Guide · Waterfall

Tumalog Falls, Oslob: a curtain of water near the whale shark beach

Tumalog Falls in Oslob is a short drive inland from the whale shark beach, and many morning tours stop there on the way back. Here is how the visit fits into the day and what the listings say about it.

Check availabilityfrom $120 · free cancellation possible

Editorial team, oslobwhalesharkwatching.comUpdated October 22, 2026Reading time 6 min10 sources

This guide's tour Cebu: Oslob Whale Sharks, Tumalog Falls & Sumilon Sandbar 4.8 (24 reviews) 1 day from$120per person Check availabilityFree cancellation until 24 hrs before pickup

In brief

01Where: Inland from Tan-awan, a short drive from the whale shark site.
02Time there: From 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the tour.
03Getting up: A local motorcycle shuttle may charge a fee.
04Closures: Can close for maintenance, weather or local rules.
05Booked here: Whale sharks, Sumilon and Tumalog, rated 4.77, from $120.

Where the falls are

Tumalog Falls lies in the hills just behind the coast of Oslob, a town known both for its whale sharks at Tan-awan and for Sumilon Island and this waterfall.¹ It is close enough to the whale shark beach that tours fit it in the same morning: one scuba listing gives 10 minutes by car from the watching area to the falls. Another lists 15 minutes by car from Oslob.

The map on this page shows how the pieces fit. Tan-awan, where the sharks are fed, sits on the shore; the falls lie a little inland and north of it; Sumilon Island lies offshore to the south. All three fit in one day without long drives between them, which is why so many listings bundle them.

What you will find is not a single plunge but a wide curtain. Water spreads over a mossy rock face in hundreds of thin threads and gathers in a shallow, milky-blue pool at the bottom. It is a quieter, cooler place than the beach, and after the early start of a whale shark morning many visitors simply sit at the edge of the pool for a while.

The booked day

Whale sharks, island, waterfall

3 hrs

Drive to Oslob

From hotels around Cebu and Mactan.
30 min

Whale sharks

Snorkeling and watching at Tan-awan.
5 min

Short drive

To the boats for Sumilon.
1.5 hrs

Sumilon Island

Swimming and snorkeling.
1 hr

Tumalog Falls

Sightseeing and a swim in the pool.

How the tours fit the falls in

The booked tour of this site does not go to Tumalog; it heads north to Kawasan Falls instead. If the curtain waterfall is what you want, choose a listing that names it. The one this page books takes you from the whale sharks to Sumilon Island for 1.5 hours and then to Tumalog Falls for 1 hour, and is rated 4.77 from 24 reviews, from $120.

Other listings give the falls less time. A priority-line day allows 30 minutes at Tumalog after lunch. A scuba trip gives 30 minutes, self-guided, after the dive. A private group day with Sumilon spends 1 hour at the falls and 1.5 hours on the island.

The order varies too. Some tours go to the falls straight after the sharks and finish on the island; others do it the other way round. If you want the pool to yourself, ask which order your guide follows; arriving while most groups are still on the beach or the sandbar helps.

Time at the falls

Minutes at Tumalog by tour

min

Time at Tumalog Falls as the listings give it: 1 hour on two tours, 30 minutes on two.

Tours with the falls

How long each tour stays at Tumalog

Tour	At the falls	Other stops	From
Sharks, Sumilon, Tumalog	1 hr	Sumilon 1.5 hrs	from $120
Private group day	1 hr	Sumilon 1.5 hrs	from $98
Priority line day	30 min	Sumilon 1 hr, lunch	from $120
Scuba and falls	30 min	A whale shark dive	from $157

Times and from-prices as each listing gives them.

Three ways to see the falls

Pick your Tumalog day

Top rated

Sharks, Sumilon, falls

The tour booked here

At the falls: 1 hr
Rating: 4.77
Price: from $120

See this tour

Cebu: Oslob Whaleshark Experience with Priority Line

Lunch stop

Priority line day

4:00 AM pickup

At the falls: 30 min
Rating: 4.08
Price: from $120

See this tour

Cebu: Oslob Whale Shark Scuba Dive & Tumalog Falls Trip

For divers

Scuba and falls

A dive, then the pool

At the falls: 30 min
Rating: 3.91
Price: from $157

See this tour

Is there a Tumalog Falls entrance fee?

The listings say little about money at the falls, and we do not print a figure we cannot source. The clearest note comes from a whale shark listing: its Tumalog Falls visit is included, but a local motorcycle shuttle fee may be payable on site if local authorities require it. Take small change in local cash for that and for drinks.

Check your own listing for what it includes. Some tours bundle every entrance and environmental fee, others cover transport only. One budget listing says plainly that its private car option leaves out entrance fees, environmental fees and meals. When the Tumalog Falls entrance fee matters to your budget, ask the operator before you book rather than on the hill.

The calculator below starts from the from-prices of the tours that include the falls. It cannot add the shuttle or a drink on the day, so leave a little room in your budget for both.

Map

From Cebu City down the coast to the whale sharks

The road south to Oslob, the stretch of coast around the feeding area, and the other whale shark places of the Philippines.

Map of southern Cebu island from Cebu City and Mactan airport down the coast past Badian and Kawasan Falls to Oslob and Tan-awan — Cebu City to Oslob

Map of the coast south of Oslob town with Tan-awan, Tumalog Falls inland, and Sumilon Island with its sandbar offshore — The Oslob coast

Map of the Philippines with Oslob, Donsol, Honda Bay, Pintuyan, Tubbataha Reefs and Momo Beach on Bohol marked — Whale sharks in the Philippines

1
Mactan-Cebu International Airport
Airport pickup comes only with the private option of the booked tour.
In Google Maps ↗
2
Cebu South Bus Terminal
The Capitol-run terminal for buses south counts around 7,000 passengers on a weekday.²
In Google Maps ↗
3
Kawasan Falls
Part of the Matutinao River canyon; the booked tour spends 3 hours canyoneering here.³
In Google Maps ↗
4
Oslob
The town at the southern end of Cebu, 116 km from Cebu City.⁴
In Google Maps ↗
5
Tan-awan
The feeding area lies 50 to 100 m off this village, with whale sharks fed from 06.00 to 13.00.⁵
In Google Maps ↗
6
Tumalog Falls
A short drive from the whale shark site; one listing gives 10 minutes by car.
In Google Maps ↗
7
Sumilon Island
A 23-ha island managed as a reserve by Silliman University from 1974.⁶
In Google Maps ↗
8
Sumilon sandbar
Depends on the tide and closes every third Wednesday of the month.
In Google Maps ↗
9
Donsol
479 whale sharks identified, 44% of the known Philippine population.⁷
In Google Maps ↗
10
Honda Bay
117 whale sharks identified in 2018 surveys off Palawan.⁸
In Google Maps ↗
11
Pintuyan
Whale shark ecotourism since 2006, sharks from December to June.⁹
In Google Maps ↗
12
Tubbataha Reefs
Whale sharks reported seasonally, March to June.¹⁰
In Google Maps ↗
13
Momo Beach
Start of the Bohol listing that ferries guests to the Oslob pier.
In Google Maps ↗

Open the map in Google Maps

Checklist

For the waterfall

Pack

Swimwear under your clothes
Water shoes with grip
A dry bag for your phone
Small change for the shuttle

Check

Is it the third Wednesday?
Does your tour include the visit?
How long does the tour stay?

Cost calculator

A day with the falls for your group

Starting totals of the tours that stop at Tumalog.

Sharks, Sumilon, fallsBooked herefrom $120 Private group dayPrivatefrom $98 Priority line daySharedfrom $120 Scuba and fallsDiversfrom $157

People 2

Total from$240

per guest from $120

Check availabilityfree cancellation

Each total is the cheapest per-person fare listed on GetYourGuide times your group size, shown in your currency at the euro reference rate; your date and option set the final sum.

Video

Is this the best waterfall in Cebu? Tumalog Waterfalls

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When the falls are closed

Tumalog is a managed site, and it does not open every day. One listing warns that the falls may close for maintenance, weather conditions or local government regulations, without prior notice. Another says the Tumalog waterfalls are closed every third Wednesday of the month.

Plan around that Wednesday if the falls are a must for you. A different listing gives the third Wednesday as the closing day of the Sumilon sandbar instead. We report both as their listings state them; if your trip falls on a third Wednesday, ask your operator what they will do instead.

Rain changes the experience as well. After heavy rain the water can turn cloudier and stronger, and the paths around the pool get slippery. In a dry spell the curtain can thin out. Neither is a reason to skip the stop, but it helps to know that photos you have seen were taken on a good day.

Swimming, paths and safety

Several tours list swimming at Tumalog, and the pool at the foot of the curtain is where people wade and swim. Walk slowly on the wet rock; the algae that make the falls look green also make them slippery. Water shoes help more than flip-flops here, and they are worth packing for the whale shark boat anyway.

From the road, the local shuttle that one listing mentions is a motorcycle, with a fee that may be payable on site. Hold on, keep your bag on your front and ask the driver to go slowly on the steep part. If you prefer to walk, allow time and expect a climb back up in the heat.

Bring a dry bag for your phone. Between the sea in the morning and the spray at the falls, a phone in an open pocket rarely stays dry, and you will want photos of both places.

Photographing the curtain

The falls are hard to fit into a phone screen from close up. Step back to the far side of the pool to get the whole curtain in one frame, then walk closer for the detail of the water running over the moss. A wide-angle setting helps more than zoom here, and a person standing in the pool gives the photo a sense of scale.

Light matters as much as distance. The rock face is shaded by trees for part of the day, and bright sun on the water at midday can wash out the threads of the falls. Overcast mornings often give the softest pictures. If your tour arrives in harsh light, look for the shaded corners of the pool and photograph the water as it lands.

Keep your gear dry between shots. Spray drifts across the pool, and a lens that fogs up when you step from shade into humid air needs a minute before it clears. A small cloth in a zip bag solves most of that, and costs nothing to carry.

Is it worth adding to a whale shark morning?

For most visitors, yes, if the day is not already full. The falls sit so close to Tan-awan that adding them costs little time, and they give a calmer counterpoint to the busy beach. The tours that include them start from $77 for a whale shark trip whose notes include the visit, to $157 for the scuba trip.

If you also want Sumilon Island, choose a day that does all three; the listing this page books gives 1.5 hours to the island and 1 hour to the falls. If you want an active afternoon, Kawasan canyoneering is the other choice, and the booked tour of this site goes there instead of Tumalog.

Whatever you pick, start early. The whale shark slot sets the rhythm of the whole day, and the falls are at their quietest when most groups are still waiting on the beach.

Pick your date