Lanao Del Norte: Maria Cristina Falls

One of the most popular waterfalls in the Philippines is Maria Cristina Falls. The falls is located in Iligan City in the province of Lanao Del Norte.

 The falls is popular because of its "Twin Falls". It is due to the fact that the falling water is divided into two because of the huge rock at the mouth of the drop. However, because the falls is used by Agus VI Hydroelectric plant, the flow of water is usually controlled. That's why most of the time the famous "twin falls" has water only dropping only on one side.

The famous twin falls picture courtesy of www.bubblews.com
Welcome!!!
Maria Cristina Falls has a 321.5-foot drop with an average flow rate of 130 cubic meters per second. A very ideal source of electric power. In fact, the falls supply 705 of Mindanao's electricity -that's more than 1 million households.

Paying at the entrance of the falls
Maria Cristina Falls is inside Nature's Park
The falls make a nice backdrop for lover pics...
...and for wacky shots too.
Like other famous landmarks in the country, Maria Cristina falls has its own legend. According to local folklore, there were once two sisters named Maria and Cristina who were known for their selfless love for each other. One day cupid played a cruel trick to the sisters. It was said that the sisters fell head over heels to a handsome sultan. Ironically, the sultan fell in love to the two as well. The time came that the sultan must pick his bride. Since he can't choose between the two and the agony is starting to take its toll on the sisters. Maria did the unthinkable. She jumped down the falls to her death so that her sister could marry the sultan. However, upon hearing the sad news about her sister, Cristina jump to the falls too. When the sultan heard about what happened he immediately went to the falls. (Nope he was not foolish enough to jump to his death.) He got the bodies of the sisters and buried in underneath the falls. It was said that the sultan never married anyone due to the pain of losing the two people he had loved the most.
And VI Power Plant


The hanging bridge (the river is still dry though)

Posing at the building near the waterfalls
Explore the vicinity one a multicab!
Inside the vicinity is the Botanical and Zoological Gardens. It has only a few animals in it.

During the Northern Mindanao Road trip with my wife, Maria Cristina Falls was one of the must-visit places in our list. (Simply because it is one of the most famous waterfalls in the country. Who would want to miss it?)

Getting there:
From Manila, book for a flight to Cagayan De Oro City in Misamis Oriental.


From the airport, board a taxi or jeep going to the bus terminal. Board a bus with the sign No Stop Iligan. When you reach Iligan City board a jeepney heading to Maria Cristina Falls.

 Ratings:
Crowd
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Overall rating

Location: Iligan City, Philippines

Comments

  1. UnknownMay 30, 2013 at 9:43 PM

    Sweet, is there another water fall like it? Just wondering why it's twin falls :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Neil Alvin NicerioMay 30, 2013 at 10:12 PM

      Hey pal! haven't heard from you in a while!
      It's called twin falls because on certain times of the week, water is released from the dam. The water flowing down the falls separates into two. Sadly I don't own a picture of that. I also don't want to "borrow" pictures from other people.

      Delete
  2. AnonymousOctober 14, 2023 at 8:21 AM

    Maria Cristina Falls talaga and pinakamaganda sa Iligan.

    ReplyDelete

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