CARAGA Northeastern Mindanao – Surigao City: City of Island Adventure

For the second part of my CARAGA Northeastern Mindanao Tra-Abel trip, I visited Surigao City and Siargao Island, both are part of Surigao del Norte.  Surigao City is located at the Northeastern Tip of Mindanao and dubbed as the 'City of Island Adventures'. 

How to Get There:

By Land – Buses from Pasay City, Metro Manila have trips going to Surigao several times a week via Lipata Ferry Terminal. Daily bus trips from Butuan, Cagayan de Oro City or Davao City to Surigao City are also available at regular intervals.

By Sea – Passenger boats are available every day except Sundays from Cebu. Boats from Manila also have regular trips to Surigao.

By Air – Cebu Pacific Air flies daily from Cebu to Surigao every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday & vice versa. PALExpress (Philippine Airlines) likewise flies from Manila to Surigao every day except Wednesday and vice versa. Skyjet flies to Surigao from Manila every Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday and vice versa.  For more regular trips, you can fly to Butuan City or Davao City and from there take a bus to Surigao City.

Where to Stay:

CARAGA Northeastern Mindanao – Hinatuan Enchanted River (Day 2): Bluer than Blue

Hinatuan’s Enchanted River is a river on the island of Mindanao that flows directly into the Pacific Ocean. When I first heard that this river is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Mindanao, I got curious (really, rivers?). Living in the Philippines composing of many islands, we are accustomed to plenty of rivers (during family reunions, barkada trippings, etc).  I browsed the internet out of curiosity, to know why it became a popular place to go.

I was really amazed by the pictures I saw on the net.  The water of the river is crystal clear blue (unlike normal rivers that are either dirty brown or just normal-looking-river.. LOL). At first, I thought the pictures were photoshopped, so to prove me wrong, I included Enchanted River to my itinerary.

How to get there

By Air 

From Manila or Cebu or Davao City as transit point, Philippine Airlines (or its low cost counterpart – PALExpress)  and  Cebu Pacific ply the Manila-Davao-Manila and Cebu-Davao-Cebu several trips daily. From Davao City, there are non air-conditioned buses in Davao Ecoland Terminal directly bound to Mangagoy in Bislig City for a 5-hour trip.  From Mangagoy ride a bus bound to San Francisco/Butuan City – and just tell the driver to drop you in eskina/crossing Enchanted River- that’s more or less an hour travel.

From Manila or Cebu or Butuan City as transit point, Philippine Airlines (or its low cost counterpart – PALExpress)  and  Cebu Pacific also ply these routes three times a week. From the airport take a cab to the City Bus Integrated Terminal where air-conditioned van may be hired for a 4-hour trip to Bislig City (passing the town of Hinatuan) at a reasonable price. Regular trips of Bachelor Express buses also ply the Butuan route as early as 2:00AM daily. Note that Hinatuan is the last stop before Mangagoy/Bislig, so be sure to be awake when the bus stops at Hintuan (or just inform the driver to drop you off at Hinatuan Terminal). From the terminal you can hire a habal/habal (single motorcycle) to the river.  You can also ask the driver to drop you directly in eskina/crossing Enchanted River where single motorcycles are also available (there is a large tarpaulin of Enchanted River in the crossing).

By Sea

Inter-island vessels like the Super-ferry and Sulpicio Lines serves the Manila-Butuan or Cebu Butuan routes on regular schedules with Nasipit Port as transit point. Aircon vans are available at the wharf or take a jeepney to the city terminal for the regular bus trips to Bislig City (passing the town of Hinatuan).

Source: Bislig City Tourism Leaflet

Enchanting Experience! 

If my ride to Tinuy-an Falls was a real pain-in-the-ass, my trip to Hinatuan Enchanted River was a delight. The cool breeze of the morning touches my face as we drove deeper into the forest where the river is located.  We reached the river after a 45-minute to 1-hour drive from Bislig City. There was an entrance fee of Php50.00, stores are located near the entrance of the river, cottages can be rented for those who are planning to stay longer, swimming and diving gears can be rented at a reasonable price. (Entrance fee is 50 pesos per person, life jacket rent is 15 pesos per hour, and cottage rent costs 100.00.)

A little walk from the entrance, you can already see the crystal blue water of Enchanted River. Since, I arrived early in the morning, only a few people were in the vicinity which made my trip to

CARAGA Northeastern Mindanao – Tinuy-an Falls (Day 1): “Niagra Falls” of the Phillipines

“Niagra Falls” of the Philippines

The driver arrived in my hotel (Pensionne La Salle) exactly at the agreed time, so without further ado, we started our trip to Tinuy-an Falls! The road to the falls was a little rough and uncomfortable (or I’m not just used in riding single motorcycles), but the view along the way is quite interesting.  The trip took us around 45 minutes to get there.

3 tiered waterfalls!

An Environmental Fee (Php50.00) is collected at the entrance of the falls. Even from afar, you can already hear the gushing of the waters brought by the strong and long falls. There are no public utility vehicles going to Tinuy-an Falls, you have to hire a motorcycle, or a van or bring your private car! There are small establishments (Karinderia) at the entrance of the falls, where you can buy foods and drinks. 

Tinuy-an Falls, Bislig City!

CARAGA Northeastern Mindanao – Surigao del Sur (Day 1): A Roadtrip to the Unknown

Mindanao has always been perceived as a dangerous location for tourist. However, not all the provinces of Mindanao are code red (tourist unfriendly zone), in fact only a few provinces are considered dangerous. According to the latest advisory dated January 2014, tourists are advised against all travel only to the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (consisting of Basilan, Sulu, Tawi Tawi, Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao). So if you are planning to visit Mindanao, do not worry, just exercise normal security precautions, avoid the provinces enumerated above and be sure to enjoy your stay there!

My first stop for the Caraga Northeastern Mindanao series of Tra-Abel was Bislig City, Surigao del Sur with a short-side-trip to Butuan City of Agusan del Norte. Bislig is the charming city on the eastern coast of Mindanao, facing the Pacific Ocean. According to oral tradition, the city was named after a forest vine of the rattan family which grew in abundance along the river banks. This vine was noted for its strength and was credited for saving a royal couple from drowning when they once crossed the river (Source: Tourism Leaflet of Bislig City).

How to get there:

From Butuan City

From the Bancasi (Butuan) Airport, take a trike/jeepney to the City Bus Terminal where air-conditioned vans may be hired for a 3-hour trip to Bislig City at reasonable rates (a bit more expensive than bus). Regular trips of Bachelor Express (non-aircon buses) also ply the Butuan-Bislig route as early as 2:00AM daily. (Note that “Mangagoy” is the placard used by the buses instead of Bislig)

Super comfy buses of Bachelor Express

From Davao City

From Davao airport, take a taxi to the Ecoland Bus Terminal where air-conditioned vans may be hired for a 5-hour trip to Bislig City at reasonable rates (a bit more expensive than bus). Regular trips of Bachelor Express (aircon and non-aircon buses) also ply the Davao-Bislig route as early as 2:00AM daily.

From Surigao City 

There is no direct bus going to Bislig. Either you take a bus to Butuan or take a bus going to Tandag. If you opted for the Butuan Bus refer to the directions above. Meanwhile, if you chose the Tandag bound bus, you can either take a jeepney, a van or a bus from Tandag Terminal to Bislig. (According to the locals, the route Surigao-Butuan-Bislig is more comfortable since the roads on this route are more concrete and polished(?))

With little knowledge about the place I was about to go, I departed Placer, Surigao del Norte at 4:00 in the afternoon. I boarded a jeepney going to Surigao City Integrated Bus Terminal. From there I immediately took the Butuan bus (lucky for me, the bus did not take long before it departed) and enjoyed the 2-hour trip.

CARAGA Northeastern Mindanao Series: Tra-Abel Trip Itinerary

In September 2014, an idea crossed my mind – to travel through the provinces of Caraga region in the Northeastern part of Mindanao. Caraga is composed of 5 provinces: Agusan del Norte (Butuan City), Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Norte (Surigao City & Siargao), Surigao del Sur (Bislig City & Hinatuan) and Dinagat Islands. This region hosts plenty of tourist sites and spots such as Enchanted River, Tinuy-an Falls, the surfing capital – Siargao, Sohoton Cove National Park, Britania Islands and many more.

Itinerary Map (source: wikipedia) 

Start   Placer, Surigao del Norte
1        Butuan City, Agusan del Norte
2        Bislig City, Surigao del Sur
3        Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur
4        Surigao City, Surigao del Norte
5        Siargao, Surigao del Norte

An opportunity to make my plans become a reality, came when I was assigned to perform audit fieldwork at Placer for one (1) month in October 2013. Placer is a small municipality of Surigao del Norte, 30 minutes away from Surigao City, the Capital Town.

Here’s my planned itinerary for the Tra-Abel Caraga Trip (2 weekends only - Sat&Sun)