The Waterfalls Near Iligan City Part 7

This is part 7 of my post about Iligan City's waterfalls. Please check out Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 if you have not read them already.

My former high school classmate who wished to remain anonymous has sent me numerous pics of his hiking adventures around some of these waterfalls which he visited. There were a bunch of these photos in his hard drive available so I decided to make them into a series of posts with his generous permission.

The Search for Langilanon Falls

The search for the waterfalls near the city all began with these kids. It was way back in April 2011, when my fomer classmate met the two brothers on his way up the mountains.

He knew that somewhere around here can be found some waterfalls and the easiest way to find it was to ask the local kids. The place is called Sitio Langilanon, in Barangay Puga-an, Iligan City. The kids were friendly and he asked them to find the waterfalls. Luckily, they have been to the waterfalls and the search should be easy then. With the kids as his guides, that will be easy, he thought. The two kids were much to excited to take me him there and so was my classmate.

He thought the trek towards the waterfalls was surely gonna be easy. The kids told him there are stairs. 'Yes!', he told himself.

Luckily or not, it has stairs. The locals carved the rocks to make a crude staircase. But, you'll have to be extra careful on your way down. It was covered with rock moss and it is slippery. But the kids, they don't even bother about the slippery stairs. Well, they slipped out of his sight in just a few heart beats. He had to shout at them, "Please do wait for me!"

They did waited for him. Just at the bottom of the rock carved stairs is one of many Langilanon Waterfalls.

Okay, he had to admit it, he was still gasping for more air as he took that picture. The stairs do look good in the pictures, but every little step he took was a calculated risk. He held on to every little vines he could grab on to as he descended towards the waterfalls.

Will that wasn't still enough. He had much to think about going down the slippery slopes on that carved staircase. He also had to keep an eye out for the presences of snakes, spiders, centipedes and other poisonous animals found around the place. The mere presence of those creatures could surely make your spine tremble and could cause you to tip over the rocky slopes.

Good thing there were none.

Well, as my former classmate arrived near the waterfalls, he immediately took some pictures. He knew he had to do it quick, for there are more waterfalls to find somewhere around here.

A hundred meters down was another waterfall. He did not take anymore pictures in his descent. He had to be alert and careful. He's no mountain climber. He knew his physical limits.

Taking pictures as he went down the next rocky slope is on the bottom of his priorities. Taking deep breathes and being mindful of the surrounding are a must here. To take away some of his fears, luckily the kids accepted his request not to go down too fast as they made their descent.

This is was his reward. It may not be as majestic like the bigger waterfalls found around the City of Iligan but surely the trek towards those waterfalls would always make you remember it long enough until the next waterfalls to explore.

After that, he asked the kids which way was the easiest route to the next waterfalls. They both answered to go back the same route up the rocky slopes.

The same route going up made it a little bit easier. That may have also been attributed to my former classmate's joy after exploring two waterfalls and the excitement for the third one in just a few kilometers upstream.

The trek towards the next waterfalls wasn't that much harder than he had previously been through. The waterfalls isn't as tall like the previous two downstream, but it does have some stories to tell. That will have to wait until next time. Thank you and enjoy looking at the pictures.

Location on map

But wait. The story doesn't end there back in 2011.

A promise is a promise. Just like a whisper: the sound of the sand falling out from the kid's hands. This boy here is Jonathan, a friend of that kid we talked about lately.

As friends and neighbors, the boys frequently talk and play together. Jonathan, may have intentionally whispered it to my former classmate saying," I have made a promise to come back here". Well, he remembered that clearly and did it.

The promised mountain bike will have to wait then. Until then, if the boy will makes it to college at the nearby university. That should give him some encouragement to do well in school.

2017 came with a surprise for the boy, that my former classmate returned and they met once again. Indeed, it came with many surprises for my classmate too. More waterfalls yet to be seen are just waiting to be explored by a non local community resident. They may not be as wonderful as the other waterfalls found here, but the trek will be an exciting adventure. That will have to wait until his next stories.

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All the photos provided courtesy of bike2waterfallsphilippines and were taken with an iPhone 6 while older ones by old model GE G3WP digital camera.

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Follow me as @darthnava: "Joy...and be steemy always!"