Cari amici, inizio con il dirvi che la parola Asik- Asik significa letteralmente “spruzzare- spruzzare”, nella lingua nativa della gente del piccolo villaggio di Dado Alamada, nel sud del mio Paese. E’ la roccia della montagna che “spruzza” acqua fredda. Sono le cascate Asik-Asik che fuoriescono dal ventre della roccia. Sembrano quasi una tenda verde, con la vegetazione erbosa, cresciuta nella roccia. Uno spettacolo, tra fiaba e sogno!
Streams of pristine water rushing down a mountain cliff covered wholly in green makes for a stunning image. The newfound oasis was christened Asik-Asik, meaning “sprinkle-sprinkle” in the local Hiligaynon language, after the sprinkle of falling water on nearby rocks. Lush vegetation covers the entirety of the ravine, and adds mystery as to where the water is coming from. The most likely sources are thought to be springs deep within the mountain or an underground river.
Asik-Asik Falls or Dulao Falls for the locals is situated in Sitio Dulao of Barangay Upper Dado, Alamada, North Cotabato, Philippines. It is nested in the lower slope of Mount Ragang, also called as Mount Piapayungan or Blue Mountain, an active strato-volcano that sits in the boundary of Lanao del Sur and North Cotabato. There are various tales and side stories of the discovery of this natural wonder. Some say that it was accidentally discovered by military during a clearing operations, while other say that locals already know the place ever since. The latter seems more true and probable, a beauty of such grandeur is impossible to have gone unnoticed. The locals probably just kept it as secret or ignored it thinking it was just a normal scene.
But more than its captivating splendor, Asik-Asik Falls is a unique phenomenon. You won’t see a river or a stream above the towering wall, the cold water emanates from the spring covered by rocks and lush vegetation, cascading into a 60-meter high wall carpeted with variety of foliage, mostly ferns and moss. At approximately 140-meter wide, it visually looks like a green curtain of cascading water! The water then drops to a shallow rocky pool below before flowing into a stream tributary of Alamada River.
Getting to the falls is not as daunting as it used to be, after the government, sensing a wonderful tourism opportunity, developed the roads and site around it. But there are still descending and ascending treks on stairs that wind around the mountain side. A tiny portion of the falls can be seen from the top, but as you descend, the full majesty of water gushing from the green mountainside slowly reveals itself in all its glory.
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