Tampilisan’s Elusive Situbo Falls| Zamboanga Del Norte

June 13, 2020July 25, 2021 Rex Lim Lim BLOG, falls, ITINERARY, situbo, tampilisan, TRANSIT PINAS, TRAVEL GUIDE, WATERFALLS, zamboanga del norte

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Tucked deep in the town of Tampilisan in Zamboanga Del Norte, lies the even more impressive, Situbo Falls. This town is just a heartbeat away from Titay, Zamboanga Sibugay lies another one that made me believe that Mindanao’s really the land of grand waterfalls.

After visiting the uniquely named waterfall of Titay, called Tagbilat Falls (click HERE), we then proceeded into the neighboring waterfall.

At the boundary arch of Zamboanga Sibugay and Zamboanga Del Norte

En Route to Zamboanga Del Norte

Table of Contents

Then as we arrived in the town of Tampilisan, we ventured inside the arterial roads leading to Situbo Falls. As expected from a rather remote municipality, the roads were unpaved. It was a wide dirt road, with occasional muddy puddles and rocky portions, it was definitely a wild ride.

From both sides, the road is covered in tall grasses, some rubber, mahogany and coconut trees are around. It was also rather confusing to navigate our way since there’s hardly any signs pointing to the falls. My GPS also acted up that I wasn’t much of help with my guide, who happens to have been to the place around three times only.

We got lost a little bit, but then found the right way and finally, we entered a flat open area where we parked our motorcycle. From the parking area, a narrow foot path just enough for a person or Carabao to pass through came into sight.

We walked from there and just around 10-15 minutes of tracing the path going to the river bank, the surging sound of water echoed from a distance.

Massive!

Man, this must be really grand on a rainy day! Situbo Falls was massive and higher than I expected. I was just standing there, marveling at the sight in front of me.

The waterfall has two cascades; the upper one is a few meters tall before it flows down into second one. This is the wider and taller cascade that plunges around a hundred feet down into a deep catch basin.

Although the water flowing in Situbo Falls that time isn’t as grand as the ones I saw online, I can’t help but gaze upon, possibly, the highest waterfall in Zamboanga Del Norte. Despite its grand setting, there’s no cottage around, no guides who will immediately assist you, nor a registration fee to be collected.

Thanks to its remoteness and elusiveness, the place remained as pristine as it is that it remains an offbeat and rewarding destination. I was even weary while traversing the road going here since you can’t help but wonder if there are any lawless elements lurking around, given their reputation inside the Zamboanga Peninsula.

The skies that afternoon was foreboding with an ominous downpour, I only spent half an hour traipsing around the waterfall. I got back in Ipil just before dinner time. This concludes my first day in Zamboanga Peninsula.

Next Stop! All to myself, the Buluan Island of Zamboanga Sibugay.

How to Get There

Situbo Falls Falls is located in the Barrio Sto. Nino, Baragay Situbo, Tampilisan, Zamboanga Del Norte. This town borders the town of Titay in Zamboanga Sibugay.
My staging point was from Pagadian City:
- Pagadian City (163 kilometers away from Tampilisan) I took a van at the Pagadian Terminal going to Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay. Travel time is 2.5hrs, 200php/pax.
- From Ipil, you can meet your guide to take you to Situbo and Tagbilat Falls.
- Or you can also take a bus bound for Dipolog and alight in Tampilisan (25-30php). From there, charter a habal-habal to take you to Situbo Falls. Haggle with the roundtrip price, but 250-300php for the trip is reasonable enough.
If coming from Zamboanga City (167 kilometers away from Tampilisan), take any Pagadian or Ipil (travel time is 2hrs), alight at Ipil Bus Terminal then transfer to another bus bound for Dipolog or Dapitan then alight in Tampilisan.
If coming from Dipolog City or Dapitan City (150 kilometers away from Titay). Take a bus bound for Ipil or Zamboanga City and alight at the town of Tampilisan. (travel time is around 1.5hrs).
You can contact Robert Manuel (0935 787 0829) my habal-habal guide for Tagbilat Falls in Titay and Situbo Falls in Tampilisan, Zamboanga Del Norte