The Kennon Road’s indefinite closure may have some impact on Aran Cave‘s spelunker statistics as tourists from the lowlands detour first to Baguio City.
Days ago, the Philippine News Agency (Agoot, 2019) reported that the whole stretch of Kennon Road is indefinitely closed to motorists and pedestrians after a massive landslide. This means that buses and vans plying the stretch will continue to use the Marcos Highway route.
The Kennon Road’s indefinite closure will definitely have an impact on the would-be spelunkers of Aran Cave. This means tourists coming from the lowlands planning to go to the famous Tuba cave have to detour to Baguio City first. Further, as of writing, there is only a “window hours” for residents’ vehicles and public utility vehicles in the area to be allowed to pass– from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and again from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m (Agoot, 2019).
Thus, those who would like to visit Aran Cave should contact first the Tuba LGU to confirm if the cave is open or if the road is passable. Moreover, tourists should also try to postpone plans of going there until rainy season ends. Also, the cave is flooded during heavy downpour as its is also a subterranean river.
Therefore, if your spelunking obsession badly needs to be quenched, it is highly recommended that other near spelunking destinations can be visited like Paterno cave in Ambongdolan, Libtec Crystal Cave and Sibud-Sibud Cave in Abra, and caves in Kapangan. These areas will not require you to wade through water inside the cave.
Reference:
Agoot, L. (2019). Kennon Road indefinitely closed to traffic. Retrieved on 13 Aug 2019 from https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1077357.
