It’s real, guys. There’s no going back: IT IS OCTOBER. ALREADY. <insert dramatic pause here> Oh, dear. Only three months left of the year. But guess what, that means there’ll be an entirely new set of beginnings coming up, right? Yeah, there’s always a bright side; we just have to look for it. Speaking of “looking” for something (nearly) hidden, let me tell you about our visit to the Tinago Falls in Lanao del Norte.
Iligan City may be the “City of Majestic Waterfalls”, but you have to venture a bit outside the city limits to find one of the not-so-hidden-anymore gems that this place has to offer.
I’m not quite sure how long it took, maybe an hour or more? But after leaving Mimbalut Falls, we finally arrived at the parking and reception area of the famous Tinago Falls.
I mentioned this already in my earlier post, but let me say it again. The Tourism Triangle of Iligan is comprised of Maria Cristina Falls, Mimbalut Falls and Tinago Falls. Our plan, which we’re sticking to, is to take a dip at Tinago Falls, and that explains why we only went to Mimbalut Falls for some sightseeing and picture-taking.
Technically, Tinago Falls is located, NOT within the Iligan City limits, but in the nearby town of Linamon. But it’s quite close to the City, which probably explains why it has become “adopted”.
When we arrived, there were already a lot of vehicles in the parking area, which means a lot of visitors have already arrived. We got the stuff we needed, and paid up for our entrance.
Entrance fee is Php20 for adults and Php10 for minors. Guides are there to help you out, and it is advised that you ask for one. They have no fixed rates, so it’ll be up to you how much you’ll give them. We also rented life vests,
And then we started the descent down a flight of stone stairs.
It did not take long until we arrived at the bottom of the stairs, where there were sheds and tables already filled with visitors. Voices and sounds of laughter filled the air, but that did not really enter my consciousness much. I was just so in awe at the sight of the waterfalls.
There are two points of interest: the main waterfall on the right, quite lofty at 73 meters, and seemingly passionate in spewing out water, and the relatively milder cascade on the left.
As you can see, there were already a good number of people frolicking in the water. Vests are required, even for those who are skilled at swimming. Also, there are guides everywhere taking on the role of lifeguards.
We were kinda hungry, too, so we bought these huuuge banana-Qs from a vendor and satisfied our empty stomachs before getting into the water.
And then we finally got into the water.
Which was coooooooold. But that’s when you first dip into it, by the way. It gets better as you stay there longer.
But of course, floating and kicking about in the water will never be enough; at least, not for us. So when our guide suggested we rent a raft that will pull us close to the cascade, we went for it.
I mean, YOLO, right?
It didn’t take much convincing, after we saw how many people were getting closer to the waterfall, and some of them even jumping from one of the lower ledges.
This is not the first time I got to go on a raft, and went underneath a waterfall. The first one was at Tinuy-an Falls, and the second one was at the Magdapio Falls aka Pagsanjan Falls.
You’d think I’d have had enough of it already, but noooooo~ This one was another experience on its own.
The force of the water is quite strong, which means these guides that are able to pull the raft around must be really really strong. And look just how lean and lanky they are! 🙂
Since there are other people climbing on the ledge by the waterfall to make their jumps, you have to await your turn.
But standing there, feeling the spray all over you and around you… it’s a completely heady and exhilarating feeling. There were smaller ledges that you can climb on, by the way. But make sure you ask your guide first, to ensure it is safe and you won’t be injured.
And then we also got the chance to make that jump.
Although, only two of us dared to do it. Jump into the water, bring ourselves to that rock face, climb up to the ledge, then jump.
So, did we jump?
Yes, we did.
If I hadn’t, I’d have been regretting it until now.
It appears that this is a favorite place for even the locals, because many of the visitors on the other tables were clearly from around the area.
I can’t blame them. If this were in my own town, I’d be here every weekend.
I think we spent close to 2 hours there, then we picked up our stuff and walked up the stairs. There was freely running water halfway up the stairs where we took a quick rinse. Then changed our clothes at the restrooms in the parking area.
From Tinago Falls, we had that long drive back to the Laguindingan Airport in Cagayan de Oro, where we still had a lot of time before our flight back to Manila.
This post wraps up our friendship tour down south. What a great week it has been, rains and all! Except for that one blip (boo-hoo Mt, Hibok-Hibok), it was definitely a trip worth remembering over and over!
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