Spoilt pocket of Eden

Lying at the foot of Mt. Banahaw is a once pristine waterfall more popularly known as the Majayjay falls. I got the chance to visit the falls for the first time last April 28-29 and the first reaction I had was that the water is very clear. But contrary to my reaction, a mountaineer friend who has been to the place prior its popularity told me that the water was much clearer and much pristine before. It is relatively dirty now. So this made me wonder. If I find the water clean and clear now, then the waterfall and the stream flowing from it must have been like paradise before.


Majayjay falls was unheard to local tourists before and was only frequented by mountaineers that regularly climbed Mt. Banahaw. This was their small hidden paradise. Mt. Banahaw, Luzon’s highest peak is temporarily closed to allow the mountain to rejuvenate. Similar to the beautiful waterfall that lies in its foot, the trails climbing its peak have been spoilt due to the constant large number of mountaineers climbing it. Taytay falls, which is another name referring to Majayjay falls, was kept from most people until a sports television show featured it in one of their episodes.


Mountaineers bear a creed of leaving nothing but foot marks and taking nothing but pictures. This is an informal creed they all follow that aims to maintain and preserve the places they explore and in general, the environment. What is unfortunate in the case of Majayjay falls is that the new groups of local tourists that visit it during weekends do not practice this. They are uneducated and unaware of the consequences of leaving their trash there. During our visit, we encountered empty bottles of alcohol beside the stream and plastic bottles floating on the stream that were used as toys by children swimming in the ice-cold water. Others on the other hand were bathing in the stream using soaps and shampoo, which could likewise harm and pollute the water due to the chemical components of the soap they are using.


Indeed there is now an environmental fee before one can enter the vicinity of the falls. The fee is to give financial compensation for those who clean up the place after the tourists have left. But this should not be the case. Tourists should have an initiative to clean up the place and bring all the refuse from their stay with them as they leave. Doing this manifests a simple gesture that they, we, all care for our environment and would want it to share to future generations so that they may also enjoy its beauty as we did.