DAWEL RIVER CRUISE. Dagupan City relaunches its Dawel River Cruise on Friday (Dec. 27, 2019) and offers free ride for the meantime. The cruise opens at 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. daily with a minimum of 12 to 15 passengers before it leaves the dock. (Photo by Hilda Austria)

DAGUPAN CITY -- The city government here is offering free tour to its serene and green Dawel River.

The Dawel River Cruise, which was relaunched on Dec. 27, takes around 45 to 60 minutes through a thatched-roofed boat that can carry up to 20 passengers per travel. The city will add two more of this boat in the coming days.

In an interview Monday, city tourism officer Rose Teng-Mejia said the cruise opens at 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. daily, and will be free for the meantime.

“Whoever wants to try the river cruise could just walk-in. As usual, the boat will go with minimum of 12 to 15 passengers up to 20 per cruise,” she said.

She added it will traverse the Dawel River up to Watac-Mamalingling.

“We are pinpointing for location of foods’ stops and souvenir stops along the route, and we are planning to add other amenities to offer the tourists, such as the dry massage, among others,” Mejia said.

In his speech during the relaunch, Mayor Marc Brian Lim said the cruise offers a serene and relaxing experience.

“You will feel you are one with Dagupan City; one with God; one with nature. The cruise includes a visit to the historic pillar of the then Philippine National Railways where our national hero Dr. Jose Rizal used to ride when visiting Leonora Rivera here in Dagupan City,”

Lim said as he urged Dagupeños to invite more tourists to the city.

“We need to bring more tourists because it is one way to boost (the) economy as we will also be helping unemployed in our cities,” he said.

Lim, in a recent interview, said the city is also planning to put up a zipline as an added attraction.

Dagupan City does not have much tourist attractions so there is a need to create one aside from the Bonuan Tondaligan beach, he said.

“The river is naturally beautiful already,” he added.

Dagupan City Mayor Marc Brian Lim (left) led the releasing of some 10,000 shrimp, 5,000 molobias tilapia and 200 sea bass alongside the relaunch of the Dawel River Cruise. (Photo courtesy of Enzo Navalta Austria)

Along with the relaunch of the Dawel River Cruise, the city government has also distributed 85 out of 233 non-motorized boats to fishermen from the different barangays here.

Some 10,000 shrimp (ulang), 5,000 molobias tilapia and 200 sea bass from the National Integrated Fisheries Technology Development Center have been released in the Dawel River.

Lim also encouraged tourists to try the famous Dagupan Bangus (milkfish). (PNA)