The Lone Waterfall in Siargao - Taktak Falls
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Located at the northern tip of the island of Siargao lies a hidden gem, the Taktak Falls. Taktak Falls is the only waterfall in Siargao island, which is located in the town of Santa Monica, Surigao del Norte. This is one of the less crowded wonders of Siargao as it is unkown to many travellers since its location is on the direct opposite of the town of General Luna which is situated in the southern part of the island of Siargao where most of the travellers reside, including us.
HOW TO GET THERE?
From the town of General Luna, since Taktak Falls was situated on the opposite side of the the island, going there must be done on purpose. But there are several ways to get to Taktak Falls which you may want to consider depending on what type of situation you are in.
Option 1: Availing a Travel Package
If you are a type of person who is always busy, and you does not have enough time to arrange your trip itinerary on your own, then you might want to consider having your Siargao trip to be arranged by other person. There are a lot of island tour packages that is widely offered in Siargao which you may want to avail, just tell your your travel planner to include Taktak Falls in your itinerary.
Option 2: Commute
Riding a motorcycle is the most widely used and the most ideal mode of transportation in the island. A lot of travelers rent a motorcycle and go to different parts of the island on their own. However, this way of travelling requires some skills as you have to learn how to drive a motorcycle to do this, and you must possess a driver's license. But aside from motorcycles, there are other vehicles that can be rented which is ideal if you are travelling in a group where only one or only few in your group knows how to drive. But if no one in your group knows how to drive, or no one is willing to drive a 120 km route, and you don't want to avail an island tour package because you want to arrange your trip itinerary on you own, then you may want to consider commuting by hiring a habal-habal or a tricycle to bring you to Taktak Falls.
From the town of General Luna, a tricycle may cost around P1500 while a habal-habal may cost around P1000. A habal-habal could only bring 2 persons at maximum to Taktak Falls, while a tricycle could bring atmost 5 persons which is much cheaper compared to habal-habal if you are travelling in a group. However, tricycles are much slowers than habal-habals. Riding a tricycle could eat up your travel time, so it really depends on what you prefer given the said circumstances when travelling.
Option 3: Drive
If I were to choose, I will not let my travel time eat up my time when travelling. If you want the same thing, and you have your driver's license, then you might want to do what I am doing everytime I am at Siargao - I am renting my own vehicle.
There are different types of vehicles which can be rented in Siargao. There are four wheeled vehicles such as sedans, vans, SUVs, AUVs, and even jeepneys which are ideal if you are on a big group and only one has a driver's license, but the ultimate ride in Siargao are motorcycles. However, motorcycles can only have atmost two passengers, and I personally don't prefer having two passengers on a long drive, that is why if you are on a big group and you want to explore Siargao using motorcycles, then it might require half your group to drive motorcycles. Good thing, most of my friends knows how to drive a motorcycle so we are able to use this option to explore Siargao. So if you are planning to go to Siargao, and you want to bring your friends, but more than half of your group doesn't know how to drive a motorcycle, then you might want to start finding new friends now who you can be with in Siargao, haha just kidding.
At average, motorcycle rental in Siargao costs P350 per 24 hours, the prices can go higher or lower depending on how long you will rent the motorbike. If you will rent a motorbike for just a day, it might cost P500. There are a lot of motorcycle rentals in Siargao, but you may want to contact Kuya Rene at +639987521348 for an easy transaction and he will bring your motorbike to right where you are at Siargao.
*Aside from the motor powered vehicles, there is another type vehicle that can be rented in Siargao for those who don't know how drive - the bicycle. There are also a lot of bicycle rentals at Siargao. However, this is not ideal if you don't want your travel time to eat much of your time especially on long drives, but bicycles has a lot of benefits to us and the environment as it does not emit toxic gases unlike those motor powered vehicles, and you can have a physical exercise at the same time you can go to a specific place, so you may also want to consider trying this.
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| Maps to Taktak Falls from General Luna courtesy of Google Maps |
ROUTES
Eastern Siargao Circumferential Road
The eastern part of Siargao Circumferential Road is the fastest way to get to Taktak falls which is around 61 kilometers away from the town of General Luna. This is roughly an hour and a half of motorcycle ride at average. You will pass by the municipalities of Pilar, San Isidro, and Burgos if you take this route going to Taktak Falls. Most of the travellers in Siargao take this route to get to Taktak Falls because this is the fastest way to get there, and you will be able to pass some famous destinations in Siargao in this route such as Magpupungko, and Pacifico.
Directions to Taktak Falls from Cloud 9
Make a left turn to Tourism Road
Make a right turn to Dapa-General Luna Road Turn right on Siargao Circumferential Road going to Pilar
From Magpupungko, go straight ahead for about 8.5 kilometers Turn right, and you should be able to see a bridge that you should pass through. After the bridge, you should be able to see Pacifico on your right, then you should go straight ahead for about 15 more kilometers until you arrive to the road sign of Taktak Falls.
This route is very simple to follow. Basically, you just need to follow where the main road lies, and turn right on every main road on your right. If the road on your right is not a main road, then don't make a turn.
Here are some of the landmarks that you should remember when taking this route from Cloud 9:
On your first right turn (to Dapa-General Luna Road)
This is a four way intersection where you will be able to see Sto. Tomas de Villanueva Parish Church on your right.
On your second right turn (to eastern part of Siargao Circumferential Road)
This a three way intersection. You will be able to see a road sign near this turn which says that you should turn right here when you are going to Pilar, or Magpupungko.
On your last right turn
This is another three way intersection. You should be able to see a bridge, and Pacifico on your right side right after passing the bridge in not more than 5 minutes after taking this right turn
Western Siargao Circumferential Road
The western route of Siargao Circumferential Road is quite further compared to the eastern route when going to Taktak Falls if you are from the town of General Luna, but you may want to consider going to this route if you want to explore the rest of the island of Siargao.
I actually prefer going to this route as you will be able to see on this side of the island what Siargao is without the travelers. This side of the island contains the places in Siargao where almost all of the people that you will see are locals, unlike on the eastern route where most of the travelers reside. You will pass by the municipalities of Dapa, Del Carmen, and San Benito if you take this route going to Taktak Falls. The municipalities of Dapa, and Del Carmen have the highest number of local population in the island. You might ask yourself why General Luna is the most crowded municipality in island when it is not the municipality with the highest number of local population, it is because most of the travelers in Siargao reside in General Luna.
Even though this side of Siargao has the highest number of local population, I can still say that this side of the island has a lot of places that doesn't have much people living on it since most of the people residing on these towns are condensed on the town proper of Dapa and Del Carmen. After you pass by the town proper of Dapa going to Del Carman, you will be able to notice that the houses along the side of the road are eventually getting fewer. And when you reached the Sayak Airport and you continue to go towards Del Carmen, you will be able to notice that the vehicles on the road are also getting fewer. There will be an area that you will only be able to see trees on the side of the streets, and chances are high that you won't be able to see other people or vehicles while you are passing by this area. Vehicles and houses will show up eventually as you go nearer to the town proper of Del Carmen. Since there were not much of people on a lot of the places in this side of Siargao, especially in San Benito, this side of Siargao has a lot of less developed areas where you can see a lot of trees, and mostly untouched beauty of Siargao, that is why I really prefer this route when going to Taktak Falls.
This route is harder to memorize though compared to eastern route, mainly because you have to make your turns in the middle of the towns proper where every road seems to be a main road, good thing those turns are situated in the middle of the towns proper where there are quite a number of people whom you can ask directions for. There are also times that you might question yourself if you are still on the right way because you are driving straight ahead for so long and you don't see any sign of people, that is why there is no one whom you could ask if you are still on the right way. Worry less, as that is really the nature of this route, as long as the road you are passing by looks like a main road, you are on the right track. You don't also need to worry much about that because the island has a good mobile data connection which will allow you to use navigation apps such as Waze, Google Maps, and more whenever you need it.
Directions to Taktak Falls from Cloud 9
Make a left turn to Tourism Road
Go straight ahead to Dapa, do not turn to Pilar
Make a right turn to Rizal Street
Turn right 6 blocks before the Port of Del Carmen
Go straight ahead until you reach the road sign of Taktak Falls
Here are some of the landmarks that you should remember when taking this route from Cloud 9:
On your first right turn (to Dapa-General Luna Road)
This is a four way intersection where you will be able to see Sto. Tomas de Villanueva Parish Church on your right.
Do not make a right turn to Pilar. Go straight ahead to Dapa.
On your second right turn (to Rizal Street)
This a four way intersection. You will be able to see Sto Nino Church at your left, but you should turn right before passing Sto. Nino Church.
On your last right turn
This is a four way intersection. If you reached the Port of Del Carmen, then you already missed the road where you should take your right turn, just like us! Hahaha! But it is actually easier to remember where to turn, this time to your left, when you are from the port of Del Carmen, just count six intersections and you should turn left there. There were actually a number of schools that I've seen in Del Carmen, but you should be able to see Surigao State College of Technology on your right in not more than five minutes once you made your turn.
OUR EXPERIENCE
We rented a motorcycle for our whole stay on Siargao, it was what we used to go to Taktak Falls. Since we wanted to explore the island of Siargao, we tried both routes when we went to Taktak Falls.
Going to Taktak Falls, we took the western route of Siargao Circumferential road, and took the eastern route going back to the town of General Luna. Both routes have decent roads which are cemented all throughout, there were very minimal ruts which you can avoid, especially when you are riding a motorcycle.
You will be able to see a road sign of Taktak Falls whether you take the eastern or the western route of Siargao Circumferential Road. The road sign is quite confusing as you may think that you should turn left/right after 500 meters from the road sign, but it actually means that you should turn left/right immediately once you saw the road sign, and you will get to Taktak Falls after 500 meters once you made your turn.
The 500 meter road going to Taktak Falls is muddy, and slippery, that is why we decided to leave our motorcycles on the side of the road, just like what other visitors of the falls who arrived before us did. But if leaving your motorcycles unattended doesn't make you feel safe, you can actually opt to bring your motorcycles near the falls, there are designated parking areas near the falls where there are persons who will take a look for your motorcycles while you are enjoying the falls, but a parking fee of 10 pesos must be paid. However, bringing your motorcycles up to their designated parking area is quite a challenge because of the road condition. From the start of that road, near the road sign of Taktak Falls, we just walked our way to Taktak Falls but we still find quite a hard time going there due to the slipperiness of the road.
Before you get to Taktak Falls, you will be able to see a small booth on your left. It is where you should settle your environmental fees, and other fees for the services that you would like to avail like parking, and cottages. Those who are citizen of the Philippines, which they will identify based on your appearance, should pay the environmental fee of 25 pesos for adults, and 10 pesos for children. As far as I know, foreigners' environmental fees are quite higher. If you want to avail a cottage, you have to pay 75 pesos for one cottage. We did not avail it since there were only few persons in there when we got there. Parking fee costs 10 pesos for motorcycles, and 20 pesos for a four wheeled vehicle.
It was only when we got there when I saw that my skin turned red. Damn! I got sun kissed! Man, I have sunburns. I actually have a sunblock on my bag, but I only thought of using it before swimming, I never thought that I'd actually got my skin burnt by the sun while driving. The wind is actually cool while driving, that's is why I am quite surprised to see what happened to my skin when I arrived Taktak Falls. I just said to myself "Wow! I really enjoyed that ride!".
After settling our fees, we went directly to the falls. The falls is serene, and calm, especially when we got there as there were only few persons in there when we arrived, and they all left after some minutes, so we kind of enjoy the place for ourselves. But the falls is not as extravagant or bongga as you may have thought. It is just a simple falls located behind the woods in the middle of a quiet area on the island of Siargao where you can take a dip in peace.
The river where the water from the waterfalls fall was already dammed, the water was not that clear either. Maybe it was just because of the river condition where the water flows before it gets to the waterfalls. Based on my research, the amount of water falling from the waterfalls depends on the weather. During dry seasons, there were lesser water falling from the falls, which made me conclude that the river before the water gets to the waterfalls is somehow shallow. Hence, the soil beneath the water is easier to mix up with the water which could be the reason why the water is not very clear. It is also raining almost every night when we were there at Siargao which could also be another reason or factor why the water is not that clear. Anyway, the water is cold which could be a sign that it is still fresh from the spring.
We stayed in the falls for less than an hour because there is nothing much to do in there. But it is really a nice place if you just want to swim in peace, and relax. I tried climbing a little to the rocks where the water directly falls into - its like you are showering but with so much pressure falling from the falls. You may also want to try putting your back right where the water from the falls is falling just like what I did, its like a natural spa that is massaging your back, and it is quite good and relaxing. According to some, you can climb the trees near the cottages until its branches which is directly above the water, where you can jump into the water. I am not sure though how the deep the water is, and if it safe to do that.
After swimming, we realized that something is wrong. One of the keys of our motorcycles is missing and we were not sure where we dropped it. It could be dropped on the water, but since the water is not clear, we couldn't find it there. Someone tried to help us start the engine of the motorcycle without the key, he tried doing it for quite some time but it was unsuccessful. While he continue trying to start the engine of the motorcycle, we decided to find the key instead of just watching him. We were unsuccessful on finding the key so we decided to go back to the place where our motorcycles were parked. However, when we got there, the person trying to help us was already gone, so we were not able to say thanks for trying to help us. I couldn't remember his name, but based on his story, he is a police residing in the town of Burgos. He was telling us that he could bring us to a destination in Siargao that is still unknown to travelers, but since he was gone, we were not able to get each others contact details, and the details of the destination he is talking about. Since we were at the opposite side of the island from where our accommodation is, we asked the personnel from the booth of Taktak Falls where we could leave the motorcycle, because its hard to bring it without being able to start its engine. The personnel from the booth told us that there is a small store nearby which we could ask if they will allow us to leave our motorcycle there. We went to the store and the store owners warmly welcomed us, they were very kind persons, and they agreed to allow us leave our motorcycle on their store and even told us that they will secure and take care of it while we were away. Afterwards, we went back to General Luna, and I just gave my friend, the one who lost the key, a ride on my motorcycle. On the next day, my friend went back to the store with Kuya Rene, the owner of the motorcycle, to help us get back the motorcycle. I wasn't there but my friend told me that the store owners really took care of the motorcycle and they were able to bring it to a shop where they could change the ignition of the motorcycle.
Going back to General Luna from Taktak Falls, we were supposed to stop at Pacifico at San Isidro, and Magpupungko at Pilar, but since we only have one motorcycle for that day, we decided to sum up the activities we our supposed to do for that day and do our other activities on the succeeding days.
EXPENSES:
COMPLETE STORY LINKS:
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Here are some of the landmarks that you should remember when taking this route from Cloud 9:
On your first right turn (to Dapa-General Luna Road)This is a four way intersection where you will be able to see Sto. Tomas de Villanueva Parish Church on your right.
On your second right turn (to eastern part of Siargao Circumferential Road)This a three way intersection. You will be able to see a road sign near this turn which says that you should turn right here when you are going to Pilar, or Magpupungko.
On your last right turnThis is another three way intersection. You should be able to see a bridge, and Pacifico on your right side right after passing the bridge in not more than 5 minutes after taking this right turn
Western Siargao Circumferential Road
The western route of Siargao Circumferential Road is quite further compared to the eastern route when going to Taktak Falls if you are from the town of General Luna, but you may want to consider going to this route if you want to explore the rest of the island of Siargao.
I actually prefer going to this route as you will be able to see on this side of the island what Siargao is without the travelers. This side of the island contains the places in Siargao where almost all of the people that you will see are locals, unlike on the eastern route where most of the travelers reside. You will pass by the municipalities of Dapa, Del Carmen, and San Benito if you take this route going to Taktak Falls. The municipalities of Dapa, and Del Carmen have the highest number of local population in the island. You might ask yourself why General Luna is the most crowded municipality in island when it is not the municipality with the highest number of local population, it is because most of the travelers in Siargao reside in General Luna.
Even though this side of Siargao has the highest number of local population, I can still say that this side of the island has a lot of places that doesn't have much people living on it since most of the people residing on these towns are condensed on the town proper of Dapa and Del Carmen. After you pass by the town proper of Dapa going to Del Carman, you will be able to notice that the houses along the side of the road are eventually getting fewer. And when you reached the Sayak Airport and you continue to go towards Del Carmen, you will be able to notice that the vehicles on the road are also getting fewer. There will be an area that you will only be able to see trees on the side of the streets, and chances are high that you won't be able to see other people or vehicles while you are passing by this area. Vehicles and houses will show up eventually as you go nearer to the town proper of Del Carmen. Since there were not much of people on a lot of the places in this side of Siargao, especially in San Benito, this side of Siargao has a lot of less developed areas where you can see a lot of trees, and mostly untouched beauty of Siargao, that is why I really prefer this route when going to Taktak Falls.
This route is harder to memorize though compared to eastern route, mainly because you have to make your turns in the middle of the towns proper where every road seems to be a main road, good thing those turns are situated in the middle of the towns proper where there are quite a number of people whom you can ask directions for. There are also times that you might question yourself if you are still on the right way because you are driving straight ahead for so long and you don't see any sign of people, that is why there is no one whom you could ask if you are still on the right way. Worry less, as that is really the nature of this route, as long as the road you are passing by looks like a main road, you are on the right track. You don't also need to worry much about that because the island has a good mobile data connection which will allow you to use navigation apps such as Waze, Google Maps, and more whenever you need it.
Directions to Taktak Falls from Cloud 9
Make a left turn to Tourism Road Go straight ahead to Dapa, do not turn to Pilar Make a right turn to Rizal Street Turn right 6 blocks before the Port of Del Carmen Go straight ahead until you reach the road sign of Taktak FallsHere are some of the landmarks that you should remember when taking this route from Cloud 9:
On your first right turn (to Dapa-General Luna Road)This is a four way intersection where you will be able to see Sto. Tomas de Villanueva Parish Church on your right.
Do not make a right turn to Pilar. Go straight ahead to Dapa. On your second right turn (to Rizal Street)This a four way intersection. You will be able to see Sto Nino Church at your left, but you should turn right before passing Sto. Nino Church.
On your last right turnThis is a four way intersection. If you reached the Port of Del Carmen, then you already missed the road where you should take your right turn, just like us! Hahaha! But it is actually easier to remember where to turn, this time to your left, when you are from the port of Del Carmen, just count six intersections and you should turn left there. There were actually a number of schools that I've seen in Del Carmen, but you should be able to see Surigao State College of Technology on your right in not more than five minutes once you made your turn.
We rented a motorcycle for our whole stay on Siargao, it was what we used to go to Taktak Falls. Since we wanted to explore the island of Siargao, we tried both routes when we went to Taktak Falls.
Going to Taktak Falls, we took the western route of Siargao Circumferential road, and took the eastern route going back to the town of General Luna. Both routes have decent roads which are cemented all throughout, there were very minimal ruts which you can avoid, especially when you are riding a motorcycle.
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| The road sign to Taktak Falls from the Eastern Route of Siargao Circumferential Road |
You will be able to see a road sign of Taktak Falls whether you take the eastern or the western route of Siargao Circumferential Road. The road sign is quite confusing as you may think that you should turn left/right after 500 meters from the road sign, but it actually means that you should turn left/right immediately once you saw the road sign, and you will get to Taktak Falls after 500 meters once you made your turn.
The 500 meter road going to Taktak Falls is muddy, and slippery, that is why we decided to leave our motorcycles on the side of the road, just like what other visitors of the falls who arrived before us did. But if leaving your motorcycles unattended doesn't make you feel safe, you can actually opt to bring your motorcycles near the falls, there are designated parking areas near the falls where there are persons who will take a look for your motorcycles while you are enjoying the falls, but a parking fee of 10 pesos must be paid. However, bringing your motorcycles up to their designated parking area is quite a challenge because of the road condition. From the start of that road, near the road sign of Taktak Falls, we just walked our way to Taktak Falls but we still find quite a hard time going there due to the slipperiness of the road.
 |
| The booth where you should log and settle your fees |
Before you get to Taktak Falls, you will be able to see a small booth on your left. It is where you should settle your environmental fees, and other fees for the services that you would like to avail like parking, and cottages. Those who are citizen of the Philippines, which they will identify based on your appearance, should pay the environmental fee of 25 pesos for adults, and 10 pesos for children. As far as I know, foreigners' environmental fees are quite higher. If you want to avail a cottage, you have to pay 75 pesos for one cottage. We did not avail it since there were only few persons in there when we got there. Parking fee costs 10 pesos for motorcycles, and 20 pesos for a four wheeled vehicle.
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| Raw picture of my arms turning into red after riding a motorcycle and removing my wrist watch |
After settling our fees, we went directly to the falls. The falls is serene, and calm, especially when we got there as there were only few persons in there when we arrived, and they all left after some minutes, so we kind of enjoy the place for ourselves. But the falls is not as extravagant or bongga as you may have thought. It is just a simple falls located behind the woods in the middle of a quiet area on the island of Siargao where you can take a dip in peace.
The river where the water from the waterfalls fall was already dammed, the water was not that clear either. Maybe it was just because of the river condition where the water flows before it gets to the waterfalls. Based on my research, the amount of water falling from the waterfalls depends on the weather. During dry seasons, there were lesser water falling from the falls, which made me conclude that the river before the water gets to the waterfalls is somehow shallow. Hence, the soil beneath the water is easier to mix up with the water which could be the reason why the water is not very clear. It is also raining almost every night when we were there at Siargao which could also be another reason or factor why the water is not that clear. Anyway, the water is cold which could be a sign that it is still fresh from the spring.
We stayed in the falls for less than an hour because there is nothing much to do in there. But it is really a nice place if you just want to swim in peace, and relax. I tried climbing a little to the rocks where the water directly falls into - its like you are showering but with so much pressure falling from the falls. You may also want to try putting your back right where the water from the falls is falling just like what I did, its like a natural spa that is massaging your back, and it is quite good and relaxing. According to some, you can climb the trees near the cottages until its branches which is directly above the water, where you can jump into the water. I am not sure though how the deep the water is, and if it safe to do that.
After swimming, we realized that something is wrong. One of the keys of our motorcycles is missing and we were not sure where we dropped it. It could be dropped on the water, but since the water is not clear, we couldn't find it there. Someone tried to help us start the engine of the motorcycle without the key, he tried doing it for quite some time but it was unsuccessful. While he continue trying to start the engine of the motorcycle, we decided to find the key instead of just watching him. We were unsuccessful on finding the key so we decided to go back to the place where our motorcycles were parked. However, when we got there, the person trying to help us was already gone, so we were not able to say thanks for trying to help us. I couldn't remember his name, but based on his story, he is a police residing in the town of Burgos. He was telling us that he could bring us to a destination in Siargao that is still unknown to travelers, but since he was gone, we were not able to get each others contact details, and the details of the destination he is talking about. Since we were at the opposite side of the island from where our accommodation is, we asked the personnel from the booth of Taktak Falls where we could leave the motorcycle, because its hard to bring it without being able to start its engine. The personnel from the booth told us that there is a small store nearby which we could ask if they will allow us to leave our motorcycle there. We went to the store and the store owners warmly welcomed us, they were very kind persons, and they agreed to allow us leave our motorcycle on their store and even told us that they will secure and take care of it while we were away. Afterwards, we went back to General Luna, and I just gave my friend, the one who lost the key, a ride on my motorcycle. On the next day, my friend went back to the store with Kuya Rene, the owner of the motorcycle, to help us get back the motorcycle. I wasn't there but my friend told me that the store owners really took care of the motorcycle and they were able to bring it to a shop where they could change the ignition of the motorcycle.
Going back to General Luna from Taktak Falls, we were supposed to stop at Pacifico at San Isidro, and Magpupungko at Pilar, but since we only have one motorcycle for that day, we decided to sum up the activities we our supposed to do for that day and do our other activities on the succeeding days.
EXPENSES:
- Motorcycle Rental - PHP 300.00/day for 7 days
- Gas - PHP 45.00/day (estimate)
- Entrance and Environmental Fees - PHP 25.00
- Total: PHP 370 pesos
CONTACT PERSONS:
- Motorcycle rental
- Kuya Rene: +63 998 752 1348
- Coming soon.
- Coming soon.
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