Iligan is a highly urbanized community in the province of Lanao del Norte in the Southern Philippines. It is about 795 kilometers southeast of Manila. It has a population count of 308.046 in the 2007 Census and for sure am part of that number.

This city is nicknamed as The City of Waterfalls because of the presence more or less 20 waterfalls and that includes the magestic Maria Chritina Falls (Life of the City). Visitors can also enjoy the elegant beauty of Tinago Falls (translated as Hidden Falls) because it is literally hidden in a deep ravine. The way that leads in going to and coming from the falls adds up to the thrill of being there. Some other accessible falls to visit should be Mimbalut Falls, Limunsudan Falls and Hindang Falls.

Currently, Iligan is composed of 44 Barangays with people from diverse cultures. Iliganons are mixture of Maranao and Cebuano with a minority number of cultural minorities which includes the Higaunons. Historically, Iligan already existed during the 1500’s but became noted when it became one of the first Christianized community in the country. The name Iligan is from the Higa-unon word “iligan” or “ilijan” which means “Fortress of Defense.” It became a fortress against the attacks of some hostile Mindanao tribes and pirates.

Locals and tourists alike enjoy the beauty of nature in this place. Sightseeing is not the only activity you will enjoy here but you can also enjoy hiking, trekking the river beds, swimming, mountain climbing, and shopping. The weather is very temperate whole year through so you can also enjoy the cold waters of Timoga Spring Pools. Timoga is very well known to have string of pools along the highway that on peak season, all these places are full. To add to more recreational destinations for residents and visitors, the Maze Park and Resort and also the Taytay Swimming Pool was opened to the public.

Iligan City houses several big industrial plants thus it is being tagged as the Industrial City of the South. These companies contributed a lot to the economy of this city. We also have big sectarian and non-sectarian colleges and universities that caters to the educational needs of the city residents as well as many youths all over Mindanao and beyond.

One of the places that visitors does not fail to visit while in Iligan is the Chedings Peanuts store in Sabayle Street. They sell the famous Cheding Peanuts that every Iliganon or Filipino loves. Not only tourists enjoy this place but also locals. They buy peanuts here or other Filipino sweet delicacies for personal consumption or be sent abroad. Cheding peanuts and also Sukang Pinakurat is relative to the name Iligan City.

Being born and have lived in this place, I consider this city my home of all my homes. It is my desire to see all the interesting places here so that I can live up to the theme of Walang Iwanan sa Bayan ni Juan. If foreigners love our Philippines after they visited us so it is just right that we must love it to the maximum level. Let us Experience Philippines at our utmost ability because this country is a very beautiful country. There is so much to see in this land they call The Pearl of the Orient. So am calling everybody to be aware of Tourism PInas 2009 and let’s join our hands promoting to the world the beauty they need to see in this land we call our home.

If you want to tour Iligan City, you can drop me a line anytime!

Enjoy travelling!