How did Epol Falls got it’s name?
According to the a Matislaognon (one tribe of indigenous people living in Marilog District) lore, Epol falls bear witness to a forbidden love. It was a secret rendezvous of lovers caught in an illicit affair. The lovers eventually got separated when the girl’s father found out the affair. The two later reunited in their old age. Thus the name E.P.O.L. Falls.
Cheesy lovely story, right? Why is the acronym in English then!??
Well, there’s a modern, equally cheesy (hopefully not illicit ) version to this story. Rumors have it that this former Green Valley waterfalls is a popular “lovers nest” among intrepid travellers. Many pairs of human beings ( to put it bluntly) go to this place for an easy, quick “nightcap”.
Whatever that “nightcap” mean, that’s not why EPOL is the “apple of my eyes” waterfalls though.
How to go to Epol Falls?
Marilog District is that mountainous area just 100 kms (2 hours drive) northeast of Davao City following the nicely paved and elevated Bukidnon Davao (Buda) road. Epol Falls is located in a thickly forested watershed area, 300 meters away and below that same Buda road. It’s easy to miss the small EPOL signage on the side of the road though. The signage is almost impossible to see at night. I added the map coordinates in the Google Map below.
[hr] [hr]The Epol Campsite Log Cabin
After missing the jump off area on the side of the road thrice, we arrived at Epol jump off around dusk. After registering with the caretakers house and paying our “passage” fees, we trekked downhill (~20 minutes) towards the camp site . There were two cabin type, log houses in the camping area just under the decades old trees and thick forest. I was hoping I can pitch my tent but it was bone cold outside so we stayed in one of the log cabins overnight. There is a clean, spring water source just outside the log house. We still boil water for drinking though or use mineral water we brought in our canteens. There’s no electricity, but we brought our LED lamps and our host gave us a “lampara”. Our master chef prepared and cooked dinner using butane fuelled burners. Although, there’s provision for use of firewood in the kitchen, I highly recommend not to use this for cooking! Save those trees! We ate dinner the “old way” – with our cook set and bare hands. No plastic spoons and cellophane covered paper plates. We kept our non biodegradable material use to minimum!
This was an outdoor reunion for most of my trek buddies. We spent the whole evening recalling and exchanging trek stories and misadventures we had over a 9 year period. This while they consume 5 Emperador Light “long necks” and me, 2 thermos bottles of coffee :).
An Early Morning Shoot at the Falls
Early in the morning next day, I asked our young guide to accompany me to the falls for a “sunrise shoot” session. Chasing sunrises and sunsets while outdoors is an acquired habit for me. This photo session is one reason I moved heaven and earth to go back to Epol. After nine years, I barely knew the way down to the falls itself! I was still amazed at the upkeep of this watershed area. Except for a landslide trace in one of its banks, plus 2-3 wooden, open cottages and benches at the top of the ladder path going down, there’s not much change for the past nine years! Lush forest, huge decade old trees, birds and insect sounds filled the cool forest morning. You can hear the whispered rush of cold icy spring water falling to a catch basin from 100 feet above the falls. And this was a popular place just below a national highway!
Obviously we were the only ones at the falls this early~ around 5:30 AM. Look how beautiful EPOL Falls is, in the morning!
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Just a few meters away from the shallow catch basin is the inviting, crystal clear but ice cold spring water!
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From the left side facing the falls is a vantage point you shouldn’t miss when shooting this lovely waterfalls
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Now we know why Epol is a secret hideaway (bear witness) to maybe, a thousand lovers! This place is beautiful, don’t you agree? You can easily fall in love with this place (or someone else with you according to Richard Nisbett’s “halo effect” theory.) !
After about an hour satisfying my photography appetite, I went back to the log house for our coffee and breakfast. No not, the “Ampalaya Soup” nine years ago (thank you Mam MJ) but a sumptuous breakfast courtesy of Master Chef Pau.
Our Group: Tiguwang Social Climbers
By the way, just a side note. My trek buddies are a peaceful, fun loving conglomerate of veteran trekkers, diverse personalities and professions. We have engineers, teachers, police officers, nurses, EMTs, seafarers, chefs, Balanggay boat master, rescuers, OFWs and of course, an ageing photographer driver- me, to name a few. I have gone outdoors with these people so many times, that I often rely on them to save me from near accidents and stupidity. So they handpicked me and not the other way around. 🙂
The Driver-Photographer at the log house. Any questions?!..
Going back.
The Epols Dip
After our heavy breakfast, we all trekked to the falls for a nice, ice cold bath. Other than our group, only four people who showed up near the falls that morning. We literally have the falls to ourselves. After dipping half my body in the catch basin, I realised why people rarely stay inside the pool more than five minutes! It’s one freezing heck of cold water! Even our guide wouldn’t dip his toes in the water!
After the group shots and selfies, we left Epol Falls. On our way up, we surveyed Jordan Falls (one of the falls we trekked around Marilog nine years ago) then headed back to the log house to dry up and change clothes. We were bound for another falls/ trekking adventure that day we have to leave the camping grounds early.
Recommendations
[box type=”info” size=”large” border=”full”]To sum up, why would I call Epol Falls as one of the apple of my eyes and recommend it? If you are like me who wanted an affordable, accessible outdoor place to try and shoot in an eco-sustainable way, you should visit Epol Falls.[/box] [toggle title_open=”Close this box and go to Epol!” title_closed=”Click this box to show pros and cons of going to Epol” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”] [box type=”tick”]Pluses (+). It is near Davao City and just below BUDA road in a lush pristine watershed. No concrete structures near the falls, not even a cemented staircase! The log cabin house, clean water source and CR in the campsite helps in maintaining the surrounding lush greenery. Most of all, the place is very much affordable and the people there are very accommodating and courteous [/box] [box type=”alert”] Needs Improvement (-) There should be a dedicated sink for washing dishes that is not near the spring. Al though I haven’t seen exactly where the water goes, the makeshift sink (and water source) should not be within proximity of the spring itself.[/box] [/toggle]That’s it! Happy camping and lets maintain Epol Falls and watershed near it, green and pristine!!
