Philippines: Tumalog Falls; Oslob church, Cuartel

Date: April 30th, 2014

After spending the early morning swimming with whale sharks, I then decided to visit Tumalog Falls, Oslob’s other big attraction.

Bus stop bike taxi Oslob highway — There were plenty of bike taxis at the entrance of the Whale shark briefing center and this guy approached me asking me if I wanted to go to Tumalog Falls. He said it would cost ₱120 to take me there and back.

Bike taxi ride Oslob — Tumalog Falls isn’t too far away from the whale shark briefing center

Way to Tumalog Falls Oslob road — Basically the road to Tumalog Falls is just off the main highway, heading back from the whale shark briefing center

Road to Tumalog falls — The driver dropped me off at a parking area at the top. From here, I had to climb down a steep slope.

Going down steep hill road Oslob — You can pay again to have a bike drop you at the waterfalls and back, but I just chose to walk not knowing how far it was (it wasn’t)

Oslob blue pond Tumalog — Once at the bottom, the beauty begins right away

Tumalog blue pond Oslob Cebu — How is the water so blue?!

Entrance to Tumalog falls Oslob — I really wasn’t expecting much from Tumalog Falls and planned to spend only a few minutes here

Tumalog falls stream Oslob Cebu — But even from here I could sense the beauty. You have to climb from the left to get inside the falls area

Tumalog falls blue water Oslob — Tumalog Falls is really beautiful!

Tumalog falls Cebu Philippines — It was so nice and cool to stand here… even though water droplets were hitting my lens

Tumalog broken waterfalls Oslob Philippines — The water was so blue, but it was hard to get the entire falls top to bottom in one frame

Swimming in Tumalog falls Oslob — There was so much mist in the air from the waterfalls!

Tumalog waterfalls mini umbrellas — I pictured Tumalog Falls to be one big stream — it isn’t

Tumalog falls bamboo trees Oslob — If you wanted to set up a BBQ or picnic, you could do it here. But mind you, it’s very muddy.

Tumalog falls Oslob Cebu GoPro — I decided to pack up my DSLR as I didn’t want it getting too wet. It was time for the GoPro to come out.

Tumalog waterfalls Oslob Philippines — I held the GoPro sideways to take this shot

Picnic area Tumalog falls Oslob Cebu — I took my shirt off and carefully stepped to the left of the waterfalls

Tourists showering Tumalog waterfalls Oslob Cebu — It was slippery and the water felt cold, but I felt like taking a shower after a swim in the sea 😛

Tumalog falls water splash Oslob — The water sure was chilly — but it felt good!

Tumalog falls closeup Cebu Philippines — I tried to get closer to the falls from the left

Tourists Tumalog Oslob Cebu — I decided to go to the other side

Tumalog falls panorama Oslob — I figured I would take some photos of the waterfalls from another angle

Tumalog falls pond Oslob Philippines — Seemed to be less splashier on this side

Tumalog falls full Oslob Philippines — You could get a full shot from this side, with no tree obstructing

Sky Tumalog falls Oslob — Fortunately the skies were clearing up too. I got in the water to try and see if I could stay under the water splashing down.

Mithun cold splash Tumalog falls — IT. WAS. COLD! And heavy!

Mithun filipino woman Tumalog falls — Then for some reason, this woman asked for a photo with me. After that, her group asked me to take a photo of all of them.

Mithun group photo Tumalog falls — Finally I thought, why not, handed one of them to take a group shot on my GoPro camera. *Clearly* not the best camera for such situations. I didn’t know any of them but that’s how it works in the Philippines 🙂

Tumalog waterfalls Cebu Philippines — I took a parting shot

Leaving Tumalog falls Oslob Cebu — It was now time to leave

Bamboo trees Tumalog falls Oslob — I enjoyed Tumalog falls more than I thought I would. It was really beautiful and you have to be here to experience its beauty! I ended up spending close to an hour instead of just a “few minutes”.

Steep climb Tumalog hill road — I walked back to the top where my bike taxi guy was waiting.

Tumalog falls road Oslob — I took these photos using the GoPro

Road Tumalog falls sea view Oslob — You can get a nice view of the sea from up here

Bike taxi stop Tumalog Oslob — I asked the bike taxi driver how to get to a bus stop in town from where I can catch a ride back to Cebu. He dropped me here and told me I can take a jeepney going to the market area. (This photo and the next few are taken on my phone)

Oslob town main road Philippines — I hopped on a jeepney and this was the last stop. This was the main market area.

Oslob municipal road Philippines — Since I was in town, I decided to check out some of the attractions near by

Oslob municipal park Philippines — This is where the municipal offices and government offices were

Stilt house Oslob Cebu — There were a few houses around

Oslob municipal office Cebu — Pulis = Police

Oslob covered court Cebu — A covered basketball court

Oslob church Cebu — Church of the Immaculate Conception — Oslob’s oldest church

Church of Oslob Cebu — I couldn’t go in, the doors were closed

Conception Parish Oslob Cebu — I wasn’t sad or anything. I had seen enough churches in Philippines.

Cuartel walls Oslob Cebu — Next to the church was Cuartel, an unfinished structure by the Spanish colonials that was meant for soldiers

Cuartel remains Oslob Cebu — The stones used came from the church when its floor had collapsed in 1899

Cuartel Oslob Cebu Philippines — It is still well-maintained

Crow church Oslob Cebu — I decided to shoot some photos using my 70-200mm lens

Cuartel park Oslob sea side — Behind Cuartel and facing the sea is a public park

Cuartel garden Oslob Cebu — There used to be an old lighthouse here

Hall Cuartel park Oslob Cebu — I sat under the tree shade for a while as it was scorching hot

Blue water Oslob Cebu — I just love how clear and blue the water appears here

Blue sea Oslob Cebu Philippines — Oh so blue

Sea side Oslob park Cebu — I decided to walk on the edge too

Clear blue water Oslob Cebu — Ahh, felt like swimming in these waters

Oslob Cuartel street Cebu — I walked back and decided to leave Oslob

Once back at the main highway, I asked the townsfolk from where I could board a bus to Cebu and they said, “Right here”. I figured I would eat an early lunch (it was just past 11am) as by the time I would reach Cebu, it would be past 3pm.

Garlic chicken rice sizzler Cebu — I had (garlic) fried chicken and rice (₱60)

Inside bus Oslob to Cebu — Soon after lunch I boarded a bus going to Cebu

Blue sea Oslob Cebu — I passed by so many houses by the sea. Imagine waking up to such blue seas every morning.

I really enjoyed Oslob more than I thought I would. Definitely a place to visit and worth spending a day at! I’m glad I woke up early. A visit to Oslob is highly-recommended if you are in Cebu. I’m glad I didn’t do this trip via some travel agency. It can by done by yourself and for a lot less. As a foreigner, I spent around ₱1500 today (to & fro bus journeys + whale shark experience + bike taxi + Tumalog Falls + lunch), half of what was quoted to me by some of the travel agencies back in Cebu yesterday. I could make up for sleep on the bus journey back. I was going to take it easy tomorrow anyway.

Next posts in this series:

Philippines 2014: Leaving Cebu for Davao; Davao City sights

Philippines 2014: Sky Cycle at Eden Nature Park, Davao

Philippines 2014: Attractions at Eden Nature Park… and getting lost

Philippines 2014: Scuba diving for the first time, at Samal Island (Davao)

http://mithunonthe.net/2014/10/14/philippines-japanese-tunnel-davao-pink-manila-hostel/

Philippines 2014: Bargain shopping in Manila; Paseo de Santa Rosa & Solenad

Philippines 2014: Corregidor Island tour

Philippines 2014: Manila Chinese Cemetery

Philippines 2014: Pahiyas Festival in Lucban; Kamay Ni Hesus

Previous posts is this series:

Philippines 2014: Oslob – Swimming with whale sharks

Philippines 2014: Trek to Mount Pinatubo crater lake

Philippines 2014: The itinerary this time around; UP Diliman and Maginhawa

My Philippines journeys: 2011 series | 2013 series

12 Comments

Amanda Louise
18/02/2015

Hi! I enjoyed reading your posts, and your photos are lovely. I’m planning a trip to Oslob too and I found your blog very helpful. May I please ask where you stayed in Cebu?

Mithun Divakaran Reply:
February 18th, 2015 at 12:02 PM
Hey Amanda, thank you for your kind words. I stayed at Tr3ats Guesthouse (more of a hostel). Photos of the place can be found here: http://mithunonthe.net/2014/06/18/philippines-oslob-butanding-cebu/
Aries
16/04/2015

Hi! I enjoyed reading your posts, and your photos are lovely. I’m planning a trip to Oslob too and I found your blog very helpful.
i have a question, since i saw on many website, it stated if u are foreigner u must pay 1000 pesos for snorkling. how about u Sir?
and at tumalog fall, is there a CR or room for changing clothes?

thank you

Mithun Divakaran Reply:
April 16th, 2015 at 12:22 PM
Hey Aries, me being foreigner, I had to pay 1000 pesos too at the whaleshark site. I said so in my post http://mithunonthe.net/2014/06/18/philippines-oslob-butanding-cebu/ I didn’t see any CR room or change room at Tumalog Falls but I’m sure it’s there.
Emma
04/06/2015

You are blessed to have visited a lot of beautiful tourist attractions in the Philippines! Your posts are very informative and helpfull especially to those who would like to do budget tours. Will be visiting your site from time to time. 🙂

Mithun Divakaran Reply:
June 4th, 2015 at 5:43 PM
Thanks Emma for the comment! 🙂 I’m glad the stuff I write helps others. It’s why I put in so much effort to get the details right.
Blessie
05/07/2015

I didn’t know you could go to Oslob by bus, and the fare being only 150.00. I’d definitely go there next time I’m in Cebu. Thanks for this post!

Mithun Divakaran Reply:
July 5th, 2015 at 2:21 PM
Glad reading my blog post could help! 🙂 But be sure to arrive at the Cebu bus depot early if you want to arrive at Oslob early enough to swim with whalesharks.
linatigok
07/07/2015

Nice post and photos,thank you for sharing..I’m not fortunate to see the beauties of my country and your photos help a lot.
friv
10/03/2016

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Mithun Divakaran

12 Comments

Amanda Louise

Aries

Emma

Blessie

linatigok

friv

Kizi3

Abcya Games