Its a surreal place made even more magical by the first light of the day. As the sun rose from slumber, pink and orange clouds accentuated the Kapurpurawan's otherworldly form.

I've been there twice already, an afternoon visit on both occasions. The white rock glowed in the late afternoon sun. It was quite a sight, but I longed to see it at sunrise (or sunset) when its empty of the tourist hordes. You see Kapurpurawan is quite popular with the Ilocos tourists lately, with bus loads of people making a stopover. They climb up the rock formation, have their posterity photos taken, leave their trash behind, and take a piece of the place with them - literally small pieces of the place as the rock formation is made up of soft chalk-like rocks that gets eroded every time you tread on it.

Kapurpurawan dawn

The chance to visit it again came just a couple of weeks ago. This time we made it a point to visit Kapurpurawan at an ungodly hour. By 4AM we were already at this huge field carpeted with bonsai-like coastal shrubs. At the end of this field lies the rock formation, its silhouette taking a more defined form as the dawn breaks. We had the place to ourselves, save for a couple of locals hunting for crabs.

pool reflections

I stayed off the rock this time. I can't really say for sure how long this natural monument will last, considering the daily abuse it gets from both nature and man. The locals noticed that Kapurpurawan's form have changed drastically in just a few years, thanks to erosion.


There really has been no conscious effort to preserve this place, and that seem to apply to a huge number of Philippine's natural and historical treasures. We have a weird way of promoting eco-tourism.

See photos of Kapurpurawan from my previous visits here.