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BULUAN FALLS EXPLORATION
8:00 in the evening when we departed at LUMOC headquarters in Lulu Village, Davao City, bound to Marilog District. It was the start of our 4 days and 4 nights long trip into the hinterlands of Davao City. The original plan was to do a pre-climb at Arakan Valley for our newly created club named "Lulu Mountaineering Club" or LUMOC but then it was diverted to Sitio Nangalid of Datu Salumay because of the unforeseen issues.
On our 1st day, we were invited by Datu Dangkay - The Ata Manobo Tribe leader of Sitio Nangalid - to visit the waterfall hidden in the mountain of Nangalid. Our group agreed and were very excited. As part of our doctrine, we gathered bucks and brought some booze to drink along the trail.
We started our trek at 10am. It was a rough road leading into the inner part of the valley. A short descent deeper into the forest led us to a crossing that breaks the rough road into a one-man trail. We stopped there for a while as Datu was making sure we would be going to the right path. The trails will lead us to two different locations. One will be at the direction of the falls and the other is to the insurgents. Yes, we fraught in silence on what Datu said but he assured us that they are harmless people. The assurance of Datu Dangkay is enough to pursue the exploration.
Thirty minutes of descent into the forested part of the mountain, we found ourselves into another junction. We stopped by again and took a rest while waiting for Datu Dangkay who is, by that time, our sweeper. After knowing which way to go, we continued our traipse deeper. Our descend led us to wide grassfields where traces of burnt grass is visible on the trail. Although prohibited, burning grass is necessary when cultivating grass fields to crop land. The burnt smell and the hot ashes along the trail alongside the heat of the sun drained us sooner before we even reached the forested area once again. It was like an endless traipse of slanty trail for almost two hours.
As we get near to the falls, the trail gets more treacherous. Slanted trail was topped with dried leaves. One mistake can be perilous. But we managed to survive the tough part of the trail safe and sound. It was 12:30 when we touched down Buluan falls.
Buluan falls - a three (3) tier cascade - is a virgin waterfall that was just recently discovered by the locals. Datu Dangkay noted that there are only a few mountaineers who were able to see this majestic beauty. Among them are us, whom he personally invited.
We let ourselves enjoy the feat, take a dip and submit to its pure bliss. The area is notably infested by the insurgents. In fact, when we arrived, we found fresh traces of human activity probably from a few days earlier. On why we were able to penetrate the area is because our team has an active educational program for the kids of Datu Salumay which the insurgents fully support.
The opening of the falls still depends on the tribal community especially of Datu Dangkay. There are numerous things to consider before allowing access to the common masses. For now, let us support them by helping their children have a quality education despite the scarcity of help coming from the government. Let us all hope that in no time, the insurgency will soon come to an end so that we can all live a harmonious life. And we will be able to enjoy the hidden beauty of nature like Buluan.
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