Aurora Province, Philippines

By James Barcelona

Tourist Attractions

Ditumabo Falls

Ditumabo Falls – The majestic waterfall is approximately 140 ft. high, the surrounding mountainous area is covered with tall hardwoods, green shrubbery and vines. Drizzles of cool water seem to remain suspended I the air.

The crystal clear river of Ditumabo Falls gushes endlessly, flowing and twisting among countless rocks and boulders. Traversing to the waterfall is an enjoyable 45 minutes (2 kms.) hiking and trekking through the river over rough terrain, few steep mountain trail, river trail utilizing man made stairs, wooden bridges and sometimes old cut logs which serve as natural bridges. The shower falls and the baby falls are a sight to see before the mother falls.

Dimasalang Falls

Dimasalang Falls – This eco-tourism attraction features a staircase-like falls with an average height of about 25 meters flowing to the explicitly curved rock formations. Downstream is a lagoon ideal for diving and swimming.

Bulawan Falls

Bulawan Falls – Acclaimed as the “Cleanest Inland Body of Water – Regional Category”, Bulawan falls rises one hundred meters from the ground standing majestically on the wilderness of Brgy. Paleg. The impressive rock walling along the bank of the river adds to its awe-inspiring beauty.

Gipit Falls – Another one in the many waterfalls in the province of Aurora. This one is located in Bazal, Aurora.

Aurora is a province of the Philippines located in the eastern part of Central Luzon region, facing the Philippine Sea. Its capital is Baler and borders, clockwise from the south, the provinces of Quezon, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, and Isabela.

Gipit Falls

Before 1979, Aurora was part of the province of Quezon. Aurora was, in fact, named after Aurora Aragon, the wife of Pres. Manuel L. Quezon, the president of the Philippine Commonwealth, after whom the mother province was named.

Physical

Aurora is a coastal province in east-central Luzon. To the north, it is bordered by the Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park of Isabela, to the west by the central range of the Sierra Madre which contains the Casecnan Protected Landscape and Aurora Memorial National Park, to the south by the Umiray River, and to the east by the Philippine Sea which opens to the Pacific Ocean. The San Ildefonso Peninsula lies in the province's northern portion between the Philippine Sea and Casiguran Sound.

History

In 1572, the Spanish explorer Juan de Salcedo became the first European to visit the region that would be known as Aurora while he was exploring the northern coast of Luzon. Salcedo reportedly visited the towns of Casiguran, Baler and Infanta.

In the early days of the Spanish colonial period, Aurora was ecclesiastically linked to Infanta, which today rests further south, in northern Quezon. The earliest missionaries in the province were the Franciscans, who had established missions in Baler and Casiguran in 1609. Due to lack of available personnel, the region was given to the jurisdiction of the Agustinians and Recollects in 1658, but was returned to the Friars Minor in 1703. Other early missions included Dipaculao, established in 1719, and Casiguran, in 1753.

The early history of Aurora is linked to Quezon Province, of which it formed a part until its establishment as a province, and Nueva Ecija, under which the area was governed as the District of El Príncipe.

Aurora became a sub-province of Quezon in 1951, and finally attained provincehood during the presidency of Ferdinand E. Marcos, by virtue of Batas Pambansa Blg. 7 enacted on August 13, 1979.