Callao Cave is the most visited natural attraction in northern Luzon — a complex of seven limestone chambers in the municipality of Peñablanca, about 24 kilometres northeast of Tuguegarao City. The caves are part of the Peñablanca Protected Landscape and Seascape, a national park in the western foothills of the Sierra Madre. Natural skylights pierce the cavern roof, bathing the chambers in shafts of light and supporting ferns and other vegetation inside the cave. The seventh chamber functions as a natural chapel, used for Catholic Masses, with an altar set up beneath a shaft of sunlight. Access is via 184 steps cut into the hillside from the river below. The Pinacanauan River at the base of the caves is excellent for kayaking; boats and equipment can be hired from operators at the site.
Callao Cave
A story
In 2007, archaeologists excavating Callao Cave's second chamber found a human foot bone — a metatarsal — that was eventually dated to around 67,000 years ago. This made "Callao Man" the oldest known human remains found in the Philippines, pushing back the timeline of human occupation of the archipelago by tens of thousands of years. A 2019 analysis determined the bone belonged to a previously unknown species, now named Homo luzonensis.