Surigao del Sur ia a province in Mindanao. It’s a 4-5-hour drive from Davao City’s Fransisco Bangoy International Airport.

A few years back, I went there with my family and we visited Tinuy-an Falls, Hinatuan Enchanted River, and Britania Group of Islands.

Surigao’s famous Enchanted River is in the municipality of Hinatuan. If you get lost on your way, you could just ask anyone, literally anyone, and they could lead you to the right direction. It’s a really famous destination in the province.

Even locals love this place so be prepared for the crowd if you’re coming in on a weekend. The parking space is by the cottages. When we arrived there, I was disappointed when I saw the cottages because the ‘feel’ of the place is not what I expected looking from photos from the internet. But as I went down the stairs to the actual river, it really is enchanting.

It is called “enchanted” river because they believe a place this beautiful and clean must be protected by a goddess. If you’ve read my post about Tinuy-an Falls, you’d notice Surigaonons are superstitious. Well, the water is so clear because they say that the riverbank is of limestone, instead of the usual gravel or mud. Also, the uber-blue color is because the river is so deep, even professional divers who tried to get to the bottom leave unsuccessful.

One side of the river obviously leads to the sea, but the water is not salty, maybe because the other side is a mountain. There actually is a “cave” that is off-limits to tourists. We’ve been told that researchers have already explored the cave but they haven’t found another way out, at least not yet, as of original writing.

Leisure visitors, can’t dive the river nor explore the cave, but they can appreciate the river and the surroundings. There is a limestone “platform” where you can jump off and enjoy the depth of the river, and there’s a shallow part where you can feel the cold refreshing water.

There are also island hopping boats nearby that could take you to the Britannia Group of Islands, but that’s another story. So just enjoy these photos of the Hinatuan Enchanted River.

 

If you want to view the original post from my old site, click here.