlg. gusto ko makita ang grand canyon!

The Scud said...

gasoline dude, share naman ng pics. :D

The Scud said...

wcs minor circuit, you can go solo. that's one of the things i want to do.

The Scud said...

random student, kaiba talaga dun. sana may publication about sa history ng kapurpurawan.

The Scud said...

lawstude, naku. mali pala album title ko sa facebook. nyahaha.

The Nomadic Pinoy said...

What a splendid work of nature! They look really unusual but beautiful and I wouldn't mind doing this as a sidetrip to Ilocos someday.

Visual Velocity said...

Ganda talaga ng Ilocos. It's like going to another country. Unfortunately, I haven't been there yet, hehe.

len said...

Ang ganda talaga sa Ilocos! I'm dying to go there. And those rock formations parang hindi mo aakalain na sa Pinas iyan makikita. :p