THRILLGROUNDS Ground 45 · Cebu, Bohol & Boracay: the Philippines · Visayas · Badian · Moalboal · Bantayan · Danao · Loboc · Boracay
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Kawasan Falls in Badian, Cebu: turquoise water pouring over a limestone ledge into a milky-blue pool under the jungle

10° 00′ N · 123° 45′ E · From a jump door over Bantayan to a million sardines off Moalboal · Ground 45

Cebu, Bohol & Boracay: the Philippines

Seven thousand islands.
The drops are short; the water is always there.

The Visayas have no great mountains, so the Philippines' thrills are built around water and a few deep cuts in the limestone: the canyon of the Matutinao River that ends at Kawasan Falls, the gorge at Danao in the middle of Bohol, the Loboc River. These grounds start at 10,000 feet over Bantayan Island, drop into a 200-metre gorge on a canyon swing, hang a parasail over Boracay, cross the Loboc River on a zipline, jump the pools of Kawasan – the search everyone makes – and end in the sea at Moalboal, where a million sardines school twenty metres from the beach.

1 · the view3 · sweaty palms5 · heart in your throat
Jump
A tandem pair leaving the door of a small aircraft into blue sky, the instructor's arms spread (symbolic image, not Bantayan)

Stop 1 · Tandem skydive · Skydive Cebu, Santa Fe airstrip, Bantayan Island

10,000FT · EXIT ALTITUDE

Ten thousand feet over an island you can see the whole of

The Cessna climbs off the little strip at Santa Fe and Bantayan shrinks to a green leaf in the Visayan Sea. At 10,000 feet the door opens; thirty-odd seconds of freefall, then six minutes under canopy back down to the sand.

Pulse 5/5 our editors' rating
Exit altitude
10,000 ft (3,048 m)
Freefall
30–40 seconds, then 5–7 minutes under canopy
Where & when
Santa Fe, Bantayan Island – about 3.5 h from Cebu City by road and ferry; November to May, closed July–October
Price
₱28,350 standard, ₱25,200 each in a group, ₱41,475 with outside camera – about $440–720, direct; 250 lb limit

Direct only. Skydive Cebu is the country's only USPA-affiliated drop zone and sells on its own site in pesos; neither GetYourGuide nor Viator lists it. Photo: a tandem exit elsewhere, not Bantayan.

↓ Above your pulse limit – keep falling

A rider on the Suislide zipline mid-cable above the forested gorge at Danao Adventure Park, Bohol, cliff wall behind

The deck hangs off the rim of the Wahig gorge, 200 metres above the river. A countdown, the release, and you fall – 45 metres by the park's count – until the ropes catch and swing you a hundred metres out over the trees.

Pulse 5/5 our editors' rating
The gorge
about 200 m deep and 300 m wide; the deck sits 200 m above the floor
The drop
about 4 seconds of free fall – sources say 45 to 75 m – then a 100-m pendulum swing; seated or head-first
Also here
the Suislide zipline, 480 m out and 460 m back across the gorge; a Sky Ride cable car; caving
Price & hours
Plunge ₱700 (about $12), Suislide ₱350, entrance ₱40; 8:00–17:00, about 2 h from Tagbilaran

Photo: the Suislide zipline crossing the same gorge, a rider mid-cable – not the Plunge platform itself.

↓ Above your pulse limit – keep falling

Stop 2 · Canyon swing · Danao Adventure Park (E.A.T. Danao), central Bohol

656FT · THE PLATFORM ABOVE THE GORGE

A platform 200 metres up, then a few seconds of nothing at all

A parasail canopy high above the sea off Boracay, the tow rope running back to the boat's wake, hills of Panay behind

Stop 3 · Parasailing · Manggayad platform off White Beach, Boracay

490FT · ABOVE THE SEA

Fifteen minutes on a rope over the whitest beach in the country

A speedboat runs you from White Beach to the floating platform, the winch pays out and the canopy lifts you to a hundred metres and more. Below, four kilometres of White Beach, the paraw sails, water in every shade of green.

Pulse 2/5 our editors' rating
Height
about 330–490 ft (100–150 m) above the sea
Flight
10–15 minutes in the air; 1.5–2 hours in all with transfers and briefing
Who
solo, tandem or three up; weight limits set on the day by the wind
Price
₱2,800 solo, ₱5,000 tandem, ₱6,900 for three – about $35–50 per person; platform reached from Stations 1–3

↓ Above your pulse limit – keep falling

A rider in an orange helmet on a zipline over a jungle gorge, seen from behind (symbolic image, Laos, not Loboc)

The Loboc winds through the middle of Bohol under palms and mahogany. The zipline crosses it ridge to ridge: 520 metres of cable, a minute in the air, the river a green ribbon 120 metres below. The cable car brings you back.

Pulse 3/5 our editors' rating
The line
about 520 m long, up to 120 m above the Loboc River; a little over a minute
The way back
cable car, about 100 m above the river, five adults per cabin
Price
zipline plus cable-car return about ₱400–700 (about $7–12), paid at the park; 8:30–17:30
Where
Loboc, 45 minutes from Tagbilaran, on the road to the Chocolate Hills

Direct only. No platform sells the zipline on its own; the Bohol countryside tours below pass Loboc and drivers will stop if you ask – you pay the park in cash. Photo: a jungle zipline in Laos, not Loboc.

↓ Above your pulse limit – keep falling

Stop 4 · Zipline · Loboc Ecotourism Adventure Park, Bohol

394FT · ABOVE THE LOBOC RIVER

Half a kilometre of cable, 120 metres over the green river

A man mid-air, arms up, jumping from a rock ledge into a turquoise jungle pool (symbolic image, not Kawasan)

Stop 5 · Canyoneering · Kanlaob and Matutinao rivers, Alegria to Badian, Cebu

39FT · THE BIG JUMP

Three hours of blue pools, and a twelve-metre ledge near the end

Helmet, life vest, and into the river. The canyon narrows to turquoise slots you swim, ledges you slide, jumps that start at three metres and grow: six, eight, ten, twelve. Then the canyon opens onto Kawasan Falls.

Pulse 4/5 our editors' rating
The jumps
3–5 m, 6–8 m, 10–12 m, and a 13–15 m ledge when conditions allow; every jump optional
The route
from the Kanlaob River in Alegria down the Matutinao canyon to Kawasan Falls in Badian, 3–5 hours
Price
regulated ₱2,000 plus ₱100 shuttle (about $37); day tours from Moalboal or Cebu City from about $43 with lunch
When & who
December to May; rain closes the canyon; from about 10–12 years

We link the canyoneering-only tours. Many Cebu listings pair Kawasan with the Oslob whale sharks, where the animals are hand-fed; we leave those out. Photo: a jump into a jungle pool elsewhere, not the Matutinao canyon.

↓ Above your pulse limit – keep falling

A snorkeller hanging in blue water beside a dense wall of sardines along the Moalboal drop-off

Walk in off Panagsama Beach, ten metres out the reef drops away, and the wall is alive: a school of a million sardines turning as one, a ball, a curtain, a tunnel you can duck-dive through. Turtles graze the seagrass behind you.

Pulse 2/5 our editors' rating
Where
20 m off Panagsama Beach; the sardines hold at 1–10 m along the drop-off
When
all year; mornings before the boats arrive are best
Cost
free from the beach; mask ₱100, fins ₱150 to rent; guided snorkel tours from about $22
Getting there
about 3 hours from Cebu City's South Bus Terminal; 20 minutes from Kawasan

↓ Above your pulse limit – keep falling

Stop 6 · Snorkel & freedive · Panagsama Beach, Moalboal, Cebu

0FT · IN THE SEA

A million sardines, twenty metres from the sand, every day of the year

Touchdown. Now build your day on these grounds.

    Also on these grounds

    Edge Coaster, Cebu City

    Pulse 3/5

    On the 37th floor of the Crown Regency tower, 127 m above Osmeña Boulevard, a two-seat rail car rides the building's outer edge and tilts you 55 degrees over the street. Sells through the hotel and Klook, not through our partners; closed Mondays and in bad weather.

    The grounds in numbers

    ActivityPulseThe numberDurationFromReviewsBookable online
    Tandem skydive · Bantayan5/510,000 ft, island landinghalf a day with ferrySkydive Cebu—no – book direct
    The Plunge · Danao, BoholBook now →
    Parasailing · BoracayBook now →
    Zipline · Loboc, Bohol3/5520 m, 394 ft over the river1 h on siteLoboc Ecotourism Adventure Park—no – book direct
    Canyoneering · KawasanBook now →
    Sardine run · MoalboalBook now →

    Before you jump

    Can you skydive in the Philippines?

    Yes, at one drop zone: Skydive Cebu at the Santa Fe airstrip on Bantayan Island, the country's only USPA-affiliated operation. Tandems exit at 10,000 ft with 30–40 seconds of freefall and 5–7 minutes under canopy, November to May. ₱28,350 standard (about $500), less in a group; book direct, about 3.5 hours from Cebu City by road and ferry.

    How high are the jumps at Kawasan Falls?

    The canyoneering route down the Matutinao River has jumps of 3–5 m, 6–8 m and 10–12 m, plus a 13–15 m ledge when water levels allow; the old 15-m jump above the falls was closed after a typhoon. Every jump is optional – guides show a climb-down. The regulated price is ₱2,000 plus a ₱100 shuttle; day tours with lunch from Moalboal start around $43, from Cebu City around $85.

    What is The Plunge in Bohol?

    A canyon swing at Danao Adventure Park in central Bohol: a platform 200 m above the Wahig gorge, a free fall the park puts at 45 m (other accounts say 70–75 m) lasting about four seconds, then a 100-m pendulum swing across the 300-m-wide canyon. ₱700 on the day; the Suislide zipline across the same gorge is ₱350. About two hours' drive from Tagbilaran; GetYourGuide sells day trips with transfers from Panglao.

    Is the Moalboal sardine run seasonal?

    No – the school stays off Panagsama Beach all year, 20 m from the sand along the drop-off at 1–10 m depth, which is what makes it different from the migrating sardine runs elsewhere. Go early, before the day boats. Free from the beach with a rented mask (₱100); guided snorkel tours from about $22 add turtles and Pescador Island.

    Why don't you list the Oslob whale sharks?

    Because the sharks at Oslob are hand-fed to keep them in the bay, which changes their behaviour and draws the criticism of marine biologists. Most Cebu combo tours bundle Oslob with Kawasan or Moalboal; we link the canyoneering-only and sardine-only options instead.