One of the top tourist destination in the country can be found in Mindanao. It is the Enchanted River of Surigao del Sur. I guess, everyone has it on their bucket list. It was even featured in one of the blogs where it says ‘one of the destination you need to go before you die’. The name itself describes the river for its enchanting stories and mysterious events.
But why is it called Enchanted River and what makes it enchanting? Locals say that there are supernatural beings who resides there. Encountering new species of fish that is hard to be caught whatever method they use is one of their stories. Fishes coming out at exactly 12 noon after the bell strikes is somewhat amazing yet mind boggling. Many swimmers drown in the river and has never been found again. But are all of these true or just mere stories?
One of the mystery in this river is that it has a salty water but there are no proof that it connects to a sea or ocean to make it brackish. However, Hinatuan is close to Pacific Ocean so it could be possible that salt water flows to the river on high tides. Aside from that, the depth of the river has yet to be known. It has been explored but still, there are some parts that are off limits to divers as of now for security reasons. One of my friend, who is a professional diver and a friend of Mr. Amores, the diver who died in the enchanted river, mentioned that there are lots of tunnels with strong current. You can even go to this Youtube video to see the strong current.
But anyway, I’m not here to scare the hell out of you but to give facts about the river. So let’s move aside all these mysteries and let’s focus on the beauty of the river. Now, since my GoPro was lost, I have little photos to share with you guys. So please bear with me. lol
How to Get There?
Since I came from Davao City, I went to Ecoland to take a bus for Mangagoy. Bus ride will take 6-7 hours. If you are from Butuan City, you can take a van or bus and travel time is 4-5 hours.
If you didn’t bring any food, you can buy from their food stalls for fresh fish and let them cook it.
And since it is summer time, expect a lot of tourists.
I enjoyed the rest of the afternoon swimming in the river. It was indeed a nice experience. And with all free diving videos and pics, this is the only picture I got 🙁
Hope I can still go back here next time!
