The giant land mass of Mindanao keeps thousands of hidden treasure-like sights within its kingdom. Starting from the peak of the Philippine’s tallest mountain Mt. Apo, the variously protected rainforests cradling huge bio-diverse ecosystem, to the thousand exotic species of plants and animals and to the large basins and showers of different water bodies like lakes, rivers, and waterfalls.
Flowing abundantly in the town of Kateel, Compostella Valley province is one of the most majestic waterfalls in the island of Mindanao. Goes with the name of the barangay where the resort entrance of this water body is located, Aliwagwag Falls stood with its 1,110 feet glorious water rush with 20meters across from shoulder to shoulder. With the view which seems to be an aquatic stairway to the heavens, the magnificent Aliwagwag Falls never fails to capture the sight of its tourists and visitors.
To reach the amazing beauty of the unique waterfall, you may take a bus ride from Davao City with two route options. First is by a bus heading to Mati or second, by a bus directly heading to the Compostella Valley province. The travel via Davao to Mati will take 10 to 12 hours from the Davao Ecoland terminal and will cost around 500php. The Compostella Valley route will only take 6 to 7 hours but is not advisable to pass during rainy seasons because of landslides that may occur unpredictably. At the town of Kateel, Compostella Valley, you may take a ride of about 25 to 30minutes on a motorcycle or “habal-habal” which costs 300php to reach Barangay Aliwagwag.
You may find the travel to this natural treasure-like spot very tiring, long and costly. But upon reaching the sight waiting for you to see, you can say, “Every piece of my coin and every drop of my effort is all worth it!”