Get awed by the beauty and grandeur of Tumalog Falls in Oslob, Cebu

No wonder why Tumalog Falls is attracting many tourists, local and foreign alike; its beauty is simply breathtaking. Its grandeur is something that many could not resist, including me. In fact, when I was there, most of my time was spent only staring at the relaxing cascades of waters smoothly flowing down to a shallow basin before finally making their way to the river streams.

My journey to Tumalog Falls was a piece of cake. Soon after having fun swimming with whale sharks, my Habal-habal (motorbike) driver took me to the place. It was just about 15-20 minutes ride (on a cemented road) from the whale shark area.

Upon reaching the first entrance, my driver told me that I had the option to trek or to ride on another motorbike to reach the exact location of the falls.

“It’s not far, about 600 meters from here,” he said, “but you might find the road difficult as it is pretty steep,” he added.

So, he recommended riding another motorbike (as he’s only allowed up to that part of the road).

Because I was excited to see the falls, I followed his advice and rode another motorbike waiting at the area.

Well, the road was steep, indeed, but I thought I could have managed it all by myself pretty easy (hey, I am an outdoor person!). But then again, one of my goals in traveling is to help locals – in my own little ways – earn from their tourism, so it was just okay if I paid 50 pesos (back and forth ride) for that short distance.

After paying the entrance fee of 25 pesos, I wasted no time and just took my camera out to capture the view. My excitement went higher as even at the entrance area (I was still a hundred meters or so away from the falls), I already felt the refreshing, cool atmosphere, and the relaxing sound of flowing water. And because it was still early in the morning (about 8AM), there were just a few tourists around and so I felt pretty lucky to do my photographing without distractions (though photo-bombers were unavoidable).

The only little drawback I experienced when taking photos of the falls was that I could not find a perfect place to capture it in its entirety. The reasons for that were (1) because of its height and (2) the place was dense that some trees covered parts of my view. Nevertheless, I enjoyed my photography session; I was happy with my captures. 😀

Here are some facts about Tumalog Falls that you might want to know:

  • It stands proud at 300-foot high (about 100 meters) from the base
  • Its waters flow smoothly in almost vertical cascades; thus, it is categorized as horsetail waterfall as waters remain in contact with the bedrock most of the time.
  • Waters drop into a pretty shallow basin (waist-high) before flowing down to a narrow (and again, shallow) river streams, which means not dangerous for those who don’t know how to swim
  • The area surrounding the falls is well-maintained; trash is managed, plants tended (in fact, I saw a staff cleaning one of the pathways )
  • There are open and closed cottages available for those who want to stay a bit longer

Here are some photos that I have taken:

How to get there from Cebu City

  • At the South Bus Terminal, hop on a Ceres Bus with route Bato via Oslob
  • Disembark at the highway where the signage of Tumalog Falls is located (just tell the bus conductor, they know the area quite well)
  • From there, negotiate for a habal-habal ride (the ride should just take about 15-20 minutes from the main highway)

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