The Sight and Sound of Sagpulon Falls

In 2011, my two sisters-in-law and I visited a common friend in Jasaan, a town in Misamis Oriental which is about 28 kilometers away from the provincial capital of Cagayan de Oro City. The town abounds in spring resorts but since we could easily visit any spring resort outside the province, we trekked instead to the town's Sagpulon Falls in Brgy. San Isidro.

To get there, we rented a motorela--a noisy three-wheeled vehicle that's a cross between a tricycle and a jeepney. With the driver in front, four to six people can sit at the back across each other. 

The road to Sagpulon Falls was partly rough and partly paved. The sound of meandering streams that roll over brown rocks and stones soothed us and distracted us for a while from the scorching heat of the sun. The verdant grass and trees, a wild horse, and a wild pig that we saw along the way reminded us that we were already in a remote village. Since the motorela could no longer make the uphill drive, we had to hike the rest of the way to the falls.

As we walked uphill, the rumbling sound of the waterfalls grew louder and louder. From afar, we saw the waterfalls descending from the top. When we finally reached the base, we saw a series of small springs cascading from the lower part of the mountain as a a bigger volume of water dropped from the top of the mountain into the basin below. As we drew closer, the spray refreshed our cheeks and chilled our uncovered skin.

The sight and sound of the cascading Sagpulon Falls against the green and earthy background of the mountain was amazing. It was disappointing though that the pool of water has turned into brown because of a previous landslide and destructive typhoon. Our friend said that the water used to be clear and blue years ago. There used to be a resort in the area also, as can be seen from man-made pavements and old, abandoned cottages. God has blessed our country with natural beauty, like Sagpulon Falls, but we should learn to take care of the environment, take steps to preserve its beauty, and find responsible means of developing it for tourism.