Maria Cristina Falls

A Hundred Metre Twin Fall That Powers Much Of Mindanao And The Flow Is Released On A Schedule For Visitors · Iligan, Lanao del Norte

MARIA CRISTINA DROPS ABOUT A HUNDRED METRES IN TWO COLUMNS SPLIT BY A ROCK AT THE LIP, WHICH IS WHY IT IS CALLED THE TWIN FALLS, and it is the most useful waterfall in the Philippines. THE AGUS RIVER DRAINS LAKE LANAO THROUGH IT AND THE AGUS VI HYDROELECTRIC PLANT SITS AT THE BOTTOM, supplying a very large share of Mindanao's power. THAT LEADS TO THE DETAIL NOBODY EXPECTS: THE WATER IS DIVERTED FOR GENERATION MOST OF THE TIME AND IS RELEASED OVER THE FALLS ON A SCHEDULE, so the spectacle visitors photograph is switched on. IT IS STILL ENORMOUS AND STILL WORTH SEEING - ILIGAN CALLS ITSELF THE CITY OF WATERFALLS and has dozens, TINAGO being the other one people go to. LANAO DEL NORTE SITS IN A REGION FOR WHICH SEVERAL GOVERNMENTS MAINTAIN TRAVEL ADVISORIES; check current advice before planning anything. Ask when the release happens before you travel, because outside it the flow is a fraction of what the photographs show and visitors are regularly disappointed.

Agus River, Iligan City, Lanao del Norte, Iligan, Lanao del Norte, Philippines

CHECK YOUR GOVERNMENT'S CURRENT TRAVEL ADVICE FOR THIS REGION BEFORE PLANNING - several states maintain advisories covering parts of Mindanao and the position changes. ILIGAN IS REACHED BY ROAD FROM CAGAYAN DE ORO, roughly an hour and a half, and by ferry; CDO has the nearest airport. THE FALLS ARE INSIDE THE NPC NATURE PARK with daytime hours and an entrance fee, viewed from platforms and a cable car across the gorge. THE WATER IS RELEASED ON A SCHEDULE - ASK WHEN, because outside the release the flow is a fraction of what the photographs show. TINAGO FALLS is separate, reached by a long flight of steps down. IT IS HOT AND HUMID and the viewing platforms are partly shaded. Iligan is an ordinary working city; behave as in any Philippine urban centre.

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