I
had a great trailblazing last November 14 along with some fellow adrenalin
junkies in my hometown Jojo Ibañez, Rjay Estabaya and Froilan Miagao. Our
destination was the series of gorgeous waterfalls situated in Mailum River and
is exactly nestled in sitio Kibasanga, a western tip of Barangay Coronon leading
to forested portions of sitio Binuangon, southern portion of Mt. Barira and Mt.
Loay and northern part of Tubison where the towering Mt. Leong can be seen.
There
are approximately 8 waterfalls along the river, all of them good reasons of a
stopover for bathing and cooling. The waters are really cold and pristine
because the entire surrounding of the river is covered with green sceneries.
For those who are familiar with the Kiblan waterfalls, the Mailum waterfalls
series are at the upper base. River trekking accounts for more or less 2
kilometers of the whole trek which starts at the Kiblan hanging bridge. Upon
reaching sitio Kibarangan I met our former Upland Development Programme (UDP)
sitio leader Nong Sulpicio Dulay in his farm house. It was a quick sort of a
reunion for me and Nong Sulpicio whom I considered as one of the few good
leaders during my stint with UDP.
It
was quite difficult trekking Mailum river because the rocks are very slippery.
Some face-the-walls with minor cliffs are detour routes to avoid deep river
portions. The waterfalls are good reliefs, though, especially since it all just
situated in adjacent intervals. The tallest was the last waterfalls we reached,
approximately measured 15 feet. Much as we wanted to trek further but the
vegetation covering the upstream river part made the trail very hard and almost
impassable.
After
a short lunch we stayed for 30 minutes and dip into a pool in one of the
waterfalls. This one we thought of as the most ideal site for bathing. Our
descent was a bit faster but we had our last dipping in a pool located just
before approaching the Kibarangan foot trail.
Numerous
wildlife species were present in Kibasanga such as Pulchrana grandocula, a
common amphibian in Mindanao. Assorted dragonflies and butterflies made Mailum
river their sanctuary. I also saw and heard plenty of birds in the site. A
serpent eagle was caught perching in a huge tree from afar and another one
gliding. The Rufuos-lored Kingfisher also flew once and another lifer was the
alluring Purple-throated Sunbird.
For those who are
planning to visit Mailum waterfalls, I would like to remind you that the place
belongs to an ancestral domain of the Bagobo-Tagabawa under Certificate of
Ancestral Domain Title No. R-11 SCR-1005-034, hence, visiting the place needs
consent from the tribal leader of Coronon. For as long as there is no standard
policy yet in going to the area it is always better to seek go-signal from them
for information purposes.
