My Home, My Place, My City

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Chroniclers say that centuries ago, long before Legaspi’s expedition reached the Philippines in 1565, the Tala-andigs and the Banwahons, two of known peace-loving Higa-onon tribes of Mindanao, had to build an ilijan or iliyan, meaning a “fortress of defense” on the coastal plain to secure them from the frequent attacks of pirates and savage tribes. Hence the place came to be called as ILIGAN.

Iligan City is bounded by the provinces of Bukidnon, Misamis Oriental, by the two provinces of Lanao, and by Cagayan de Oro. It has a type C climate characterized by short, low sun dry season for one to three months. Rainfalls are evenly distributed throughout the year. It is located outside the typhoon belt.

Iligan’s topography is such that 65% of the area is mountainous; 30% nearly levelto moderately sloping and only 4% is level. Its coastal plains has a maximum expanse of only 3 square kilometers. The mountains running parallel with the coastal plains are not very high and do vary in size.

 

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ILIGAN at a glance:

Country	Philippines
Region	Northern Mindanao
District	Lone
No. of Barangays	44
Population	308,046 peoples based on 2007   census of National Statistics Office
Income Class	1st Class; highly-urbanized
Area	81,337 hectares
Coordinates	8° 13' 56" N, 124° 13' 54" E

 

 

 

 

 
 

Iligan City is is not only known for its rich natural resources, but it is also the home of nationally acclaimed artists, poets, film makers, cultural workers and writers and geographically, a crossroad of the cultural mix of the Maranaos of Lanao del Sur, Higaonons of Bukidnon and the dominantly Christian settlers and migrants from Luzon, Visayas and other places of Minadanao.

 

Iligan City is a highly urbanized city and is independent from the Province of Lanao del Norte. Registered voters of the city no longer vote for provincial candidates such as the Governor and Vice Governor unlike its nearby towns that make up the provinces as a result to its charter as a city in the 1950s.

Iligan was chartered as a city upon the approval and signing of Republic Act No. 525 “Charter of the New City of Iligan” on June 16, 1950.

Iligan City's seat of government, the city hall, is located at Buhanginan Hills in Barangay Pala-o. The government structure compose of one mayor, one vice-mayor and twelve councilors. Each official is elected publicly to a 3-year term and can be re-elected up to 3 terms in succession.

 

Iligan is also known as City of Majestic  Waterfalls because of its numerous waterfalls that are located within its area of jurisdiction. As of latest count, there are about 23 waterfalls distributed in the 44 barangays.

 

The most famous as well as the city's major landmark, is the Maria Cristina Falls. It is also the primary source of electric power not only of the city but of the entire Mindanao island, harnessed by the National Power Corporation-Mindanao Generation.

 

 

The Tinago Falls, accessible through a 300-step staircase, is located in the upper part of Barangay Buru-un.


It is another place worth visiting as it showcases one of the most beautiful natural landscapes. It features a curtain-like cascade that falls beautifully into a lagoon. The breath taking setting alone makes it an ideal place for picture taking with its natural landscape as the falls is beautifully mixed with the lush tropical forest that the area is abundant of.

Other famous waterfalls in the city are, Mimbalut Falls, Hindang Falls, and Dodiongan Falls.

Some waterfalls are inaccessible to vehicles, which requires trekking for several hours to two days (in case of Limunsudan Falls) to the destination.

 

 

 

Iligan today is bustling with energy. It characterizes a new feature not by its richness of natural resources nor industries and even beautiful natural sceneries but with its unique people – its number one pride. Iligan is the home of a mix of cultures and is known for its diversity.

     

Every year, various activities are lined-up as the city celebrates for 20 days starting on May 28 which is the National Flag day, followed by the Philippine Independence Day on June 12 and culminating on June 16, Adlaw sa Iligan. Activities ranged from official and formal to sheer fun and revelry.

Explore the charm of one of the Philippines’ promising destinations. While it still embraces that small city feeling, Iligan continually make ways and means to become different and distinguished from among the places in the Philippines.

Getting There:

The fastest and most convenient is to take a plane to Cagayan de Oro, with seven daily flights from Manila for 1 hour and 20 minutes, and from Cebu for 20 minutes.  From Cagayan de Oro you can take either bus, a taxi or rent a car and travel 89 kilometers to Iligan.

Its public seaport serves passenger ships taking Iligan-Cebu and Iligan-Manila and cargo vessels both inter-island and foreign.

Welcome and have fun exploring Iligan!

 

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