Category Archives: Lakes

Lake Danao Natural Park (Ormoc City, Leyte)

Posted on by — 1 Comment ↓

From Kananga, we again boarded the AUV for the 2,193-hectare Lake Danao Natural Park.  Declared as such on June 2, 1972, this outstanding trekking area is part of the 40-km. Leyte Mountain Trail which starts from the 365-hectare Mahagnao National Park (established in 1937), between Burauen and La Paz, to Lake Danao and Tongonan National Park.  The trek offers a rain forest tour, beautiful Lakes Mahagnao, Malagsum, Kasudsuran and Danao, the spectacular Guinaniban Falls and breathtaking views of the mountains, forest, plains and the islands of Samar and Leyte from the crest of the central Amandiwing Mountain Range with its near-virginal tropical rainforest.

Lake Danao

Located 25 kms. from Tacloban City and 15 kms. (a 30-min. drive) northeast of Ormoc City, the violin-shaped, 148-hectare Lake Danao, formerly called Lake Imelda, is situated at an elevation of 1,600 ft. above sea level and is hemmed in by the cloud-capped Amandiwing mountain range.  Considered to be one of the most beautiful and cleanest lakes in the country, it is 3 kms. long, 200 m. deep and has a cool and invigorating climate.  We parked our vehicle near the Ranger Station and went up the nearby wooden viewing tower for a beautiful view of the lake.

We were greeted by Mr. Antonio Elias, station utility man, who offered to row me and Jandy in his small banca to the middle of the lake.  Upon our return, we paid a visit to the lone ranger (any similarity to a fictional character is purely coincidental) assigned to the station, Mr. Quinciano C. Abiertas, Jr., who gave us additional information about the lake.

Me and Jandy at the viewing tower

The lake is home to giant and native tilapia, shrimp (awang), mudfish (bul-a), shellfish (kaykay and taab) and is also said to be the habitat for giant eels  (igat or kasili).  The 2,045-hectare surrounding cloud-capped mountains has a dense secondary rain forest and a mossy forest on top.  It is planted with narra, agoho, lauan, nato and gmelina trees plus wild ferns, pitcher plants and wild orchids.  It is also home to much wildlife including monkeys, wild pigs (baboy damo), monitor lizards (bayawak), deer and iguanas (ibid).  Birds include wild chicken, hornbill, kingfisher, hanging parakeet, parrots, serpent eagle, kite eagle and wild ducks.  The park is ideal for swimming (near the river’s mouth), picnicking, hiking and horseback riding.  Hunting is prohibited but can hardly be enforced due to Mr. Abiertas’ lack of personnel. Kaingin (slash and burn) farming is also a problem.  The lake can be reached by jeepneys from Ormoc City’s jetty.

The Lakes of San Pablo City (Laguna)

Posted on by — 1 Comment ↓

San Pablo is also known as the “City of the Seven Lakes” and number one on my list of places too see is these lakes.   Within the city limits are 7 (actually 8 including a very small one) crater lakes of extinct volcanoes, all with scenic charm and worth seeing.  Total aggregate area is 210 hectares.  Leaving our car at the cathedral grounds, Jandy and I walked towards the City Hall where, as told to us by residents, the 105-hectare Sampaloc Lake could be found. It is the largest, nearest and most accessible of all the lakes.  The other lakes have an aggregate area of 34 hectares.

Sampaloc Lake

We viewed the circular Sampaloc Lake from the massive stone balustrade off the street above the lake.  It is also best viewed from the stone benches and picnic tables of the small Dona Leonila Park located adjacent to the City Hall and accessed by an 89-step concrete stairway (built 1912 to 1916).

According to legend, there once lived a well-to-do but childless couple with a large orchard of tamarind (sampaloc) trees which bore the sweetest fruits in all the land.  Proud and selfish, they fenced in the orchard and placed a big watchdog to guard it.  God was not pleased with the selfish couple.

He sent a fairy disguised as an old and hungry woman beggar to beg for some of their fruit.  They refused to give her any and instead let the watchdog loose to bite the woman.  Before turning away from the inhospitable spot, the old beggar touched the tree with her wrinkled, skinny hands and told the couple “You shall be punished for your selfishness.”

After she left, a terrible storm broke out with heavy rain falling throughout the night.  The following morning, a vast expanse of water covered what used to be the couple’s orchard.  Through the transparent waters, the dark mass of the tamarind trees still rooted to the sunken ground, could be seen.  From that day onwards, it was called Sampaloc Lake.

The lake is 1 km. across and 27 m. deep and has a fairly large river flowing through it.  A 4-km. cemented peripheral road (Dagatan Blvd.) encircles the lake which also serves as a walking path.  Around the lake are floating fishpens and cages (bangus and tilapia), water hyacinths (a special variety used for sandal weaving) and several lakeside restaurants (serving Filipino and Chinese cuisine) standing on piles along the shore.  The massive silhouette of Mt. San Cristobal forms a beautiful background on the east.

Lake Calibato

After exploring Sampaloc Lake, we retraced our way back to the cathedral and our car.  Driving south along Narcarlan Road, we parked within the entrance of Villa Reyes in Brgy. Sto. Angel (within is Kalibato Lake Resort).  From there, we made a 500-m. walk along a dirt track to the edge of Calibato Lake. It also has fishpens and has a fine view of Mt. San Cristobal and Mt. Banahaw.

According to legend, hundreds of year ago the place was once a beautiful valley with many kinds of verdant trees beneath which are numerous stone-covered paths called Cali-Cali.  It was inhabited by simple, peaceful and hardworking people who gathered firewood, picked fruits and hunted wild animals in the nearby mountains using the Cali-Cali.

The time came when no more wild animals were left.  Diwata, the goddess of the mountain, was deeply concerned.  She disguised herself as an old woman, going from place to place and observing how the people lived.  To her dismay, she found out that the people were living luxuriously beyond their means.

To punish them she sent a big storm into the valley, creating a fearsome flood that poured from the mountain and submerging everything in its path – trees, people, houses and the Cali-Cali.  Diwata followed this up with a strong earthquake.  The next day, people from the other side of the mountain saw a lake where the valley used to be. They named the lake Calibato after Cali-Cali and bato, the stones that covered the path.

With our limited time, we were not able to visit the other lakes (Malabunot Lake, Mohicap Lake, Palakpakin Lake,Pandin Lake and Yambo Lake) as we had to return to Manila.  Visiting the lakes involve varying amounts of hiking and some tourists may need the local guides to get there.  Just the same they are all worth visiting.

Lake Danum (Besao, Mountain Province)

Posted on by — Leave a reply

The next day, Holy Thursday (and Araw ng Kagitingan as well), Jandy and I decided to join 8 other guests of the inn I was staying in who were going on a 4-km. uphill hike, along the almost empty, party rough Besao Rd., to Lake Danum (derived from the Kankanai or Ilocano word meaning “water”).   From a vantage point along this road, we had a panoramic view of Sagada town nestled between mountains. After about an hours hike, we turned left on a fork on the road and reached the lake.

Lake Danum

This lake which I actually mistook for a pond is actually referred to by the locals as a lake.  It is peaceful and its grassy and shady ground makes it ideal for picnicking and camping.  Some sort of blackberries were in bloom and some members of the group tried some.   In front of the lake is a hill which, according to the locals, offers a great view of the setting sun behind the mountains.  Unfortunately, we didn’t plan to wait that long.

It was the peak of the El Nino phenomenon when I arrived in Sagada but, even if the lake’s water level was low, its color remained torquiose green instead of orange as was usually the case.  The lake is also a jump-off point for trekking the 1,899-m. high Mt. Ampacao, the highest mountain near Sagada.  Another hour’s walk past the lake would have brought us to the next town of Besao, another pleasant and mostly Anglican town with more rice terraces.  Here, Lake Danum is called Lake Banao.  However, we gave up on the idea and just hitched a ride on a passing vehicle on its way back to Sagada.

Houseboating at Lake Caliraya (Cavinti, Laguna)

Posted on by — 5 Comments ↓

For the 4 days of Holy Week, Dad booked us on an unusual vacation – traveling on a houseboat in Lake Caliraya Reservoir in Laguna.  There were 6 of us joining – Dad, Mom, sisters Salve and Tellie, and me plus our maid Irene Nebreja.  We also had a pilot and crew to bring us wherever we want to go on the lake. Our white-colored houseboat, with light blue trimmings, had spartan sleeping quarters, a dinette, kitchenette and a sun deck.

Our houseboat

 Our boat, part of a fleet of houseboats, was, according to our pilot, used by the cast and crew of the 1979, Francis Ford Cuppola Vietnam-era war epic film Apocalypse Now when they were filming some scenes in Laguna (notably the river scenes at the Bumbungan River and Pagsanjan Falls).  Mr. Cuppola and stars Marlon Brando or Martin Sheen may have slept in it. Who knows?

Cruising the lake

The massive, man-made Lake Caliraya is a mountain lake situated at foothills of the Sierra Madre Range at an elevation of 300 m. (800 ft.), between Lumban and Cavinti (a large portion is located here) .  It was built in 1943 and supplies, together with Lake Lumot, runoff water to the Kalayaan Hydroelectric Plant complex located north of the town.  Its original outlet was the Pagsanjan River, just above the falls, but now the smaller, artificial Lake Lumot feeds the main lake through a pipeline.  Both lakes cover 1,834 hectares of land and 76.9 hectares of water resources.

On dry land

My brother Frankie with pregnant wife Cherry,  Cherry’s Silahis International Hotel officemate Anna Purino and Cherry’s sister-in-law May Martin (the wife of Cherry’s elder brother Tony) also dropped by while we were docked and went swimming.  Swimming here is not like that done in a beach or even a river as the lake’s shoreline of viscous red slippery clay steeply drops just a few feet from the shore. Again, according to our pilot, a kid drowned when he slipped on the mud and fell into the water.  For safety’s sake, we all donned life vests in the water.  Others just sunbathed at the boat’s roof.

Windsurfing, waterskiingand shallow draft boating are popular here.  Fishing especially for large-mouth (black) bass, carp, bangus(milkfish), tilapia and dalag (mudfish) is a favorite activity in the lake.   Dad’s friend, Gen. Victor Natividad, was also there for the waterskiing, bringing along waterskiing equipment as well as a speedboat.  Frankie, May and I  took turns trying to waterski.  I was unsuccessful though as I kept falling when the speedboat started pulling me.

Resorts and picnic grounds line the shore of the lake and, on Easter Sunday, we docked at Nayong Kalikasan Resort where we heard mass at its clubhouse prior to our return to Manila.