Tinago Falls

Tinago Falls
Tinago Falls
	Tinago Falls in Iligan City, Philippines
Location	Iligan City, Mindanao, Philippines
Type	Fan
Total height	73.152 m (240.0 ft)
Number of drops	5
Longest drop	73.152 m (240.0 ft)
Average width	100 feet (30 m)

Tinago Falls is a waterfall on the Agus River, located in between the town of Linamon and Iligan City, Lanao del Norte in the northern part of the Philippine island of Mindanao.^[1]^[2] It is one of the main tourist attractions of Iligan, a city known as the City of Majestic Waterfalls.

Tinago is a Filipino term meaning "hidden", the falls being hidden in a deep ravine. Trekking to the falls requires approximately 500 descending steps called the winding staircase.

The falls is high, its very cold waters cascading beautifully into a deep and calm basin-like pool which appears like a blue-colored lagoon. Under the falls is a small cave where people can enter and listen to the rumbling waters.

Legend

Folklore has it that there once lived an influential and powerful Sultan Agok and his wife. They were appointed by their people as their king and queen. But they became too proud of themselves and became selfish rulers of their kingdom. When the sultan's wife was pregnant, an enchantress, disguised as a beggar, begged for their help but instead they rejected her. Because of this, the enchantress cursed the couple's future child's appearance. She will be born ugly.

The child was indeed born ugly. The couple was sad and disappointed, expecting the baby to be as lovely as her mother. They hid the child in a cave to avoid embarrassment and named the baby Tin-ag, which means "hidden face". They visited and took care of the baby in the cave.

When the child grew up, she went out of the cave and was amazed by the outside world. However, people were not kind to her and she suffered from their taunts and jeers. The enchantress, saw her suffering and wanted to help. Tin-ag wanted to be transformed into a thing of beauty and splendor. The enchantress acquiesced. But unbeknownst to Tin-ag, she was to be transformed into a waterfall. She indeed became so beautiful and lovely. This is now known as Tinago Falls in Iligan City. ^[3]