Idiot’s Travel Guide – Timoga Spring Pool

Nothing beats Iligan City in terms of abundance of fresh waters. The city itself has about 23 waterfalls that is why Iligan City is dubbed as “The City of Majestic Waterfalls”.

Timoga Spring is one of the places in Iligan City that has the abundance of overflowing fresh waters. 

It is located in Timoga – Buruan, Iligan City where about five of these resorts houses different swimming pools, ranging from 2ft to 16ft.

It has several swimming pools to offer for both children and adults.
Fountains and sprinklers are found in a couple of pools while slides and diving board are found in the other pools. Concrete statues of cartoon characters such as Mickey Mouse, Spiderman, Tarzan and many others are found inside Timoga Spring Pool.

The clear icy cold water is from Lake Lanao which is known to be the largest fresh water lake in the Philippines.

The springs, to which the resort gets its water source, are just but one of the many outlets of the Lake; other than Maria Cristina and Linamon Falls.

With the seemingly endless supply of fresh and cold waters, Timoga cold springs have earned its reputation to be one of the “must be visited” spots in the city. Visitors from all over the country all commend to the refreshing and natural feel of the waters, minus the irritating chlorine solution, which make it distinct from the others. It is called the “flowing swimming pools” for that reason.

Admission

Entrance Fee: Php 100.00/head

Cottage: Php 75.00 to 300.00 (*depending on the table size and the location)

Corkage Fee (drinks): Php 2.00/bottle (*not applicable to all swimming pools)

How to get there

Going to Timoga Spring Pool is accessible via public transportation vehicles (jeep, taxi & etc). 

These fares from the city were updated last November 2013. 

  Jeep – Php 12.00 (adult), Php 10.00 (student/senior citizen) 

  Taxi – Php 250.00 to Php 300.00

            Note: Please be careful in dealing with taxi drivers. Since Timoga is 9 kilometers away from the city proper, most taxi drivers will                             offer you a “pakyaw” system wherein they will ask you to pay a much higher amount compared to usual meter.

All the fees and fares may change without prior notice. The blog owner will hold no responsibility when there is a sudden change in the said admission fees and fares.

If you’re planning to visit Iligan, be sure to add Timoga Spring Pool to you itinerary.

This is one of the family-friendly attractions in the City. Food from outside can be brought but drinks have a very minimum corkage fee. 

Enjoy your outing and chill!

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Idiot's Travel Guide - Maria Cristina Falls

Maria Cristina Falls
Province: Lanao del Norte
08° 11.072N 124° 11.582E

Maria Cristina Falls is a waterfall of the Agus River on the island of Mindanao. It is sometimes called the "twin falls" as the flow is separated by a rock at the brink of the waterfall. It is the famous landmark of Iligan City, also called the City of Majestic Waterfalls, because of the presence of more than 20 waterfalls in the city. It is located 9.3 kilometers away southwest of the city proper at the boundaries of Barangay Maria Cristina, Ditucalan, and Buru-un. Well-known for its natural beauty and grandeur, the 320-feet, 98 meters/320 feet high waterfall is also the primary source of electric power for the city's industries. The waterfall is the second highest in the Philippines.

The NPC Nature Park in Iligan City was created to allow people to marvel at the beauty and power of the Maria Cristina Falls. Certainly a must-visit to tourists visiting Iligan City, the nature park features a view deck that directly looks out to the falls. The view deck is not very close to the falls but it is the closest point you’ll ever be able to reach. Raging waters prevent treks close to the actual falls. Still, you can easily admire the beauty of the falls even at a distance.

Although a twin waterfalls, it is rare for tourists to see both drops cascading because if the NAPOCOR allows that, then there would be a significant change in the power that reaches the power plant. Such an event will lead to a power failure across Mindanao because the plant supplies 70% of its electricity! Thus, only 1 of the twin cascades is allowed to have water.

Most of the waterfalls in the country are tucked away in the mountains, with tourists who wish to visit needing to take local modes of transport such as a habal-habal to reach a drop off point. Then, they would have to walk for some time before reaching the actual falls. Well, you’d be surprised to learn that even with its status as the second highest in the country, the Maria Cristina Falls is surprisingly one of the most accessible.

The road leading to the falls is concreted and well-established, with regular routes available for various forms of transportation. You can even take a jeep to reach the NPC Nature Park where the falls is situated.

Aside from the waterfall, there are also other interesting things you can see in the NPC Nature Park.

Well, it wouldn't be called a nature park just because of the waterfall. The quiet butterfly sanctuary is a great spot for taking pictures of beautiful butterflies frolicking amid a vast garden of colorful flowers. Visitors can explore the park and see wild animals like crocodiles and monkeys. The minizoo in the nature park also features Japanese kois, stunning peacocks, and ostriches. There is also a bat park and a lovely orchidarium.

The park is a wonderful destination for families. The kids will enjoy the playground and can have lots of fun identifying the birds at the aviary. Everyone can also enjoy a stroll over the hanging bridge while admiring the stunning views of the river and the lush greenery around the park. There is a trekking area, a wishing well, and an orchard with durian, rambutan, and lanzones trees. Enjoy fishing and try your hand at rock and wall climbing.

Thrill seekers will love the sense of adventure brought by the Tree Top Canopy Tour and Zipline Adventure. They climb up the trees wearing safety gear. Then, they get to walk along a rope bridge which is hundreds of feet above the park. It could be a scary walk but the ziplines are scarier! There are 3 zip lines over the park – and you’ll get the chance to soar over the wild waters of Agus River. The vertigo-inducing views also give you stunning views of the river and the distant waterfall. 

White water rafting is also available along Agus River for those who want to experience firsthand the power of this raging river. For those want a quieter cruise along the waters, there is a kayaking area with several kayaks available for rent.

Surprisingly, entrance fees to the nature park are quite cheap, making the NPC Nature Park easily accessible for everyone to enjoy – adults and kids alike. There are also picnic tables along the river, allowing visitors to enjoy a sumptuous meal while admiring the views. The zip line rides are available for an additional fee. Shuttle rides are also available for a fee. 

HOW TO GET THERE

From Iligan City, ride in a jeepney bound to Barangay Buru-un. Fare is 15 Php. Tell the driver to drop you in Eskina (crossing) Maria Cristina/NPC. After paying the 35 Php entrance fee at the gate, ride in a habal-habal going to the viewing deck or you can also walk for more or less 20 minutes. Habal-habal fare costs 25-35 Php. You can also hire a habal-habal from the city proper to go directly to the location which costs 100- 150 Php.

Here's an image I got from Google Maps showing the distance and travel time from Iligan City to NPC Nature Park & Maria Cristina Falls.

Unforgettable Experience

I was a 4^th year vet student and I encountered this unforgettable case which completely pissed me off. It happened few years ago when a client asked our professor (vet) to spay her dog. Our professor then suggested the owner to let his best students perform the operation and the owner agreed instantly and she even signed a waiver. Our professor assigned our group to perform the operation since he knew that in our class, we have the best performance in surgery. Best in the sense that we follow protocol, applied the necessary things needed in performing an operation, have the highest grades, and most of all have the knowledge how to handle every patient with care. We are the top performing group in all surgical operations we have, including outside the campus outreach. Every one of us did our very best in all the operations we had, even though we don’t accept any payments.

The operation took an hour and a half since the patient weighs about 15 lbs., quite obese though. We called the owner and told her that we have already finished the operation. The owner came to the clinic and asked us to release the dog in her care, which is of course not included in our protocol. She was insisting to release the dog and she even made her own waiver and signed it. We consulted our professor about the issue and he talked to the owner about it. Their conversation lasted almost an hour since our professor explained her thoroughly the post-operative care for the patient. She still insisted to release the patient to her and our professor got no other choice but to release the dog, considering that she signed the waiver for release. The waiver was authenticated by our college dean who is also a vet and we the group mates also signed it as the surgeon, assistant surgeon, anesthesiologist, scrub nurse and utility. We released the patient to her care and we even provided her the necessary information about emergency care.

A day later, the dog’s suture broke and opened his abdomen about one inch. The intestines were already contaminated with debris and been bleeding for a few hours. The owner called and told us about the case and we immediately went to her house but she is not around, nobody is even around except for the dogs. The gates were locked and we cannot get in. We tried to climb in the fence but the other dogs will definitely bite us. We tried calling the owner many times but got no answer. We just waited outside her house and looking at the dog bleeding endlessly. There’s a concerned neighbor that approached us while waiting outside the house and told us a very disappointing news. He said that the owner is not taking care of the patient since they arrive after the operation. She only left the dog outside and tied her to the garage post and few hours later, she released the dog to walk freely outside the house and even mingle with the stray dogs.

Few hours later, the owner arrived. She was attending her class during the time we called her that’s why she wasn’t able to answer her phone. By the way, the owner is a college dean in our school but in a different course. She just got a call from her neighbor about the patient’s case and she then called us. We immediately perform the surgery after the owner arrived in an aseptic place we prepared earlier. The surgery took us almost 6 hours, the dog’s intestines were severed and we had to carefully suture it back after we took a few centimeters out. After the surgery, we took the dog to the clinic and continuously observing every minute until her last breath.  Sadly, the dog died around 2:38 am. We tried all our best to revive her but of no luck.

The morning comes, the owner already knew what happened to her dog. She came to us bashing with anger and asking “why”, “what happened” and all the insults you can think of.

The dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, our professor and our group mates attended her case and given our full explanations of what went wrong.

First and foremost, she agreed to let us handle the operation and she even signed a waiver for us to perform the surgery and we did not suggest and didn’t even consider the release of the patient to her care right after the operation. Only the owner insisted and she even made a waiver to release the dog to her care even without full recovery from the operation. She signed two waivers; one is to let us perform the operation and the second is to release the patient to her care after the surgery without full recovery. She then blames us for lack of knowledge in handling the patient and in operating procedure.

During the surgery, the vet (our professor) observed every small move we had. All of us who performed the surgery have given our very best to the patient; we followed protocol, we completely understand and applied the code of ethics all the way and did nothing wrong to deserve a long annoying insult.

We were almost expelled from the school due to her but considering her neighbor’s testimony and the waivers she signed with authentication of our dean, it was never our fault of what went wrong.

This was the first case we've encountered that our patient died given our full efforts in the operation and we were blamed for what happened even if it was never our fault to begin with. All of us were frustrated and feel sorry for the patient and got totally pissed off to the ungrateful owner who just let her dog bled for a few hours.