"Cavinti, Lovely Valley Town of Laguna" Cavinti by cyndymc

Cavinti is a town in the Province of Laguna, a valley situated at the foothills of Sierra Madre Mountain Range. It is a place nature lovers shouldn't miss. There are many natural wonders waiting to be explored.

Today, Cavinti is more known as the site of two beautiful lakes, namely Caliraya and Lumot Lakes. These two interconnected lakes are not natural formations, but man-made, the result of an infrastructure project. American engineers diverted water from the Caliraya River to Caliraya and Lumot Lakes in 1943. The lakes were designed to serve as water reservation areas for the Caliraya Hydroelectric Plant.

Entrepreneurs and the rich (& famous) got wind of Caliraya's cool climate and beautiful surroundings. Soon, resorts, a golf course and high-end residential subdivisions mushroomed in Cavinti. The town has also become a favorite destination of photography clubs and enthusiasts who find numerous interesting subjects around the lakes and valley.

Unknown to many, the famous Pagsanjan Falls is actually within the geographical boundaries of Cavinti. There is an ongoing proposal at the Sangguniang Bayan to rename the Magdapio/Pagsanjan Falls as Cavinti Falls.

Cavinti is the hometown of my childhood bestfriend. I can't forget her interesting story about how Cavinti got its name. Her grandmother related that in the early days, Cavinti was just part of Lumban, and didn't have a name assigned to it yet. Old folks say the town's name was derived from a contraction of the tagalog expression, "kabit sa binti" which was customarily shouted in unison by the early dwellers of the land, the native Aetas, whenever they performed a pre-wedding ritual. It was their custom to let the would-be bride run to the riverbank, then let the prospective groom run after her. The man's challenge was to chase and capture his loved one by grasping her leg (called "binti" in the vernacular). While the chase was going on, the onlookers shouted "Kabit sa binti, kabit sa binti!" Thus, the river where the ritual was usually done, and the place where the tribe lived were later named "Kapit sa Binti". As years passed by, the long name was shortened to "Kabinti", and it was spelled as CAVINTI by the Spaniards.

Cavinti has a land area of 126 sq.kms., and is bounded on the north and west by the Municipality of Lumban; on the south by the Municipality of Luisiana; on the east by Mauban, Quezon; and on the west side by the Municipality of Pagsanjan.

Cavinti is about 100 kilometers southeast of Manila.