Laong nila an taga Tago kuno para-away pero hanugay. Mamingawuni naman ganahani mandahap-dahap nan notisya. Naman ini na pabyon inhimo para kita na mga Tagon-on magkasinusihay, magka-binayluay nan mga gilaong, nan notisya, nan kaayuhan.
(Again, just another "filler." This is one of the many tourism-related articles I wrote that the Philippine Daily Inquirer printed.)
When somebody raved to me the marvels of Magkawas Falls, the newest must-go this side of Caraga, I gave her the smallest shrug. Like, I was blase with what nature can offer, having seen some of the best.
Oh boy, was I wrong!
The expedition was a last-minute proposal from Bebs, an officemate, who felt we all needed a tune-up after a grueling week. We lapped it up.
Backpacking with some officemates and friends that sunny Saturday morning, I didn't have much expectations. What sustained me throughout the one-hour jeepney ride from Tandag to Sitio Cagmino in Lanuza, Surigao del Sur, was the prospect of pigging out on Jhunnie's broiled blue marlin in homemade sauce, Tata's crabs in pure coco milk, and Dee's chocolate cake in sinful frosting.
From the highway where we got off, a billboard screamed: Lanuza Magkawas Falls and Green Paradise, a mountain resort eco-destination. A mouthful of hype, I told myself, but I let it pass not wanting to lose my disposition early on.
As we entered a wooden gate, the gatekeeper promptly told us that each child and adult would be charged an entrance fee of P5 and P10. He also told us to follow the duranta-lined footpath, as the falls was still 15 minutes away.
We hiked on a terrain so rugged that it was impossible for any form of transport to negotiate. Reaching the point where trees started to thicken, we climbed a 55-rung stair that was carved from a mound. As I savored the view from the top like Simba, I had rivulets of sweat. But by then, I already had a growing sense that I'd like what I'd see.
After going downhill, we walked under a foliage so thick and cool it was like being inside a cocoon, with only the chirping birds to remind us of an insensitive world.
Magkawas Falls doesn't grab you by the neck because it is not as majestic as other falls. But its starkness has a soothing quality of quiet to it that gives an exhilarating sense of moment.
As Dee aptly put it, the beauty of the Magkawas Falls is not visual but spiritual as it reaffirms, time and again, that indeed there's a God.
There are two bathing areas, separated by ripraps whose jutting stones made them look so natural, that are suitable for all types of tourists as they have varying depths. The water flows beautifully over the ripraps, creating miniature cascades that are postcard-perfect. Near the catch basin (the size of a half-court), there is a flat rock formation where one could poise a dive into the inviting waters that mirror graphically everything above it.
Despite its visual and spatial limitations, the Magkawas Falls is a striking showcase of how a small place can be so beautiful. It is also an excellent study of basic architecture: Landscaping was tops and the structures were built with fastidious attention to details that they fused seamlessly with nature. Cottages are made of round timber and built in such a way that they look like they are chiseled out from a cliff, overlooking the falls. They are connected by stairs whose handrails are either naturally wrought branches or enormous crazy vines. The anahaw thatch has an intricate pattern that creates a dazzling illusion of scalloped brocade. Tarzan and Jane couldn't have asked for a much better dwelling.
But what really caught my fancy were the stone vignettes amid exotic flora. Arranged in circles, stone slabs serve as dining sets with a vantage view of the falls. I never enjoyed eating before as much as I enjoyed it there.
The Magkawas Falls spins a practical magic that held me spellbound. I would have completely transported myself back to that pristine place and time of yore had it not been for the jolting presence of signages and billboards. They are annoyingly everywhere that they somehow spoil the whole ambience and mystique that the Magkawas Falls effortlessly creates. Which brings me to a digression: Why are we so fixated on signages and billboards? Is ours a hopeless generation that we always have to be told what not to do? (Signboard mania to me is the worst affliction of our generation that there ought to be a statute of limitation on it, given our predilection to overdo things and murder the English grammar.)
It is to the infinite credit of Mayor Algerico Irrizarri who transformed this hitherto hidden beauty into an emerging tourist destination by involving the whole community. Every Friday, he initiates a linis bayan to prepare the Magkawas Falls for weekend tourists. A few months from now, flowers will be abloom. And as I see things, the Magkawas Falls may after all, live up to its claim of being a green paradise.
Mayor Irrizarri told me he still has a lot of plans for the Magkawas Falls, especially now that he has received a lot of glowing comments for it, most notably from the few foreigners who had visited the site. I suggested for him not to succumb to the common pitfall of having concrete structures built within the perimeter of the Magkawas Falls as they have a way of vandalizing the thematic concept of nature.
If I have learned something from my visit to Magkawas Falls, it's this: With nature, nobody is past surprise.
"Most claims of originality are testimony to ignorance and most claims of magic are testimony to hubris." -James March-
it was in the late 90s when Magkawas Falls was "formally" opened to the public. For the longest time, nobody paid attention to it, except the Mamanwas who used the falls to transport whatever there was for them to sell like logs, exotic fruits, firewood, etc.
i decided to post the article here after manday mentioned that her nephew and niece, together with their friends, went to Magkawas Falls just a few sleeps ago.
"Most claims of originality are testimony to ignorance and most claims of magic are testimony to hubris." -James March-
k_spy,
if you get a chance, i would really appreciate if you can post a couple of snaps of the TINUY-AN FALLS of Mangagoy, Bislig. For me, its the best waterfall of Surigao both norte and sur. Magkawas Fall is good too but pretty small .I've been to this spot so many times cz my wife's mom is from Lanuza. I miss the Ice Buko of Auntie Flor (sister of my wife's mom ). If you havent tried it, you miss a lot in life. Its a superduperyummieemmmlicious good stuff !!!!!!!!!!
Below are three shots of Bislig City's multi-tierred Tinuy-an Falls that I took many, many full moons ago using my Nokia phone. These were taken during summer which explains the lack in H20 volume. Did you know that the Department of Tourism used Tinuy-an Falls in its ad that came out in CNN?
My article about Tinuy-an Falls way back 1996 (?) was my first ever article that saw print. Though reading it now makes me cringe, I'm proud that it was published by the Philippine Daily Inquirer no less! With a bit of editing, maybe I can post the article here.
(Yup, Lanuza's ice drop is yummylicious! Have you tried its halo-halo too? it's something to die for!)
"Most claims of originality are testimony to ignorance and most claims of magic are testimony to hubris." -James March-
kampanaryo_spy wrote:My pleasure, sugz, my pleasure!
Below are three shots of Bislig City's multi-tierred Tinuy-an Falls that I took many, many full moons ago using my Nokia phone. These were taken during summer which explains the lack in H20 volume. Did you know that the Department of Tourism used Tinuy-an Falls in its ad that came out in CNN?
My article about Tinuy-an Falls way back 1996 (?) was my first ever article that saw print. Though reading it now makes me cringe, I'm proud that it was published by the Philippine Daily Inquirer no less! With a bit of editing, maybe I can post the article here.
(Yup, Lanuza's ice drop is yummylicious! Have you tried its halo-halo too? it's something to die for!)
K-spy,
a million thx, just a glimpse of it brought me back in time when me and my wife were trying to figure out muddling issues of life in this awesome spot. it wasnt a dry season then that the monstrous volume of water just blew me away ; more than enough to sink a small city in just a day.i cant wait for the article you wrote, i read it before and i will love to read it again.
Oh yeah! the halo halo ------ never, ever, i tasted something close to its taste. mag-lubo lubo kaw nan kalami!!!
I am indeed spellbound by these 2 picturesque posts courtesy of you K- spy. The cascading waters are surreal. Beautiful, beautiful and beautiful.
Yatis labon pa kay pagahagad kami mangadto sa Lanuza nan pag-uli namo. Wara taraw ako mosugot kay puloho mobiyahe. This has become a place for me to visit come my next vacation. My brother in-law is from Lanuza and I've been to Lanuza before but never did it come to my awareness that Magkawas Falls did exist. Huyat lam anay.....ato ra ton kadtoon puhon Malooy an Dios. Salamat sa ijo Kamps and Sug, nahibayo na ako koman.
For most of my life, I was a resident of Mangagoy, Bislig. My family uprooted from Tago to Mangagoy for greener pastures as my parents used to say to us.
Regretably, I have never set foot nor laid eyes on this magnificent wonder... I could not even remember hearing about it. I have been to other nature spots in Mgy. Hagonoy was may favorite. I would have loved to trek to this beauty and swim the waters. Sayang!
otot_otot wrote:For most of my life, I was a resident of Mangagoy, Bislig. My family uprooted from Tago to Mangagoy for greener pastures as my parents used to say to us.
Regretably, I have never set foot nor laid eyes on this magnificent wonder... I could not even remember hearing about it. I have been to other nature spots in Mgy. Hagonoy was may favorite. I would have loved to trek to this beauty and swim the waters. Sayang!
Hi Ots,
Don’t say sayang Ning and no regrets, it’s not too late. The truest wonder of nature is, our heavenly Father, in his goodness, created them for us, our children, our children’s children and the children after them to enjoy, be amazed and bemused.
These great places are meant to outlast all of us provided we respect them by TAKING only pictures and LEAVING only footprints.
Hey never know… maybe there’s a reunion in the future eh? You and I can then stuff our backpacks, drag the kids, get out there and have a trek of a lifetime. Now that would be nice don't you think?
Take care, Ate Abb
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those that matter... don't mind and those that mind... don't matter." Dr. Suess
](./images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall")
