Tago, a land of falls

THE CAGPANGI FALLS. BONIPART SALINAS/CONTRIBUTOR

SURIGAO DEL SUR—Waterfalls provide a lovely panorama. And it’s easy to get hooked on these natural marvels as they drop from towering heights with stunning power.

Tago, a second-class municipality in the central part of Surigao del Sur, has many waterfalls. And three of these—Sola Gratia, Cagpangi and Green Falls—are now attracting tourists who seek out the beauty of water in motion.

Set apart in a span of 15 kilometers and located just meters from the paved highway, these cascades are configured differently that they’re worth the special trip.

Sola Gratia Falls

The Sola Gratia Falls is a waterfall stowed in a pocket forest that exudes all notions of things primitive: vine-curtained trees, massive boulders and flat rock formations, and vibrant wildflowers strewn everywhere.

Its area may be limited but its contour provides an added challenge to daring thrill seekers.

THE GREEN FALLS. IAN QUICO/CONTRIBUTOR

The Sola Gratia Falls discharges itself into a creek that snakes all the way to the Tago River. A resort has been established along this watery path, featuring kiddie and adult swimming pools that utilize the ever-flowing, fresh and clean emerald water of the falls.

The Sola Gratia in Pamugsukan, Gamut, is about 7 km from the Tago town center.

Cagpangi Falls

The Cagpangi Falls is small by any standards. And it doesn’t roar. But as it flows in whispers, it mesmerizes with its quiet charm and watery grace. Comparing it with another of Surigao del Sur’s iconic falls using a musical analogy, the Tinuy-an Falls in Bislig City is hard rock, while the Cagpangi Falls is rhythm and blues.

Like all other falls, the Cagpangi Falls is seasonal: At times, it gushes; other times, it trickles. And because it’s not lofty, it is not obscured by mists rising in vast clouds even when flowing at full volume. The better for tourists to have clearer “selfies.”

Canopied by a thick foliage that blows cold mountain air, the Cagpangi Falls, no matter how subdued, is a natural cocoon for restive souls. About 12 km from Sola Gratia, it’s part of an inland resort that still evokes an old-world charm even after it has fused natural and man-made attractions.

Green Falls

Secreted away in the lush interior of a primeval forest, the Green Falls overflows with frothy waters as though a fairy brewing beer from an unseen giant vat forgot about it as she was busy  flirting with the firefly-man the night before last.

The water that leaps invitingly into the deep plunge pool will leave anyone with no choice but to get a free hydro massage. And the pressure is extremely soothing to the back that it puts to shame the ministrations of masseurs in the best of urban spas.

The Green Falls is composed of seven falls, with the main being a ledge. The other six are mostly horsetails that come in multiple variations: slide, ribbon, chute and fan.

Green Falls offers limitless adventures. If lucky, a tourist may touch a dazzling rainbow forming in the spray at the bottom of the falls. Or he may send his adrenaline to orbit by clambering up then crawling to the edge of the precipitous overhang and looking down at the roaring curtain.

At the tiers where the other falls gush, shallow streams that mirror the skies flow over rock shelves. Small pools that can accommodate a number of tourists at a time dot the area framed by towering trees and crazy vines. It is here where tourists can take all the photos they want for Facebook and Instagram.

The Green Falls is located in Cabangahan and is about 3 km from the Cagpangi Falls.

Land of Waterfalls

Tago offers no claim for its waterfalls to be the highest, the heaviest or the most spectacular. A true tourist, after all, doesn’t chase waterfalls for labels and statistics, or for the tremendous roar of the rushing water, or for the luck of snapping a selfie beside a rainbow that hovers above the ground of the waterfall’s gorge. A real tourist visits waterfalls simply because these are sparkling visions of nature at its best.

The local government of Tago is positioning itself as the “Land of Waterfalls.”  And it is embarking on a reconnaissance project to discover more falls to develop and promote. But because the three banner falls can already hold their own, Tago is poised to launch “The Cascades Tour” this year.

Now, pray tell: Is there an adventure more exciting that visiting  three separate waterfalls in just one go?