Top 30 Favorite Spots in the Philippines: 11. Enchanted River

Another reason to visit Mindanao is this river that looks a lot like a sea in the middle of a forest. Hinatuan Enchanted River has the stunning blue hues and clear water enough to gaze fishes even from above the water.

After an agonizing (and depressing) travel along the bumpy roads of Surigao del Sur (the logging in this province is of large scale leaving a vast area denuded), seeing this hidden treasure at the end was definitely a treat.  The place was packed with tourists when I went there, but the river hasn't lost its charm on me.  I was awed by the sight of it, just the way I've imagined before actually getting there.

I hope that cleanliness is maintained  in the area despite the heavy influx of tourists recently eager to get a share of the enchanted river experience.

For more details. here's my blog about Enchanted River.

Enchanted River and its stunning hues

Mindanao Roundup (Surigao del Sur): Hinatuan Enchanted River and Bislig City’s Tinuy-an Falls

I keep a list of "Must-Visit Places in Mindanao" since I started my 80 before 30 challenge, but I decided to put off exploring this region until Luzon and Visayas provinces are all done. Now that I'm on my final leg of the backpacking challenge, it's such an amazing feeling to be finally ticking off some of my dream destinations in Mindanao, one beautiful place at a time.

The province of Surigao del Sur has recently been included in the tourist trail because of the natural wonders that are lying still and almost hidden in its off-the-beaten mountains. Two remarkable sights that Anchi and I have seen lately are Hinatuan's Enchanted River and Bislig City's Tinuy-an Falls.

Stunning hues of Enchanted River

When a Facebook friend posted a picture of a "river" with a disclaimer that he didn't photoshop or post-process the result, I was like "Are you kidding me?! The colors are so vibrant to be true!" I did my own research, and found the results all the same. Indeed, the hues are stunning. Then I decided that I should see that place myself, at all cost!

And we finally met last June. It was a short, but still a magical encounter. I was literally river-struck. :)

We arrived at Enchanted River after an agonizing five hour ride from Davao City to Surigao del Sur ( The depressing van ride deserves another blog post, but I'll not get into details here to not spoil anything).

From Mangagoy, Bislig City, Surigao del Sur, we hired a habal-habal (good for 3) to take us to Enchanted River and Tinuy-an falls. The driver asked for P1,000, which I thought at first was a rip off but not up until I realized how far the destinations were. It was already late in the afternoon so we decided to cave in. Later I realized the fare was fair enough.

Our first stop was Enchanted River.

Definitely not post-processed