Before World War II, there were already Japanese soldiers coming from the lowlands who could freely traverse Tuba to enter Baguio City. These foreign soldiers peacefully lived with the local community.
One day, a Japanese soldier decided to swim at a creek. The water was so cold and fresh. There, he saw a beautiful lady swimming. He approached her and despite the language barrier, they became close.
Unknowingly, the young lady, who resides near the creek, was married to another man through arrangement; hence, she was forced to live with her husband to comply with their tradition, but without love.
Every time her husband goes hunting in the forest, she goes to the creek to meet up with the Japanese soldier. Their affection for each other grew stronger, despite the soldier discovering the true status of the woman. They then decided to elope.
Unknowingly, the husband noticed that there was something unusual about his wife, as to why she was always heading to the creek.
The Japanese guy bought the young lady a very special bridal gown, believed to be from Japan. Afraid of her husband, she kept the gift secretly. When the husband went out hunting, the lady immediately wore the white dress that revealed her splendid beauty. She quickly ran towards the creek.
However, the husband forgot something so he came back home early, but to his surprise, he saw his wife in a white dress heading away from their house. He shouted at her and ran towards her.
The Japanese soldier, well dressed in a khaki uniform, was waiting for her in the creek. He saw the young lady running towards him and near them was the husband with his ax. The husband attempted to hit the lady, but the Japanese soldier instantly pulled the lady and started to wrestle with the husband.
The soldier signaled the lady to run away as he was trying to strangle the husband. She ran away following the stream of the creek, barefoot. Unfortunately, she accidentally slipped. Luckily, she was able to hold onto a root of a tree.
With the current of the water, while hanging, the lengthy bridal veil was spread down the falls; hence the BRIDAL VEIL FALLS.
*The story is believed to be evidence of complicated LOVE between a Japanese soldier and a local young lady. This story is just one version, the truthfulness of which cannot be ascertained, thus considered a folktale.
The Bridal Veil Falls is located in Twinpeaks, Tuba, Benguet.
Source: Tuba Tourism/Tuba Municipal Police Station
