Hidden World

Our country is an archipelago, that is composed of many islands. It has already been said and written and cited, etc, etc, that we are composed of about 7,107 islands depending on the tide. Some small ones vanish with very high tides, and reappear when low tide returns. 


The biggest islands are Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, the 3rd being the largest. Mindanao has the biggest remaining forests, wide and still unexploited rivers plus still fertile soils. It also boasts of many waterfalls to say the least. The Tinago Falls in Iligan City is one of the tallest among them at 240 ft. Tinago in Filipino means 'hidden', maybe because after a long rough circuitous road, it is reached through about 500 steps to the bottom of a deep ravine. At the top edge of the ravine, one can already hear the sounds of the falls with its big volume of water. 

conference room

Most of our Muslim brothers are in Mindanao. We were invited by a university there for a lecture on Intellectual Property Awareness. It is amazing to see beautiful and colorful decorations as part of their culture. Marawi City is about 4 hours by car from Cagayan de Oro airport. Iligan City is halfway in between. 

This river is at the back of our hostel in Marawi City. It is still big and the people traditionally use this water for many domestic uses. The group of people at the left side under a tree are washing clothes.

 close-up of the people washing clothes at the river banks, where they take a bath too

The main Tinago Waterfalls, flows through the river we saw above. Under the main falls is a cave which can be accessed via a raft. 

There are small falls at the other sides of the main falls. The area is rich with lush green vegetation of virgin forest, big trees, and bio diverse ecosystem.

Some wood and cement structures are already added to the area to make visitors more safe and the area more manageable.

Provisions like life vests above, are provided for visitors who are tempted to swim its cold waters. I commend the beautiful colors unlike the usual all bright orange vests. 

The part of cemented stairs on the way to and back from the falls. We had 3 small stops before reaching the top ledge, to take deep breaths, rest the legs, drink some water, and look back at the lush green forest around the falls.