Todaya Falls here we go

I have heard stories of how beautiful Kapatagan is. Nestled in the mountains far from the sea, where the air is cool by several degrees, a far cry from the sweltering heat of the lowlands. It must be refreshing there. But it is not only the climate that the places is blessed. From here one can see Mount Apo, very clear in the morning. And then there is still one place worth visiting, it is Todaya falls. The waterfall they say is the highest in Mindanao. To go the waterfall one must past to this barrio first.

Alex, Alexis, Cookie, Christian and I were together at the crossing Kapatagan road in Digos, some 60 kilometers southeast from Davao City. At 1540 hrs we were ready to go. It was not hard to hire 125cc motorcycles to take us to Kapatagan some 30 kilometers away west of Digos. The motorcycle drivers said it would take us 1 hr. It would cost us 80 pesos (1,10 euro) each. Todaya Falls from Kapatagan would be 15 kilometers further. We could hire motorcycles in Kapatagan going to barrio Todaya. That would cost us half-an-hour. From the barrio we would have to walk for an hour to reach Todaya Falls so they say. In any case, I was in doubt if we could make it to the falls considering it would be sundown in two hours.

It was a steady gradual climb to the mountains. I could sense we were taking on of the ridge of Mt. Apo. After 30 minutes ride we got this view. It was 1610hrs in the afternoon. The air was getting cooler. Something like 25 degrees centigrade or lower on this height. Definitely better than at sea level.

The road was alternated between cemented and rough stretch of the road. You can bet the motorcycle rides were exciting for us.


Arriving in Kapatagan just before sundown, we began to look a place to sleep. Good that we found Campo Linaw, a lodging place. For P150 or roughly a bit little more than 2 euros per person and a place to cook one's meals, common toilet and bath, it was good enough. A quick return to the market to buy provisions for dinner and tomorrow's meals.

So what did we buy? Well corn grits, fish, some pork, vegetables, cooking oil, sugar, coffee, mung beans, biscuits, toothbrushes and toothpaste. Oh we forgot to buy bath soap.

Simple beddings had been provided, mats, pillows, thin blankets, but no towels. Luckily I brought mine. I took a bath before dinner, they didn't for they find the water too cold for their comfort.

We slept comfortably. Not really that cold in the mountains. After all we were only a little more than 1000 meters above the sea.

We plan to be up early at 430 hrs. I was up early before the time and boiled kape mais wich is a combination of roasted corn grits and coffee beans. They finally were up at 500 hrs. We drank our coffee and prepared to pack our provisions for the trip. We were going follow our plan. To Todaya falls on foot.

At 530 hours we were off. It was cool morning when we saw our first view of Mt. Apo in an open field. The volcanic mountain was beautiful to see. She was crystal clear.





I could not help but use 3x magnification power of my compact camera to take a closer picture of the mountain. At 2,960 meters, she can only be seen clearly in the morning. In the afternoon she will be covered with clouds. The mountain is regarded as sacred by the Bagobos, a tribe in the area. There is also an andere sort of climate surrounding the mountain. Thundershowers occur often in the afternoon or early evening. That is another reason to start the trek early in the morning.

It was surprising that there was no steep up and downs of the road. Rather the slopes were gentle. For Kapatagan is really situated in a plateau. that is why the place means flat land.

At 640am we casted long shadows on the road. Still a long way to go. No molre cemented road to tread om, only gravel. At least it was all-weather road.

On the hillsides one can see clearings to be planted with temperate vegetables like cabbage, potatoes, broccoli and the like. To transport the goods to the market, sometimes the people use packed horses. However, often it meant motorcycles and trucks. In this foto, it looks like a peasant is carrying a half sack of beans to the market to sell, or corn to the corn mill to be milled.

We took a a few minutes rest in this fast-flowing creek.

To the natives in the area, this is the place to wash clothes and to take a bath. The water is refreshingly clear and rather not lukewarm. However this is not a source of drinking water for sure. For potable water people rely on springs. This means also that there is no water system in this area.

After two hours and 10 minutes of hiking, we took a rest in a sitio, a small village. There we be served maize coffee by the barrio councilor in his house. His tribe is Tibauan or Bagobo. They usually lived east and south slopes of Mt. Apo.

I took a picture of the mountain. One cannot see the peak anymore. One can still see however the open limestone side of the mountain. Here is also found a path to the peak.

We did a great U-turn between two plateaus. On the left side of the picture one can see a foot trail on the other side of the canyon going down to the bottom. This is what the people there call the short-cut. But short-cut is only negotiable by foot and it is deep and steep.

In due time we arrived at the construction site of the dam and spillway of the Sibulan hydroelectric plant. Past the construction site, we walked atop the 1,3 meter penstock pipes for more than a kilometer. It was better than walking on the road and biting the dust of the construction trucks. But it was also a bit dangerous, for as one slip, one can fall down by 3 meters.

At last we took a left turn away from the road. A hundred meters further we began our trek town the canyon. The foot-trail was steep and a little bit slippery so we have to be bit careful every step of the way.

People there say it will take us 30 minutes slow hike to reach Todaya falls. With the natives however, it will take them 15 minutes. To facilitate the trek down the canyon, some steps and bamboo rails were built on very steep parts of the trail. The rails were in need of repair but one still can hold on them.

We took a a few minutes rests on this massive rock overhang. Then we continued further. Sometimes the trail became so narrow, practically a foot-wide. Most of the time, the canyon cliff was almost vertical and full of vegetation. Due to the greenery, we could not see the river even if it was just below us. But we heard the sounds of the rapids.

Further onwards, we could hear now sound of the waterfall becoming louder. The canyon became also narrower. At 1050 hrs. finally the waterfall can be seen. After 5 hours and 20 minutes trek including pauses. For me it seems the total distance we have travelled must be more than 15 kilometers. Allow say 4km/hour walk, an hour worth of pauses, the estimate was reasonable enough.

Down we went further. The mist spray of the waterfall around us. Reaching the ground level, we found a place to place our things to prevent them becoming wet from spray.

The noise from the fall was thunderous. We just have to speak louder to communicate. Stripped to their shorts, the boys were looking around for a favorable place to bath. They didn't dare, for the water was murky brown in color because of the spillway construction activities upriver.

We were hungry now. We opened our provisions and ate beside the river. For me I didn't eat much. No appetite. Just as we were about to finish our combined breakfast-lunch, the rainclouds appeared. It began to rain.

We decided to go back. Quickly we got our things and began our climb. I used my umbrella this time and covered my camera and cellphone securely with plastic for it was beginning to rain cats and dogs.

Along the way on what I thought firm ground to step on because it was covered with grass, I slipped and fell to the cliff. Luckiy my fall was stopped by a firm small trunk of a tree, a meter below. Anyway it was not that dangerous for the cliff was full of vegetations. Alex helped me. But first I have to lighten up, so I threw my pack back on the trail and then pulled myself out with ease.

It cost us more than an hour to climb up. Fortunately the rain stopped.Near the end of our climb I was beginning to suffer from cramps on both thighs. We tooked a rest by a hut. Drenched wet, with rain and sweat, we have to wring our clothes of excess water. The sun shown bright. We could now let our t-shirts dry under the sun. The Bagobo woman of the house graciously received us. She prepared coffee and let us refill our water bottles. For her effort we gave her 100 pesos. She graciously accepted.

We rested there for two hours. Enough for me to take a nap on a bench. The host gave me a pillow. Later, she let us tasted her sweetened ground bisol (a taro-like tuber) paste with not so young rasped coconut. That was delicious. Epecially if one is hungry.

Back on the road. It was 1430 hrs. we reached the dam construction site after following the penstock pipes. We decided to look for motorcycles to take us back to Kapatagan. We found none available so we moved on further, till we to rest on a small roadside store. We bought drinks, biscuits and lanzones. We found one motorcycle. But that was enough to carry all of us. Thus Ayan was tasked to look for another motorcycle.

He did find another. Off we rode to Kapatagan at 50 pesos fare for each passenger. I suffered cramps in my legs and we had to stop twice to rest my legs. It had to do with cramped leg posture I had due to limited leg space to rest on.

Nearing Kapatagan, we chance upon a horse-fight. We stopped a took a look. It was a well attended affair. Two male horses fighting over a female horses. The crowds were enthusiastic audience. My first time to see and I was just curious. We ate some fried bananas. When the fight was finished we moved on.

At Kapatagan, we found a passenger van. The dispatcher said it was ready to go with 7 passengers. So he had to find two more. It we were already ready to go, when one passenger woman said there were other passengers to be picked up elsewhere. It so happened when we reached the place to pick up the other passengers, there was a whole bunch. We protested and got off the van. Had we rode with them, the space would had been so cramped that I could not rest my legs.

So back to the motorcycles. Two were hired at 240 pesos each. This time I had enough foot rest and didn't suffer cramps. It was all the way night driving. Our motorcycle suffered a flat front tire, so we had to stop at a vulcanizing shop along the way. The host of the shop treated us with maize-coffee. A quarter of an hour the tire fixing was finished.

Reaching Digos, Alexis, Alex and me took an aircon bus to Davao. The fare was 70 pesos each. I arrived at ponce at 9, tired and dirty. I immediately took a bath and changed clothes.