Macahambus Cave and Macahambus Gorge are some of the natural
tourist attractions of Cagayan de Oro City which are located south of Lumbia
Airport which is now a Philippine Air Force base. The natural cave is located at
the eastern side of a highway going to Bukidnon. At the mouth of the cave are two markers from
the National Historical Institute. Inside the cave is the main chamber which
can accommodate 10 to 20 standing people. It is totally dark inside and the
atmosphere is eerie so that a visitor needs a flashlight to illuminate his surroundings.
There is no large amount of stalagmites or stalactites in the cave but traces of them are visible. Some fruit bats hang on the ceiling and walls
of the cave. Moving farther, a visitor can make out a short tunnel that is
faintly illuminated by a natural light. To get out through the other end of the
cave, he has to follow the light. Since the space in the tunnel is narrow, he
has to crouch his way out of the cave. Right outside the cave’s exit is a viewing
deck or veranda which without it a careless visitor will fall off a steep
precipice with boulders beneath it. On the viewing deck he sees the scenic Cagayan
de Oro River. He can get back to the highway without entering back the cave by walking
through the short bridge that leads to a footpath on a slope.
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| Cagayan de Oro River from the viewing deck |
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| An exit path with railings |
Just about 200 meters from the entrance of Macahambus Cave
at the western side of the road is the Macahambus Gorge or doline. Looking at
the gorge from a high ground, the visitor sees it as just an ordinary terrain
with cliffs, high ground and low ground with lush vegetation. The physical
shape of the gorge or the doline is made indistinguishable by the trees, vines
and bushes that cover the surface of the ground. A visitor
has to climb down the flight of steps of a steel staircase to explore the bottom of the gorge.
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| The bottom of the gorge |
Aside from being tourist attraction, the Macahambus Cave
and Macahambus Gorge are also natural historical monument of the city because
the hills at these cave and gorge are the site of the battle between the US and
Filipino forces during the Philippine-American War in the last year of the 19th
century. The “Battle of Macahambus Hill” is one of the few battles where the Filipino
combatants prevailed over the better armed and trained American soldiers.
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| American troops in the area of Macahambus Hills in 1900 |
