Bislig City is a 4th class city in the province of Surigao del Sur, Mindanao Philippines. Bislig is approximately 208 kilometers northeast of Davao City, 152 kilometers south of Tandag (the provincial capital) and 158 southeast of Butuan City. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 97,860 people in 18,269 households.
Currently, the city is developing a sea port at Barangay Lawigan for the convenience of people travelling to other provinces. The concrete runway of the commercial airport can accommodate light commercial planes of the Fokker 50 class, though today the airport is only used for the occasional private plane.
Bislig's main tourist attraction is Tinuy-an Falls, known as the "Niagara Falls" of the Philippines. It is a white water curtain that flows in three levels about 55 meters high. It is one of the best waterfalls in the entire Philippines because of its majestic and unique natural formation. Its colorful picture was once appeared in the International Travel Magazine.
The legendary allusions as to how Bislig got its name dates back to the era prior to the coming of the Spanish conquistadors. The town got its name from a forest vine of the rattan family that grew in abundance along the banks of its rivers. This vine was noted for its strength and became known for saving a royal couple who crossed the swollen river in one of their hunting expeditions and who almost died as they were carried downstream by the rushing current. The legend has it that these hunters had already lost hope of surviving until they were able to cling to a vine which was about 1/4 inch in diameter called Bislig. As a sign of thanksgiving, the ruler named this place Bislig.
The first inhabitants of Bislig were believed to have come from the Agusan Valley in the hinterlands of Mindanao beyond the Magdiwata Mountains. These people used spears, bows and arrows and lived a semi-nomadic life and were called Manobos.
