Day 15 Road Trip: Cateel – Boston, Davao Oriental – Lingig – Bislig City, Surigao del Sur – Hinatuan – Enchanted River – Hinatuan – San Francisco, Agusan del Sur – Prosperidad – Butuan City, Agusan del Norte
It was 4 provinces in one day on board a habal-habal, jeepney then habal-habal again then trisikad then bus. It was tiring, good thing that my destination is worth the long ride- ENCHANTED RIVER.
Enchanted River
I really wanted to visit Tinuy-an Falls and Enchanted River while in Surigao del Sur. Turns out that I can only choose one of the two because of time and budget concerns. I chose the river as I just came from two waterfalls the other day in Cateel. Add to the fact that I can’t afford the Php350 motorcycle ride to and fro Tinuy-an Falls.
I’m always intrigued by the name of this river. I somehow thought of weird creatures in it and of course the nagging question of, “Can I swim in it?” or “Is it like the murky waters of Lake Lakewood in Zamboanga?”
I was too busy to google it and I just said to myself that I want to be surprised on how it looks like. SURPRISED, I am!
Visitors at Enchanted River
Surprised on the daredevil 12-kilometer habal-habal ride from the National Road.
Surprised at the many people visiting the area. And finally,
Surprised at the uniqueness of this enchanting river.
At this portion, the current is already strong, be sure to hold on the buoy
It’s actually a natural spring from an underwater cave where fresh water and seawater mix making the river a bit salty. The staff told me that divers tried exploring the cave below only to stop at 200ft. because the current was so overpowering.
The bluer the color, the deeper it is
After a few minutes of people-watching, I jumped in the water. Cold it was and refreshing! I swam towards the bluish area, the center where it was the deepest. Saw some fishes, big and small. I was into the deep alone, my “me-time.” It was serene and nothing but BLISS! I didn’t care what others think I’m doing just looking up to the heavens like I was in a different state of mind. I just love the water all over my body I wish it could last forever.
How to get to Enchanted River:
Enchanted River is in Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur.
From Bislig City Terminal, you can ride the jeepney going to Hinatuan Terminal. From there, take the habal-habal (motorcycle), its aabout 15-kilometer ride. Be sure to negotiate the fare before going to Enchanted River. Fare is Php50 only if you will wait for other passengers. If you are renting the whole motorbike, be prepared to pay at least Php150.
Going back to town, there’s a lot of motorbikes from the Entrance for only Php50 or you can hitch like what I did.
Entrance Fee: Php10 (Adults) and Php2 (kids)
Fees and other charges:
Fees and other charges
–
Expenses for Today: Php 711
Php 200 – Habal-Habal Gasoline (Cateel – Lingig)
Php 13 – Breakfast
Php 30 – Bus fare (Lingig – Bislig City)
Php 8 – Bread
Php 5 – Tricycle fare (Bislig City)
Php 10 – Internet Usage
Php 45 – Lunch (2 Ulam and 1 rice)
Php 35 – Jeepney Fare (Bislig – Hinatuan)
Php 100 – Habal-habal (Hinatuan – Enchanted River)
Php 10 – Entrance fee (Enchanted River)
Php 5 – Trisikad
Php 38 – Burger and Coke
Php 198 – Bus fare (Hinatuan – Butuan City)
Php 3 – CR fee (ihi)
Php 1 – Water refill
Php 10 – Bread
______
Php 711.00.
This is the most expensive day I had so far. It’s okay I’m going home anyway and I’m still within budget as I have surplus in the past few days.
Reflection/Lesson for Today:
ON LONELINESS: “We don’t see it as a root from which good things can spring. We feel the emotional pain of being alone. We undermine our sense of self-worth as a result of it. And so we throw ourselves into relationships, merge into the crowd, demand tobe loved, compulsively form friendships, fill our agendas and crowd our own space only to discover that we need to be alone. Sadly, we often discover what we really need onlly after we have become satiated with its opposite.” (Dare to Journey with Henri Nouwen by Charles Ringma, Reflection 61)
OMG, ang ganda naman jan! i love the pics, the river – must visit! ibang klase talaga!
must-visit indeed brenna!
nawala yung init ng ulo ko nang makita ko, wala akong balak mag-swim pero super na-inganyo ako. ganda, super! iba talaga ang mindanao
OMG talaga! must visit indeed.
arguably the most beautiful river in the country
so that explains the darker blue part.. hehe 🙂 thanks for the tips James!.. as always.. been wanting to go there the very first time I read about it in the newspaper.. the road will be bumpy but it’s worth all the shakes.. 🙂
yes, its worth the shakes!
punta ka na, and take nice photos
andami na pala pmpunta dyan ngayon…tsk
ang ganda!!! i agree with you james… iba talaga mindanao… sana mapanatili nilang malinis itong mga lugar na ganito…
oo nga, sana nga, i saw that hinatuan banned the use of plastics na rin.. malinis din yung lugar kahit madaming tao. good job sa mga nag-mamaintain ng lugar
parang napakalinis nung tubig.. 🙂 parang ang sarap tumalon =) nice one sir!
sarap ngang tumalon! ang yes, the water is so clean. cold and i love it so much!
WOW! May ganyang ilog pala.. Nagulat ako.Iba talaga ang Pinas! Enchanting in deed.
im charmed by it!
Ikaw na talaga James ang bumihag sa puso kong ito. Naway makapiling kita sa iyong paglalakbay. Kudos!!!
Beautiful body of water. I’ll be keeping this in mind for future travels. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
🙂
visit it soon lizzie! thanks for the comment.
Hi! I can take ten people there in my van from Davao City. I charge only P10,00.00 for the two-trip to enchanted River and Tinuy-an Falls. I also know a safe and affordable place to stay overnight. Contact me at (0922) 843-1099
in love na ako sa yo pare..hehe..pakis nga..haha..keep it up..continue to inspire us.. godbless you always..
🙂 hahaha
🙂 hahaha
di po ako celebrity, simpleng byahero lang po.
ang ganda ng Enchanted River! Na-feature na din yan Mabuhay Magazine… truly enchanted sa ganda ika-nga. Ang gusto ko dyan yung blueness ng tubig ang linis at ang ganda. Nasa Surigao del Sur pala.. ilang oras ang travel from Bislig City?
Thanks for sharing.
talaga lang ha?! cool!
from bislig mga less than an hour nalang, jeepney then habal-habal.
ang ganda ng Enchanted River, parang pool na may lighting effects sa ilalim. this time it’s nature’s made
omg.. i am dumbfounded.. soooo beautiful.. i am inlove again.. i wish i can be there too..
naks! ka-inlove naba yung river?
indeed very beautiful, been there last year. must-see for all!
i hope many will see the beauty of mindanao.. there’s much more to explore
did you go to britannia? its a nice beach in surigao del sur,i’m not sure though if its near the enchanted river that you visited,meron pa nga magandang falls jan
nope, i missed britannia and the tinuy-an falls. i need to move fast kasi to catch my flight back to manila, in butuan.
hi! awesome trip!
ask ko lng sana, where do u get on the bus from hinatuan to butuan?how long is the ride? i was inspired by your travels and hope to do the same route as yours starting from gensan to cdo later this year. thank u and happy travels!
hi mari. there’s a bus stop at hinatuan, the yellow (bachelor) bus has lotsa trip from hinatuan to butuan. its about 5hours.
thank you so much and i hope you enjoy your road trip. have fun, spend less, travel more.
let me know how the trip goes, okay?
will do. thanks again, james! be safe. 🙂
Waah! Ang ganda nga!
First saw this ke Olan. Hangganda nga!
puntahan mo na gael! super ganda!
We will be there this lenten season. Thank you for sharing your expenses, I find it very informative. You know how locals try to over-price their services to tourists these days…..
🙂 enjoy! ohhhh, this lenten, goodluck with the swarms of visitors.
Tnx james for sharing dis, i am including enchanted river in my list of places to visit while i am here in mindanao;)
salamat sa info re: route n expenses going to enchanted river
Hi James, I’m heading to Surigao next month for 9 days and I’m just looking for possible itineraries. What are you Must sees and must dos? I’m just starting my research now. Thanks a bunch. Stay Fab! hehe.
I’ll definitely would love to check this out too.
cantilan, surigao del sur has sooo much to offer herb. much better than coron IMHO
Gensan going there? Ilang hours? Whooo! Me and my friends is planning to go there. Can’t waittt! 🙂
its far- gensan-davao 3hours. davao to surigao-6hours
what contact no, po sa enchanted river ..??
You will really enjoy Enchanted River the most if mka abot po kayo sa feeding time ng mga fish na nandoon. You will get a chance to look at those various species of fish splashing one after another..and be enchanted sa music na ipiniplay nila during feeding time #goosebumpy.. =)
Maganda talaga don… Sarap balik balikan… :). Kulang lang kami sa oras. Hope I can visit there again.