Iligan City, also known as The City of Majestic Waterfalls (23 all in all!), has truly evolved into a more highly urbanized area here in Mindanao. Located in the province of Lanao del Norte, what used to be an industrial city now has a merry mix of commercial, business and tourism offers. Iligan City now has more restaurants, shopping centers and hotels. Don’t worry, though. The city still retains a certain charm that even well-traveled souls could appreciate.
A couple of my friends and I went to Iligan recently for a quick day trip. The main purpose was for business but we all quickly agreed to add a little “laag” time. And, of course, our first stop was one of the pools at Timoga-Buru-un area.
There are a couple of spring pool resorts at Sitio Timoga. The pools there all source the icy cold, crystal clear water from springs, which also source the water from Lake Lanao, the largest fresh water lake in the Philippines. Among the pool resorts, I’ve already been to are the Maravilla’s Pools, Timoga Spring Pool and Mimar’s. Maravilla’s has an Olympic sized pool and Mimar’s has kiddie-friendly plunge pools. For this most recent trip, we chose Timoga Spring Pool.
But first…time to hunt for delicious Lechon Iligan!
We bought food from the stalls in front of the pools. We found delicious and juicy Iligan lechon (Php 400 per kilo) and puso (hanging rice)! Those were enough to make our tummies happy.
There are also Halal eateries.
Check out our delicious lunch!
Timoga Spring Pool entrance:
We went on a weekday so the place only had a few guests. My friends and I chose a pool located at the second level and we had it virtually to ourselves.
By the way, the Macaraeg-Macapagal Ancestral House is located just a few meters away from the pools. It’s the only house in Mindanao where two Philippine Presidents lived in – Pres. Diosdado Macapagal and his daughter, Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. I’ve visited it a number of times but I know a lot of tourists still like to go and visit.
Entrance fee per person is Php 100 while table rental rates start at Php 100 as well. You can bring food (no corkage). I suggest that you buy your drinks there since there’s hardly any difference in terms of price.
How to go to Timoga:
Ride a jeep bound for Buru-un. Fare is Php 10 per person. Alternatively, you can hail a taxi. Drivers usually charge Php 100 one way.
Enjoy Iligan!
p.s. Need a place to stay in Iligan? Get Php 1,637 off of your first AirBnB booking or you can try searching for discounted hotel rooms via Booking (no credit card required on lots of hotels)
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Mindanaoan is a multi-awarded blogger, content creator, seasoned social media strategist and publicist with undeniably successful track record. 2012 International Visitor Leadership Program (for global leaders) alumnus and O visa grantee (for people with extraordinary skills and who have risen to the top of their field). Avid traveler and a proud relief operations volunteer. Regular resource person for social media, blogging and content creation. Available for work and travel – [email protected]
